Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to engage with individuals who are aware of having an alcohol problem but have not, because they are too ashamed or frightened, sought help.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Local authorities and their health and wellbeing board partners have responsibility for planning the full range of alcohol services, from early intervention and prevention, through to commissioning alcohol treatment services to meet need in their area and ensure services are accessible to everyone. Furthermore in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) public health guidance (PH 24) Alcohol-use disorders: preventing harmful drinking, Public Health England (PHE) encourages health and social care professionals to carry out Identification and Brief Advice through general practitioners and programmes such as NHS Health Checks and Making Every Contact Count. A copy of the NICE guidance is attached.

The majority of services offer interventions that are non-religious and are based on cognitive behavioural principles with motivational enhancement techniques.

There are a number of online resources to help with alcohol issues, including the One You and NHS Choices websites. One You is an integrated social marketing campaign run by PHE which aims to engage adults in making changes to improve their own health. This includes offering users advice and information about alcohol as well as tools which help monitor their drinking. NHS Choices offers a range of information about alcohol dependence and includes an on online directory of local alcohol services that those worried about their alcohol use can approach for assistance.