Over nine million people in England could benefit from brief advice

Over 9 million people in England drink more than is good for them, but many don’t even realise that the way they drink could put their health at risk.

” So commented Dr Mike Knapton, GP and Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, in relation to research which concluded that consumption for higher risk drinkers can be reduced to lower risk levels with increased use of alcohol identifi cation and brief advice (IBA) delivered by healthcare professionals.

The research involved focus groups and field work in London and the South West, with nurses, GPs and A & E staff, which was carried out as part of the Government’s ‘Alcohol Effects’ campaign. The campaign, launched in February 2010, aims to warn drinkers of the unseen health damage caused by regularly drinking more than the NHS advises. Increasing and higher risk drinking can cause unseen damage and are implicated in the development of more than 60 medical conditions, ranging from cancer to liver disease and stroke. Using IBA, health workers can help patients understand how their drinking affects their health in the long and short term.

Dr Knapton continued:

“As we have seen with smoking, brief interventions, as part of a wider strategy, can have a signifi cant impact on helping to raise awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol and in bringing about a change in behaviour. A short GP consultation is more than adequate to carry out identifi cation and brief advice to identify those that are drinking at increasing and higher-risk levels and provide them with some simple advice for cutting down. Health care professionals’ knowledge of the dangers that can be caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol is vital to this process, as is reinforcing the positive effects GPs and nurses can have on a patient’s health by talking to them about their drinking habits.’”

Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians said: “IBAs really work, and are up there with some of the most effective interventions that are available to us in healthcare. Many healthcare workers don’t realise that IBAs for harmful drinkers are even more effective than current interventions for smoking. Let’s take every opportunity to reduce this preventable burden of health harm.”

The IBA tools are quick and simple to use and not only identify accurately patients’ levels of risk in relation to their drinking, but help those drinking at increasing and higher risk levels to recognise the potential risk and cut down. Drinkers are prompted to reconsider their behaviour and encouraged to reduce their consumption to lower risk levels. A range of materials have been developed to assist with the delivery of IBA, including factsheets, leaflets, questionnaires and an e-learning module endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Physicians, accredited by the RCN Accreditation Unit and required as preparation for the RCGP post-graduate certification course on alcohol management.

The module takes less than two hours to complete and provides the information and skills required to deliver IBA, including details on units and the risks associated with alcohol consumption.

The module and other materials are available at: www.alcohollearningcentre.org.uk