Established in 2013, Spectrum’s Alcohol Liaison Service (ALS) is an example of how close collaborative working improves public health. Based in Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, our nurse-led team provide a wide range of interventions to help patients address their harmful drinking, detox safely and gain access to counselling and other services to help them remain abstinent.
As one hospital detox costs around £600 per night per patient, the work of the ALS team also results in a significant saving for the NHS.
As well as supporting patients, our ALS nurses provide substance misuse training sessions to hundreds of newly-qualified nurses and doctors in Pinderfields Hospital each year. In 2019-20, the ALS trained 249 staff and supported Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in developing an E-Prescribing Pathway for the treatment of acute alcohol withdrawal.
The ALS also works in partnership with other organisations to help reduce alcohol-related harm and has worked closely with the Wakefield counselling charity, GASPED which supports the families of people affected by drug and/or alcohol misuse.
Jacqui Black, Clinical Operations Manager is a stalwart of Spectrum, having joined when it was first spun out of the NHS. Jacqui explains what it takes to work in substance misuse services and is keen to promote Spectrum as an employer to anyone embarking on their career in community health.
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