6. A personal experience of delivering SBIRT for alcohol in urgent and emergency care settings

Listen to Goolnora talking about her experiences.

"As an Emergency Department nurse asking patients about alcohol has not always been part of my practice, as I didn’t think it was my role or responsibility. I was initially quite sceptical that it would work and I thought I might get a negative response from my patients. I’ve now started to ask patients about alcohol as part of my routine assessment and I can sometimes link it to the patient’s reason for admission, for example if they’ve been out drinking and have hit their head. I’ve found patients generally expect to be asked about their alcohol intake and very rarely do patients refuse to discuss their drinking.

I’ve always been aware of the high number of patients that present to ED with alcohol-related injuries, but I’ve been surprised about the number of people that score as increasing risk on the screening tools. I think even some of the patients are shocked to find they’re drinking at risky levels. I find patients are usually receptive of the advice I give them and I normally give them a leaflet with some tips on how to cut down their alcohol intake to take away with them.

I think the referral process can sometimes be a bit complex, but we are lucky to have a drug and alcohol liaison team in our department that can see patients. If not there are lots of community support services and I think it is important to familiarise yourself with what is available for your patients local to your hospital."