Specialist alcohol inpatient treatment admissions and non-specialist hospital admissions for alcohol withdrawal in England: an inverse relationship

AIMS: We assessed the relationship between specialist and non-specialist admissions for alcohol withdrawal since the introduction of the UK government Health and Social Care Act in 2012. METHODS: Using publicly available national data sets from 2009 to 2019, we compared the number of alcohol withdra...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Phillips, Thomas, Huang, Chao, Roberts, Emmert, Drummond, Colin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2020
Materias:
Rapid Communication
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7768620/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32885812
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agaa086
Descripción
Sumario:AIMS: We assessed the relationship between specialist and non-specialist admissions for alcohol withdrawal since the introduction of the UK government Health and Social Care Act in 2012. METHODS: Using publicly available national data sets from 2009 to 2019, we compared the number of alcohol withdrawal admissions and estimated costs in specialist and non-specialist treatment settings. RESULTS: A significant negative correlation providing strong evidence of an association was observed between the fall in specialist and rise in non-specialist admissions. Significant cost reductions within specialist services were displaced to non-specialist settings. CONCLUSIONS: The shift in demand from specialist to non-specialist alcohol admissions due to policy changes in England should be reversed by specialist workforce investment to improve outcomes. In the meantime, non-specialist services and staff must be resourced and equipped to meet the complex needs of these service users.

Ejemplares similares