The Alcohol Liaison Nurse Specialist service supports patients in hospital who may be drinking at a level where alcohol is impacting on their health or where there may be a risk of alcohol withdrawal because of hospitalisation
We offer patients brief interventions and education on their alcohol use and, for those who need it, the opportunity to be fast-tracked to appropriate community services.
We can also help to reduce patients’ risk of future alcohol-related admissions by discussing the reason for their admission, addressing lifestyle behaviour and choices.
All patients are now asked question about alcohol use on admission to hospital, where necessary patients will be referred to the ALN team for further input.
The alcohol assessment we use is called AUDIT C and asks three questions about current alcohol use; this helps us identify and categorise the potential risk to health or risk of withdrawal symptoms.
| Audit C Questionnaire | Scoring System | Score | ||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| How often do you have a drink containing alcohol? | Never | Monthly or less | 2-4 times per month | 2-3 times per week | 4+ times per week | |
| How many units of alcohol do you drink on a typical day when you are drinking? | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 | 7-9 | 10+ | |
| How often have you had 6 or more units if female or 8 or more units if male, on a single occasion in the last year? | Never | Less than monthly | Monthly | Weekly | Daily or almost daily | |
| Total score | ||||||
| Increasing level of risk to physical and mental health issues or potential alcohol withdrawal syndrome whilst in hospital | |||||
| 0 | Non-drinker | ||||
| 1-4 | Low risk | ||||
| 5-7 | Increasing risk | ||||
| 8-10 | Higher risk | ||||
| 11-12 | Potential dependency | ||||
Scores of 5 or more indicate a positive AUDIT C score which may mean your alcohol use could be affecting your health
Advice and support will be given based on the total score, the higher the score the greater the risk to health or potential for alcohol withdrawal to occur and the more support required.
Where needed the Alcohol Liaison Nurse Specialist will prescribe medication to help treat or prevent alcohol withdrawal and if needing additional support, they can arrange for referral to community support services for further support on discharge.
If you know you may be drinking more than recommended and you’re worried about coming into hospital, please ask to speak to the Alcohol Liaison Nurse Specialist
| Title | Date Posted | View accessible leaflet |
|---|---|---|
| Drink Less - See More of Life | 17/08/2023 | Drink Less - See More of Life |
