Alcohol and Drugs
Services Available in King's (Denmark Hill & PRUH)
The Alcohol Care Team
This is a 7 day service which operates:
8am-6pm Monday to Friday and
8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday
Referrals via:
EPR referral form
Acute Wards: 36685.
ED referrals only: 36684
Alcohol Care Team Office Extension: 38766
PRUH
Currently operates Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
Ex 65322
Referrals are triaged but will be seen at the earliest possible time. Please refer inpatients in acute alcohol withdrawal or commencing opioid substitute therapy as soon as possible.
The Alcohol & Substance Misuse Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Liver Unit is available for referrals from Monday - Friday 9am-5pm via EPR referral form or email ianwebzell@nhs.net for Liver Unit inpatient/outpatient assessments and treatment.
King's College Hospital Guidance
The King's College Hospital Clinical Guidelines (2021) on;
1. Clinical Guideline for the Management of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome and Wernicke’s Encephalopathy, Alcohol Withdrawal Guidelines.
2. Acute Management of GHB or GBL Toxicity or Withdrawal and Stimulant Toxicity
GBL guidelines
The pharmacological management of adult inpatients who are opioid drug users & The management of adult Opioid Substitution Treatment clients admitted as inpatients. Opioid guidelines
Local Service Providers
Information on local service providers is accessible by calling the relevant local substance misuse service. This information may be best searched for via Google or Drinkline which is a national number for people who are concerned about their drinking or are worried about a family member or friend. If you need help or advice, you should call the national drink helpline - Drinkline - on 0800 917 8282.
Southwark residents seeking help with drug or alcohol misuse can contact CGL Southwark.
Lambeth residents seeking help with drug or alcohol misuse can contact Lambeth Community Drug & Alcohol Service (SLAM).
Bromley residents seeking help with drug or alcohol misuse can contact Bromley Community Drug & Alcohol Service (CGL) Telephone referrals can be made on 020 8289 1999 or referrals can be emailed to admin.bromley@cgl.cjsm.net.
Bromley Alcohol Referral Form Bromley Referral - Young People
Lewisham residents seeking help with drug or alcohol misuse can contact New Direction Lewisham (CGL)
Croydon residents seeking help with drug or alcohol misuse can contact Croydon Recovery Network (Turning Point)
Peer support for people with alcohol problems is available via Alcoholics Anonymous or call Alcoholics Anonymous National Helpline - 0845 769 7555. A local AA open meeting is held at the Main Reception, Out Patients, Maudsley Hospital on Tuesdays. Doors open at 18:30, meeting starts 19:00.
SMART Recovery (SMART) is a programme to help people manage their recovery from any type of addictive behaviour. They offer meetings that are open to anyone struggling with addictive behaviours and they also offer an online course. Their website is available at SMART Recovery
Al-Anon Family Groups provide support to anyone whose life is, or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use, regardless of whether that person is still drinking or not. Their helpline is tel: 020 7403 0888 and website is Al-Anon to find a local meeting.
National Institute of Clinical Excellence Guidance
NICE Pathway - Alcohol-use disorders overview
NICE Guidance (CG100) - "Alcohol Use Disorders: Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Alcohol-Related Physical Complications"
The advice in the NICE guideline covers:
The care of adults and young people (aged 10 years and older) who have any of the following physical health problems that are completely or partly caused by alcohol use: - acute alcohol withdrawal (which occurs if a ‘dependent’ drinker suddenly stops drinking) - lack of thiamine (also called vitamin B1) in the body, which can cause a condition called Wernicke’s encephalopathy - liver disease - inflammation of the pancreas (called pancreatitis).
Available here
NICE Guidance (CG115) - "Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence"
This guideline makes recommendations on the diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in adults and in young people aged 10–17 years.
Available here
Taking An Adequate Alcohol History
An NCEPOD enquiry found that an adequate alcohol history was not taken in nearly half of the patients studied. They recommended that all patients presenting to hospital services should be screened for alcohol misuse. An alcohol history indicating the:
- number of units drunk weekly,
- drinking patterns,
- recent drinking behaviour,
- time of last drink,
- indicators of dependence and
- risk of withdrawal should be documented.
Staff Policy
The Alcohol and Drugs Policy is designed to provide a framework and guidance for dealing with the misuse of alcohol and/or other drugs, and to give guidance on early identification of misuse in order to provide assistance to those with problems.
The policy covers the following:
- Responsibility of Staff
- Responsibility of Managers
- Definition of Misuse
- Role of Occupational Health
- Provision and sale of alcohol on trust premises
- Breach of the policy