Trainee Doctors learning to identify alcohol abusers

Medical schools are set to teach their young Doctors how to spot the signs that a patient maybe drinking too much. It is expected that in 3 years all Medical schools will have this training as standard.

One of our top Doctors has recently suggested a £100 fine for anyone found drunk in public. It is believed that up to 10 million people are affecting their health due to excessive drinking. GP's tend to avoid bringing up the question of alcohol abuse, not least because they have not received the training. ‘Maybe the GP's need incentives to bring up the issues of drinking with their patients' said Alcohol Concern.

£600,000 has been put by in an attempt to find the most successful way of training new GP's to see signs of alcohol abuse in patients.

One consultant who has spoken out about the problems of drink related injuries, Mr Mahaffey, said he had been moved to voice his concerns after seeing so many patients with facial scarring and nerve injuries.

He said. "I think as a society we have had enough. We need to send out a strong message. The levels of drinking and the harm it is causing is depressing. I see people with terrible injuries that they will never recover from. Now is the time to act."

Alcohol related crimes are costing the economy an estimated £7bn per year and the amounts consumed have been consistently rising for the last 15 years.

Friday 14th March 2008

For the full story follow the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7294860.stm