Clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment are being developed by Public Health England for the first time.
Currently, there is no equivalent for alcohol to the UK drug misuse treatment guidelines, know as the ‘orange book’, which is used to establish and maintain good practice for drug treatment. Public Health England say the proposed alcohol treatment guidelines will fill this gap.
‘Alcohol misuse costs society £21.4 billion each year,’ said Rosanna O’Connor, Director of Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco and Justice, Public Health England. ‘Effective alcohol treatment can help to reduce the burden that is placed on health and social care services as well as reducing crime, improving health, and supporting individuals and families on the road to recovery.’
Public Health England will start this project in November 2019, and intend to publish the guidelines by the end of next year. They will convene a UK-wide expert group of senior clinicians and service users and professionals with specialist alcohol expertise who will oversee the development of the guidelines.
The guidelines will provide a detailed framework for specialist service providers to support service delivery and staff training, as well as guidance for primary and secondary healthcare staff.
‘We are very proud to be involved in the partnership that is working to develop the first ever UK-wide alcohol clinical guidelines,’ added Ms O’Connor. ‘Our aim is that the guidelines will help to increase the number of people in the UK receiving effective treatment for alcohol related harm or dependence.’