A NEW community service at Poole Hospital has been credited with an 80 per cent reduction in the number of alcoholics being admitted to its emergency department.

The trust launched its alcohol outreach team in a bid to help reduce the strain being put on the unit by recurring attendees with a history of long-term alcohol misuse – and the impressive results have saved the hospital £90,000.

In the six months before the service started in September, 140 such patients attended the emergency department – a figure that has dropped to just 28 in the six months since. General hospital admissions during the same period from the group were down to seven from 84.

The programme is run by addiction nurse Graeme White with the help of support workers Zena Harrod and Liz Bailey. Together they aim to shift the focus for their patients from alcohol and therapy to more practical measures to support a sustained recovery.

“It’s really good news that the number of patients with long-term alcohol problems that need to attend hospital has fallen so quickly,” said Mr White.

“This means they are managing their addiction better and receiving the support they need to get back on their feet.

“But there are no easy answers and alcohol addiction is a complex and specialist area.”

Mr White, who won funding for the project from Dorset’s Clinical Commissioning Group, added that hospital attendances are an indication that users of the service, who often have mental health issues, are struggling to manage addiction.

Team member Ms Bailey said: “Our ethos is the same as the Poole Approach – to treat everyone as an individual and with respect.

“The most rewarding part is getting to know people and sharing their journey – seeing people develop the freedom to live their lives.”

Dr Patrick Seal, GP and chair of Poole Central Locality with NHS Dorset CCG, said “Any initiative that helps people overcome the problems associated with alcohol misuse is very much welcomed as it is something that can affect any part of society and have a major impact on individuals and communities, not just in terms of health but also in terms of finance and resources.

“The funding gained for this project recognised the novel approach of the team and everyone involved would like to wish them every success with this project”.

Patients must be registered with a GP in Poole in order to receive support from the outreach team.