SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems) will launch ‘Alcohol-related Liver Disease: Guidance for Good Practice’ at a seminar at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on Tuesday 24 October 2017 at 11 am. The seminar will be addressed by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr Catherine Calderwood.
The new guidance provides advice for health services, local authorities, criminal justice services and the voluntary sector to ensure consistency in approaches to prevention, treatment, care, support and recovery across the country. The national launch is the first in a series of dissemination events that will take place over the next two years.
Liver disease is one of the few major causes of premature mortality that is increasing, and deaths from liver disease have reached record levels. Mortality rates from Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD) in Scotland have tripled since 1981, and in 2016, ALD accounted for 58% of all alcohol-related deaths in Scotland whilst hospital admissions for ALD have more than quadrupled since 1981/2. Treatment for alcohol-related conditions in Scotland costs over £1m a day.
The report has been produced by clinicians, academics and health professionals specialising in liver care and/or public health, and the writing process included a national consultation event which was held in 2016. Report recommendations include the following:
Commenting on the launch, Dr Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, said:
“I am delighted to be opening this important event. Alcoholic liver disease is a major cause of premature death in this country, and modelling data has shown that interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in these patients would be highly effective. This is a package of interventions that if implemented across the health service, could save the lives of patients who are most at risk of liver disease.”
Dr Tom Mackay, Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, added:
“The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is proud to support SHAAP’s work to reduce alcohol-related harm and we are pleased to host the national launch of this important report. We look forward to welcoming clinicians involved in the care of patients, addiction support team workers, researchers and patient representatives to implement the findings of the report.”
Dr Eric Carlin, Director of SHAAP, said:
“Problematic alcohol use continues to harm the health and living conditions of many people across Scotland. As well as emphasising the need for evidence-based approaches to reduce population consumption, most notably Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP), it is essential that service providers have access to good practice guidance to join up prevention, treatment, support and recovery approaches. This is especially important in times of financial constraint.”
ENDS
