To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to reach and support people over the retirement age who are drinking more than the recommended weekly limits.
Answered on
21 November 2016
The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. A copy of the Guidelines is attached.
Upper tier authorities have been given the responsibility to improve the health of their population. This includes responsibility for tackling problem drinking and commissioning appropriate prevention and treatment services. Over the next five years, we will invest more than £16 billion in local government public health services.
Public Health England (PHE) is also investing in, or otherwise supporting, a number of programmes to support people over the retirement age who are drinking more than the recommended weekly limits, including:
- The NHS Health Check which reaches adults aged 40-74 and includes an alcohol risk assessment. If found to be drinking above the lower-risk guidelines, patients are offered brief advice to encourage them to reduce their drinking.
- The One You website which offers advice and information about alcohol, and tools which help people monitor their drinking. These include:
- The interactive ‘How Are You?’ quiz which includes structured questions on alcohol consumption based on the short AUDIT C questionnaire and delivers personalised messaging, including information on units and tips to reduce consumption.
- The Drinks Tracker app – a mobile app designed to support users to accurately track their consumption, providing feedback on units and calories consumed and tips on ways to cut down.
- On Monday 14 November, PHE launched a web-based single occasion checking tool that will provide information and support to identify risk levels and reduce alcohol consumption.
NHS England’s NHS Five Year Forward View commits the National Health Service to support national action on alcohol. The National Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payments framework was set up in 2009-10 to encourage services providers to continually improve the quality of care provided to patients and to achieve transparency. To help deliver their commitment to reduce harmful alcohol consumption, NHS England has published a CQUIN to incentivise interventions to reduce risky behaviours and prevent ill health through alcohol consumption. This has a number of components, including alcohol screening, brief advice and referral to specialist services.