New guidance to tackle alcohol problems

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence issued new guidelines today to tackle alcohol problems, following recommendations from the Guideline Development Group, chaired by Colin Drummond, Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry. The guidelines outline how the NHS should diagnose, assess and treat alcohol dependence, calling for screening and better access to alcohol withdrawal services. Just six per cent of people in England who have an alcohol problem are receiving treatment for it. Over one million people in England are dependent on alcohol, but every year there are over 940,000 people who are either not seeking help, do not have access to the relevant services, or whose symptoms are not being appropriately identified by healthcare professionals. Professor Drummond said: 'The evidence shows that alcohol treatment can be both effective and cost effective. However the effectiveness of these are crucially dependent upon people who misuse alcohol having better access to evidence-based interventions, which are delivered by appropriately trained and skilled staff. 'With problems relating to alcohol consumption increasing steeply in the UK, I hope that this guideline provides a much needed impetus to making effective treatments more available to those who need them.' Guidelines The guideline calls for all relevant health and social care professionals to be able to identify patients who could be misusing alcohol through clinical interviews and internationally recognised assessment tools, such as the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ).