Basic HTML Version
POST-ITS FROM PRACTICE
As the role alcohol plays in ill health and social
dysfunction is increasingly in the spotlight
, the
whole SMMGP team decided to support Alcohol
Concern by taking part in Dry January. It would
be fair to say that it was anticipated that it
would be harder some of us (
ie
me) than some
of the others.
I decided that the best approach for me
would be to tell as many people as possible that
I was taking part, thus feeling compelled to
complete it. One of the knock-on effects was
that one of my GP partners and his wife decided
to join in. I also had several interesting
conversations with patients including one with an older lady who said, ‘Oh, I
didn’t realise you were an alcoholic and needed to dry out.’ Hopefully she
now understands a little more about the concept of dependence.
Frank had an appointment about his high blood pressure. He was taking
medication for this and we were discussing adding in another tablet. He is a
self-employed plumber and has always admitted to drinking ‘a lot’ at
weekends and ‘a few’ during the week. That said, when work was busy he
would sometimes go three or even four days without a drink. Now in his
mid-40s he had watched his weight go up with his blood pressure, especially
after he stopped smoking three years ago. He was surprised when I
suggested he consider Dry January, but faced with the prospect of more
medication he somewhat begrudgingly agreed it might be worth a go.
Linda, on the other hand, brought up her plan with me to participate in
Dry January. She told me a friend at work was intending to sign up to the
campaign and she thought she would too. She had a stressful job with a firm
of solicitors, had lost her driving licence due to drink-driving 12 months ago
and had been seeing the local CBT counselling service for anxiety and
depression over the past few months.
This led to a deeper exploration of her drinking habits: she arrived home
from work and immediately had a large glass of wine, followed by a couple
more during the working week and probably twice this at the weekend.
She had gone a couple of days without a drink earlier in the year when
she had flu but said she felt really ill and had been retching and shaky which
she blamed on the virus.
An AUDIT (alcohol use disorders identification test) score of 28 supported
my view that she probably had a degree of physical dependence, and after
some persuasion she agreed to see our alcohol counsellor rather than attempt
Dry January. She has done well and over the course of January she has cut back
to about half a bottle of wine a day and towards the end of the month has
even managed a couple of dry days. She is now focused on getting her licence
back and is starting to think that her life might be better without alcohol.
As for Frank he came in looking great, he had lost 4kgs in weight and his
blood pressure was back under control. I had thought he might struggle but
he told me he had stopped going to the pub and started going for a run: ‘I’d
like to do a marathon, Doc. It’s quite addictive this running, you know.’
Steve Brinksman is a GP in Birmingham and clinical lead of SMMGP,
www.smmgp.org.uk. He is also the RCGP regional lead in substance misuse for
the West Midlands.
A tale of
two drinkers
The challenge of Dry January meant
different strokes for different folks,
says
Dr Steve Brinksman
certification and accreditation services
for drug and alcohol practitioners and
counsellors, and accredits university
courses which prepare counsellors.
We urge those who work with families
to consider this process of
certification to demonstrate their
competence in this area.
The Adfam/FDAP Drug and Alcohol
Family Worker Professional
Certification provides practitioners
with a range of benefits including:
•
A professional competency-based
certification mapped to appropriate
National Occupational Standards.
•
A role profile and a code of
practice to work to.
•
Ongoing support from FDAP/Adfam,
including priority invites to events.
This certification is offered at the
registration level. Practitioners will, as
a minimum, require their employers to
attest to their competence in each of
the National Occupational Standards
outlined in the role profile. They will
also be required to develop a portfolio
of continued learning to allow them to
demonstrate continued professional
development in order to re-accredit
after three years.
It is in both practitioner and
service’s interest to adopt practices
which demonstrate a commitment to
providing high quality services to the
people and communities they serve.
Ensuring practitioners remain
competent and continue to develop
their skills is a major component of
quality management.
In this ever more cash-strapped
environment with funding being
reduced across the board, services
are being re-tendered with contracts
being awarded to new employers. It is
therefore important that practitioners
demonstrate the quality of their
practice and services demonstrate to
commissioners that the systems they
utilise provide quality-assured
services which effectively respond to
the changing needs of the client
group. This certification system will
support quality management, drive
continued professional development
for practitioners and assist the
commissioning process.
The accreditation costs £75 for
three years, and includes a year’s
membership of FDAP. For more
information please see the FDAP
website, www.fdap.org.uk or ring on
0207 234 9798.
Carole Sharma,
chief executive, FDAP
PERCEPTION
OF DOORS
CRI’s drug service in Wellington
Street, Hastings is, I am sure, a good
service but that is not the message
sent out by weary signage and a tatty
door with peeling paint. Austerity is no
excuse. Number ten Downing Street
knows how important a symbol a front
door can be. It keeps replacement
doors. When one door is in need of a
refurbishment, a new door replaces
the old one immediately. I do not
suggest for one moment that CRI can
afford to do that, but a lick of paint
costs little. When the Hastings
service was run by Addaction, when I
was in charge of communications –
including building signage – the
organisation believed that the portal
through which frightened and
stigmatised clients passed was
important. It says you are valued and
you are respected. Doors are
important.
Rosie Brocklehurst, former director
of communications, Addaction, St
Leonard’s on Sea, East Sussex
POOLING RESOURCES
I work for a drugs and alcohol service
in Greater Manchester and I’m aware
that our team is receiving increasing
numbers of referrals for Polish men
who speak and read very little English.
I’m looking at translating some of our
promotional and therapeutic materials
(such as drink diaries) into the Polish
language. I’d like to hear from other
services that may already have
undertaken such an exercise – with a
view to pooling resources. If you'd like
to get in touch please contact me at
alan.alker@nhs.net – any attached
translated documents would be
appreciated.
Alan Alker, team manager/clinical
nurse specialist, Pennine Care Trust
Drugs and Alcohol Service, Ashton-
under-Lyne.
We welcome your letters...
Please email them to the editor, claire@cjwellings.com or post them
to the address on page 3. Letters may be edited for space or clarity –
please limit submissions to 350 words.
Letters |
Post-its
February 2014 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 11
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com