Alcohol Care Teams at Royal Derby Hospital supporting patients with alcohol dependency
Since September 2022, our Alcohol Care Teams (ACT) have been in place at Royal Derby Hospital, supporting patients who are alcohol dependant or who are at risk of alcohol-related harm.
Patients who are admitted to our hospital are asked a series of questions to understand their alcohol consumption levels. If we think their relationship with alcohol could benefit from our support, patients will be offered specialist treatment whilst in hospital to provide patients with the tools to manage their withdrawal from alcohol upon discharge.
This can range from a quick conversation with one of our clinicians, specialist care planning, and referral to community services; all the way up to medically-assisted alcohol withdrawal plans including free medication, screening for liver fibrosis and specialist mental health assessments. This is all to ensure that we provide the best support we can that is appropriate to the individual level of alcohol dependency.
This will be offered at RDH only, as the ACT campaign is part of a broader national programme to target areas that are outliers for alcohol-related harm, such as Derby City.
Why is this support available?
The answer is simple – to reduce harmful alcohol consumption, improving the health of the members of our community, and to help save lives.
Alcohol causes a wide range of conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancers and liver disease, as well as contributing to harm from accidents, violence and self-harm.
Many in our community drink alcohol responsibly, and don’t feel they have a harmful relationship with alcohol. However, our screening process can often identify those who may not realise that they drink at concerning levels and allow for those patients to receive the support they need.
Here at UHDB, we are all working together towards one simple goal – to reduce the levels of alcohol dependency and alcohol-related harm in Derby.
Did you know?
The positive impact of someone stopping or reducing their alcohol intake can present itself in the immediate, medium and long term.
There are immediate benefits to stopping drinking, including your sense of memory improving, no hangovers and no ‘beer fear’ (fear of what you said or did while drinking) - and the physiological improvements continue after just a week or two, with better skin and better sleep among them, as well as a greater sense of motivation and concentration, with less ‘brain fog’.
Medium to long term, your general health will improve dramatically. Not only will you be in better physical shape outwardly, but your blood pressure will improve, and your risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease or liver disease decreases. In addition to this, psychologically you are likely to have much greater stability emotionally, with a lowered general sense of anxiety – leading to better relationships with others, and yourself (through mental health).
Additional resources
Accessing support – including for families:
Access Drink Aware website (opens in new window) >
Derbyshire
Derby City: Aquarius 03007900265 Opt 3
Derbyshire County: DRP 01246 206514
Download Drink tracker apps (opens in new window) >
Derbyshire Mental Health support line: 08000280077
Access Drink Wise Derby website (opens in new window) >
Staffordshire
Burton – Stars – Humankind: 01283 741053
Staffordshire M H Helpline: 08088 00 2234