The press release from NICE says that: Quality standards are a set of specific, concise statements and associated measures [that] set out aspirational, but achievable, markers of high-quality, cost-effective patient care, covering the treatment and prevention of different diseases and conditions. NICE have already published quality standards on dementia and depression in adults and they have [read the full story…]
The Department of Health have published an updated guide summarising the health harms of drug and alcohol misuse, which is aimed at supporting non-medical practitioners working with substance misuse issues. The document updates the 2003 “Dangerousness of Drugs” guide. It’s an 80-page PDF report and it outlines acute and chronic problems associated with each substance, [read the full story…]
Screening for alcohol misuse in the emergency department needs to be done quickly and accurately, so it makes sense to find the best instrument for this purpose. This systematic review of diagnostic cohort studies searched a range of databases and journals and also conducted citation searching because of a lack of relevant literature found by [read the full story…]
‘Suicide and homicide in Northern Ireland’ is a new report from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness. The report shows that there are links between alcohol use and the increased suicide rate that has been seen in Northern Ireland over recent years. Suicide has been falling elsewhere in the [read the full story…]
The NHS must wise up to the “growing problem” of drug and alcohol misuse among older people, according to a new report published today by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The report, written by the Older People’s Substance Misuse Working Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warns that not enough is being done to [read the full story…]
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct a survey which provides robust data on the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption and influences on drinking behaviour in 13-16 year olds. The survey involved 5,700 teenagers from schools in England and data was statistically modelled using binary logistic regression to highlight the strongest influences [read the full story…]
The British Society of Gastroenterology and the Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have published a quality and productivity (QIPP) case study, which looks at how to reduce alcohol related hospital admissions and improve the quality of care. Very few hospitals have dedicated alcohol services, and a 2009 survey showed that only 42% of acute [read the full story…]
The Health and Social Care Information Centre have published Statistics on Alcohol for England 2011. The yearly report includes data on drinking behaviour among adults and children, knowledge and attitudes to alcohol, drinking-related costs, ill health and mortality. The widely reported headline from the data is that the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in England [read the full story…]
