St Mary’s Alcohol Health Work Project named HubCAPP Project of the Year
The Alcohol Health Work Project at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, has been named as the winner of the inaugural ‘HubCAPP Project of the Year’ 2009, an award which ‘recognised the project that has had an impact on the health and wellbeing of the community’.
The HubCAPP (Hub of Commissioned Alcohol Projects and Policies) awards, launched in 2009, were shortlisted and voted on by members of the public and professionals working in the field. The Hub focuses on identifying and sharing local and regional practice regarding alcohol harm reduction and also collects information on needs analysis and strategic planning.
Alcohol Health work at St Mary’s hospital began in 1988 and has developed through extensive research and practice, leading to the appointment of a full-time Alcohol Nurse Specialist (ANS) at St Mary’s Hospital Trust in 2005.
The team developed the Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT) (available to view here – www.sips.iop.kcl.ac.uk/download.php?id=132), a clinical tool used to screen patients who present with the top 10 reasons associated with alcohol misuse (including areas such as falls, collapse, head injury and other medical the relationship between attendance at A & E and drinking. They refer to this conditions) and which asks questions about their levels of alcohol consumption.
The Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT) is at the heart of the Alcohol Health Work Project. Doctors and nurses use PAT to highlight to the patient as the ‘teachable moment’ (Patton et al, 2004) and aim to use it advantageously to combat hazardous and binge drinking.
Patients who screen as positive on the PAT are referred on to an A & E Alcohol Health Work session run by the Alcohol Nurse Specialist, who sees patients from across the wards as well as A & E and who has developed alcohol withdrawal management protocols for the hospital. At this session, the ANS provides a patientcentred assessment of alcohol issues, discusses the impact of alcohol use with the patient and provides further information or referral in order to encourage the patient to reduce their consumption, where appropriate. The ANS can also give brief advice about drinking and provide alcohol information leaflets. For every two patients who accept such an appointment, it has been found that there is one fewer re-attendance at A & E over the next year.
The Alcohol Nurse Specialist also accepts direct referrals from other wards in the hospital and provides several key services, including:
- Alcohol withdrawal management
- A review of St Mary’s alcohol guidelines and protocols
- Advice and support for ward staff
- Psychiatric liaison where dual diagnosis is an issue
- Brief assessment of substance misuse
- Referral to community alcohol services
The St Mary’s team have published their findings extensively and have also helped to replicate the system in other hospitals across England
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Voter comments:
‘The St Mary’s team demonstrate leadership in the field and provide high quality patient care’ ‘St Mary’s was the first hospital to do this work and it has been used as a model for the development of similar services in other areas’ |
Professor Robin Touquet, Consultant in A & E Medicine, St Mary’s Hospital
‘We are delighted that St Mary’s work has been recognised. This highlights the investment happening countrywide with the roll out of Alcohol Nurse Specialists, many duplicating the St Mary’s model, and incorporating the Paddington Alcohol Test.’
Don Shenker, Alcohol Concern
‘This project has shown how a moment of crisis can be turned into an opportunity to help people change their lives for the better. Every day the work of St Mary’s is making a difference to the lives of people up and down the country’
HubCAPP, an online resource of local alcohol initiatives throughout England was commissioned by the Department of Health and is managed by Alcohol Concern. HubCAPP is also part of the Department of Health’s Alcohol Improvement Programme and is a sister site of the Alcohol Learning Centre.