The Department of Health published Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers today. Download MOCAM here.
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The Department of Health published Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers today. Download MOCAM here.
Posted by James Morris on Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
There was a short debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday about alcohol treatment. It illustrates beautifully the current state of play for alcohol treatment in England and what the government is and is not doing about it.
The MP for Plymouth Devonport, Alison Seabeck set out the issues for Plymouth and covered the:
In response, Caroline Flint (Public Health Minister) acknowledged these issues and rattled off the elements of the Programme of Improvements (see previous posts). She distinguished between chronic dependent drinkers and binge/hazardous drinkers (which is in keeping with the guidance on implementing a local programme of improvements - only dependent drinkers, apparently, need specialist alcohol treatment).
She talked about prevention:
We are working closely with the Home Office on a joint campaign to promote responsible drinking among young people through clearer and better targeted information. That is planned for later this year. We are also working with the alcoholic drinks industry and non-industry stakeholders such as the British Liver Trust on promoting more responsible drinking and preventing alcohol misuse.
I have asked a group of industry representatives to work with Department officials to consider sensible drinking messages. The position is not the same as that on cigarettes but it might be helpful to explore sensible drinking messages and clearer unit information on the products and at the point of sale.
On the disparity between funding for drugs and alcohol treatment, Flint said:
The balance of funding between drugs and alcohol is difficult to achieve. Separate funding in the NHS is given only to drug expenditure because it was believed to be a poor relation in NHS priorities. That expenditure is supported by Home Office investment. That is not to say that we have not been able, more recently, to take stock of what is happening with alcohol and ascertain where we can achieve better connectivity between the different forms of substance misuse and the different levels and perceptions of misuse. We need to pay attention to that.
Surely alcohol is now the poor relation in terms of NHS priorities, and what does 'better connectivity' mean? Are we going to see pooled treatment budgets freed up for alcohol services? Perhaps the Home Office really is considering compulsory treatment for alcohol-related offending (see this), and will start investing in treatment as it does for drugs.
More info
Full debate from Hansard (column 233)
Plymouth Drug and Alcohol Action Team alcohol info
Alison Seabeck info
Department of Health alcohol info
Posted by James Morris on Thursday, June 29, 2006 at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Rumour has it that Models of Care for Alcohol Misuse (MOCAM) will be published tomorrow.
The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England promised that from the second quarter of 2004:
"The National Treatment Agency (NTA) will draw up a “Models of Care framework” for alcohol treatment services, drawing on the alcohol element of the existing Models of Care framework."
So, it's been nearly two years in the making. But will MOCAM make a difference to alcohol treatment? The Department of Health's needs assessment last year (ANARP) showed that only 5.6% of the in need alcohol dependent population are accessing alcohol treatment per annum. That low figure is to do with poor levels of identification and referral, but also it is because of the lack of availability of treatment.
The Department of Health's Programme of Improvements (see previous post) for alcohol treatment is all very well but without additional funding from central government or performance targets, the current situation (ie low levels of identification, referral and treatment) seems set to continue.
Posted by James Morris on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by James Morris on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by James Morris on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by James Morris on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
London Ambulance Service (LAS) has put in place an operational plan for the World Cup period that involves a mobile first aid post in Croydon - 'Operation Whitgift' - and 'rapid deployment cells' across London. A separate initiative is taking place in central London where an outpatient transport ambulance, staffed by a paramedic and two other ambulance-service personnel, is sent only to those patients who are drunk. All the initiatives are intended to free emergency ambulances to respond to patients who are seriously ill or injured.
LAS dealt with nearly 24,500 alcohol related calls in 2005, at a cost of around £3.8 million. Experience from the Euro 2004 football tournament and the Ashes last year suggests that alcohol related calls during the World Cup period will place an exceptionally heavy demand on the service.
The service is urging Londoners to call 999 only in cases of medical emergency this summer. The rise in demand for ambulances can mean that people with life-threatening conditions in real need of emergency medical treatment – for example, those suffering a heart attack – might not receive the immediate response they require, putting lives at risk.
Operation Whitgift
Approximately 35,000 people visit Croydon town centre between the hours of 18.00 and 04.00 in a normal weekend. There are a high number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs in a very small geographical area, the main activity being centered in and around the pedestrianised area of the High Street and George Street. The call rate in Croydon Town Centre at weekends is notoriously high in a very small footprint, and the majority of calls are alcohol related or minor injuries. A significant increase is expected during the World Cup and particularly at the times when England fixtures are taking place.
There will be a mobile first aid post in the town centre for the England games and other key matches, with
Rapid Deployment Cells
These cells will be deployed as required to areas of London experiencing extreme volumes of calls paying particular attention to the following factors that were the most common alcohol related workload in Euro 2004:
Resources will be deployed to any declared catastrophic or major incidents, incidents known to have confirmed multiple casualties or incidents involving suspect packages that have been assessed by the Police or Security Services as posing a threat of an actual improvised explosive device.
Each cell will consist of:
Further information:
Craig Macpherson at the London Ambulance Service Communications Department on 020 7921 5113.
Posted by James Morris on Friday, June 09, 2006 at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the scheme to establish alcohol health workers in accident and emergency departments, general practitioner surgeries and some criminal justice settings announced in November 2005 will begin.
Caroline Flint: This scheme is an aspect of a series of trailblazer pilot sites to be implemented in 24 dedicated sites. We are in discussion with strategic health authorities as to how they can be delivered and when they will begin.
Posted by James Morris on Friday, June 09, 2006 at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (2)
Posted by James Morris on Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Institute of Alcohol Studies report on alcohol use, harm and policy in Europe has been published by the European Union under its Public Health Programme. The report is "an expert synthesis of published reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and individual papers, as well as an analysis of data made available by the European Commission and the World Health Organisation".
It makes a number of key recommendations to inform the development of EU alcohol strategy, including:
- Public policies should define alcoholic beverages in a uniform way
- Europan infrastructures should be established and financed to undertake research and disseminate major findings
- The European Commission should strengthen its capacity to develop alcohol policy, and should produce and implement action plans and strategies
- The maximim drink driving limit should be 0.5g/l throughout Europe (the UK limit is currently 0.8g/l)
- Alcoholic beverage containers should carry health warnings
- Minimum tax rates for alcoholic beverages should be increased in line with inflation and should cover the external costs of alcohol-related harm
- Jurisdictions that manage outlets through physical controls eg on density and hours of sale should consider not relaxing their regulations
- Resources should be made available to ensure the widspread availability and accessibility of identification and advice programmes for hazardous and harmful drinking and dependence
Further information
Posted by James Morris on Monday, June 05, 2006 at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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