GPS urged to quiz patients more thoroughly about their drinking habits
Health chiefs tell family doctors to ask more detailed questions about alcohol consumption
FAMILY doctors should ask patients more about their drinking habits, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has said.
Draft standards for the NHS urge GPS to ask detailed questions if they suspect a patient has a problem with alcohol, warning that too many people are “slipping through the net”.
Family doctors are already encouraged to ask patients about their alcohol intake as well as other questions relating to lifestyle, such as if they smoke.
However, Nice said that only one in 10 patients is asked questions to screen for alcohol problems, while almost half have no information recorded about their consumption. Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the Centre for Guidelines at Nice, said: “If an appropriate questionnaire is not used, people with alcohol problems could be slipping through the net and may not be receiving the support they need.”
The draft standards instruct GPS to use a validated questionnaire if they consider a patient may have a drink problem. These include at least five questions about the impact of alcohol on their life, concerns among friends or relatives, as well as regularity and volume of drinking.
The standards also urge doctors to properly log information, to ensure those who need support get it.
Nice said this would also mean the same patients are not repeatedly questioned about their habits.
While overall alcohol consumption has fallen in recent years, those in their 50s and 60s are far more likely than younger people to drink regularly and at levels higher than government advice. Four in 10 men and one in five women aged between 55 and 64 drink more than 14 units a week, data from NHS Digital show.
Among those aged between 25 and 34, only one in four men and one in 10 women drinks this much.
Separate NHS figures show that those aged 65 to 74 – baby boomers who were in their 20s and 30s during the 1970s and 1980s as alcohol consumption rose – are now the most likely to be admitted to hospital for alcohol-related reasons.
Data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities suggest that only about a quarter of those in need of treatment for a drink problem receive it.
Dr Chrisp said: “We know a large number of people who are dependent on alcohol are not receiving treatment and this could be for a variety of reasons. But as part of a health and care system that continually learns from data, we do know that using a validated questionnaire provides commissioners with the information they need to organise appropriate services.”