Portsmouth’s battle against alcohol

For Alcohol Awareness Week (commenced 14th November 2011) The Communication’s team highlighted the negative side of alcohol misuse by running stories of local QA patients that have turned their lives around after years of battling with alcohol, talking to the experts about what services QA Hospital offers those that feel they’re drinking more than they should, and released alarming statistics with regards to alcohol in the very community we’re based within.

 

Portsmouth has the highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in the South East.  Last year there were 2,009 per 100,000, compared with a national average of 1,844 and a southeast one of 1,452. This figure equates to about 12 people being admitted every day for problems ranging from alcohol-induced accidents and falls to severe chronic liver disease. On top of that, about 20% per cent of the 40000Portsmouthresidents presenting at Queen Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department have drink-related emergencies.

Alcohol misuse in Portsmouth is estimated to cost around £74 million per year, with £10 million in health service costs alone.

It’s also estimated that over 40,000 people in Portsmouth drink at levels that may harm their health, with 8,000 thought to be dependent on alcohol - these are statistics we would like to change.

Portsmouth is working hard to take action

The Alcohol Interventions Team

Alcohol can affect a person’s mental and physical health, causing someone to act out of character, become violent and aggressive, take risks that they wouldn’t normally think twice of when sober, and possibly loose their family, friends and home.

The Alcohol Interventions Team at the Medical Assessment Unit of QA Hospital was commissioned in April 2010 and offers support, information and advice to individuals who drink above a safe level, having been referred from a GP, clinic, or the emergency department.

The team is made up of four alcohol nurse specialists that work across the clinic, hospital wards and the emergency department.

‘It was well documented that Portsmouth had the highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the South-East, so in response Portsmouth City Primary Care Trust provided funding for a dedicated nurse-led alcohol treatment team to give patients that are admitted with alcohol dependency a one-to-one service with a specialist alcohol nurse,’ says Susan Atkins, team leader for the Alcohol Intervention Team.

Sue says her team doesn’t judge a person who is drinking to a high risk, and instead will talk to them about why they drink and put their consumption of alcohol into context to try and help them turn their lives around. ‘We work hard to put enthuses on the patient and build their trust. We follow patients through every ward they’re transferred too, ensuring they understand the support is still there.’

‘There has been many times when I have not been great company and have been extremely difficult to cooperate with,’ says Lee Newman, a patient to the Alcohol Intervention Team.

‘But I can honestly say I have never been disrespected or made to feel like I’m a nuisance.  The team are so compassionate and caring and genuinely care about everyone that passes through their doors. I would be dead now if it wasn’t for them. They have saved so many lives; to me they’re like God,’ says Lee.

The team oversees detoxification programmes and monitors each patient’s progress through health checks, providing prescriptions and referring them to mental health, counseling or community services should they need it. ‘We offer ongoing support with our patients to help them even once they have been discharged. We would do this by creating a plan of action and introducing them to other services such as a health trainer for example.’

For younger people, the team works closely with agencies such as Catch 22 and Switch to offer support for those who are at risk of having difficulties with alcohol misuse.

Sue says statically 69% of the people she sees fromPortsmouthare male and 31% are female, and from December 2010 to September 2011 the team dealt with an average of 149 patients a month.

When asked, Sue says the aim of her department would be to not only support the patient in finding out why they drink, but also to prevent re-admissions. ‘When a patient is medically fit for discharge we don’t just file their case. We create a plan of action and work closely with them to ensure they receive ongoing support even once they have left the building,’ says Sue.

Three patients from the Alcohol Intervention Team  met with the communication’s department to tell their personal story about being an alcoholic, and through the help of the Alcohol Team have managed to turn their lives around.

Today we hear from Lee Newman who is 36 and from Fareham.

‘I have been working with the alcohol intervention team for a few years and feel as though Sue and the team have saved my life time and time again – I’m one of the luckiest people alive.

'I started drinking when I was 11 and was an alcoholic by the age of 13. Despite drinking an average of two bottles of vodka a day I have always had a job; I was a farmer for seven years and then worked on a fishing boat for 15.

'But five years ago I had a light bulb moment when I was told I had liver failure and the thought of my life coming to an end made me want to knock drinking on the head. I didn’t seek any medical advice or help and just detoxed myself at home, but by the third day I started to have seizures and I was in a mess. I then found Sue and the team. I remember telling Sue that my life was coming to an end and I didn’t know where I was heading.  Sue told me that life wasn’t all about drink and we made a plan together. I remember Sue asking me to write a list of things I liked and disliked about alcohol.  ‘I hate being an alcoholic,’ I wrote.

'I’ve now known Sue for many years and she has helped me endlessly through the ups and downs of drinking. It hasn’t been an easy five years and I feel ashamed about the times I have failed along the way, as Sue and the team put so much into helping me and each time I’m letting them down. 

'I’m now off drink and attend AA meetings as well as the alcohol clinic. I regularly introduce acquaintances from the meetings to Sue, and the team work their socks off to help not only me but every person I introduced them too. They have saved so many lives; to me they’re like God.

'There has been many times when I have not been great company and have been extremely difficult to cooperate with, but I can honestly say I have never been disrespected or made to feel like I’m a nuisance.  The team are so compassionate and caring and genuinely care about everyone that passes through their doors. I would be dead now if it wasn’t for them.'

Brian Killen is 64 and from Havant

 

‘I moved to Portsmouth seven years ago from Scotland.When I lived in Scotland I was happily married, but before I knew it my marriage had broken down and I was drinking like a man possessed. I was a plasterer and it was routine to go to the pub on a Friday evening after work, but that Friday session would have a knock-on effect throughout the weekend and I’d be phoning in sick for the first few days of the following week as I was still drinking or hung-over.

‘But I wanted a fresh start so I relocated to Havant to be with family and stopped drinking for a year, but shortly after that year had passed I was drinking heavily again but for no reason other then the fact that I wanted alcohol. Within a few months things started getting out of hand and I was drinking two bottles of vodka and too many cans of beer each day. I couldn’t walk so I used to crawl around my house and started hallucinating - that was the darkest experience of my life.

‘Within time I was introduced to the alcohol team at QA and I started off ok, until I was told I had to give up the building trade because of my knees and blood clots that is. This news put me on a downer and I found comfort in drinking again. The alcohol team persevered and picked me up but a few months into my treatment I was told I had 20 per cent heart failure and was put on a lot of medication. I had such a low self-esteem and was walking around like a zombie, completely unshaven and a mess. My daughters didn’t want to know me and the way I dealt with everything was by going off the rails, the only difference was this time it only lasted a day as the team were there to quickly sort me out. The next day I went to see the nurses and they have since been working with me to build my confidence and self esteem back up.

‘The doctors have told me I have to travel to Southampton General for a clinical bypass soon and because my daughters are not talking to me one of the nurses wanted to take me to Southampton to check I was ok– where else would you get that level of care? I feel as though the alcohol team have saved my life and I have never received the support and warmth from a service like they offer. The staff feel like family, I’m on first-term names with each of them and can genuinely tell each of them how I’m feeling.

‘Today marks six months of being off alcohol and I’ve just had a review to talk about how I feel about myself and alcohol; and I can honestly say that I hate what drink has done to me, but the worst part is I know it’s all my own fault.’

John Toner is 30 and from Portsmouth

‘Like most people I was in my teens when I had my first drink, but it wasn’t until I hit 23 that I started drinking excessively. I split up with my fiancée, a girl I had dated since I was 16, and I took it really bad and begun drinking up to 10 litres of cider a day.

‘Most people take a pack lunch to work with them, but for me I was taking cans of beer and hiding them behind pieces of plasterboard. I put myself in many dangerous situations by using electrical equipment after drinking through my lunch, but that seemed a normal thing for me to do. I soon recognised I had a problem and tried several support groups but nothing worked for me.

‘My GP soon referred me to the alcohol team, and I was reluctant at first, thinking it wouldn’t work, but now, , without the team I don’t think I’d be here today. I have lost so many friends through alcohol and Sue and the team have given me hope that my outcome could be different to those friends lost.

‘I have had one relapse since coming to the clinic and that’s when my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news of her cancer made me crack, but one day as I was drinking a bottle of cider I had quarter of a bottle left and left it – I knew I had to get better to support my mum. I went to the clinic and it has now been seven months and two weeks since that day, my very last drink. 

‘At 30-years-old I now have liver, kidney and memory problems from excessive drinking, but that’s nothing compared to where I could be now if it wasn’t for the team.

‘I honestly can’t thank them enough for saving my life. The nurses make me feel safe and I know there is always someone there I can not only talk too, but that actually wants to listen and help.

‘When I was discharged I wasn’t just sent out into the jungle, I was given direction and support. I now come to the clinic twice a week for support groups and counselling, and the team have helped me to change, learn new things about myself, focus on my behaviour and identify what’s important to me, which is being a good son to my parents. Everything I now do is for my parents and I’m starting my life again. When I was drinking I would often lock myself away and not see anyone, but now I’m actually socialising again; I regularly play golf with my dad and tell both him and my mum how I’m feeling. If my story has proved anything it’s that if you want something bad enough, with the right support-network you can do it. Anyone can.’