HL Deb 02 March 2005 vol 670 cc29-30WA
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made towards ensuring that every hospital has a designated alcohol health worker since the publication of the Royal College of Physicians' report, Alcohol—can the NHS afford it, in February 2001. [HL1371]

Lord Warner

The National Treatment Agency for substance misuse and the Department of Health are currently developing models of care for alcohol misuse (MoCAM), which describes an optimum local framework for the commissioning and provision of treatment and interventions for adult alcohol misusers in England. The MoCAM development process has included taking account of relevant literature on treating alcohol misuse. There will be a public consultation on MoCAM this spring which will involve consulting on how local treatment should be configured and issues such as having alcohol health workers in hospitals.

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the model of care for alcohol misusers of the National Treatment Agency is considering pilot sites for designated alcohol health workers, given that information on the effectiveness of such workers is available. [HL1372]

Lord Warner

The National Treatment Agency models of care for alcohol misuse is not considering pilot sites for designated alcohol health workers.

The Department of Health's alcohol harm reduction strategy is planning screening and brief interventions pilots, which are scheduled to begin in May 2005. The scope of these pilots is currently being decided.