Dealing with the binge drinkers at A&E

Patients attending the county's busiest accident and emergency department with alcohol-related illnesses and injuries will be offered help if they are found to have a binge drinking problem.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital today launched a screening project, in which patients will be questionned to find out if they are drinking too much and offered help, treatment and advice if needed.

More than 72,000 people a year visit the A&E department. In around 40pc of cases, alcohol is a factor.

The screening tool, the Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT), was developed at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London. The N&N is the first hospital in the region to pilot the scheme with the aim of educating people about health risks and to intervene early if drinking is at a harmful level.

Julia France is a substance misuse liaison nurse at the N&N. She and colleague Sarah Dunbar, who work for Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Trust, have developed the N&Nscreening system.

She said: “Our aim is to offer help to people who have ended up in A&E as a result of their drinking and to gently raise with them the fact that they are drinking at a level that could be harming their health.

“The screening is designed to pick up those people who might be termed binge drinkers. It is not about making judgements or being critical but about helping someone realise there may be a problem and offering support to deal with it.”

Patients whose accident or illness is clearly not related to alcohol will not be screened but anyone who has obviously been drinking will be seen by an alcohol misuse nurse. They will be asked four questions, including how much they have had to drink and how often they drink this amount.

PAT-positive patients will be given an information leaflet and offered a follow-up appointment with the substance misuse nurses.

Penny McVeigh, chair of Alcohol Concern, said: “We welcome this new initiative which allows information on health risks to be given to individuals when they may be particularly receptive to thinking about how alcohol may be impacting on their health and wellbeing.”

Norwich Evening News 24