A new service is helping hospital patients who also struggle with alcoholism.
At Musgrove Park Hospital, a group of nurse specialists deals with both patients who abuse alcohol and those who are dependent on it.
Somerset has significantly more hospital admissions related to alcohol than the national average.
The patients "greatly appreciated the education and support," according to lead alcohol nurse Lottie Lee.
The alcohol care program at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (FT) is available every day of the week.
According to Somerset FT, one in five county residents drink to harmful levels for their health.
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Compared to the national average of 537 per 100,000, its hospital admissions for alcohol-related illnesses are 668 per 100,000.
The Taunton-based service, according to Laura Jones, clinical service manager for gastroenterology and endoscopy at Somerset FT, aims to decrease the number of patients admitted to hospitals for alcohol abuse and shorten hospital stays.
She said: "One of our nurses will visit the patient on the ward and conduct an assessment when they are referred to the alcohol care team.
They may be referred to an outside agency, such as the Somerset Drug and Alcohol Service, or they may continue to be under the care of our team. Along with our psychiatric liaison team, we collaborate closely. ".
Assessing a person's desire to cut back on alcohol, according to Ms. Lee, is "a really important step.".
Then, we can direct them to local detoxification programs and even make referrals on behalf of weaker patients. We can also educate family members, patients, and coworkers about alcohol. ".
Every week, she claimed, they were gradually seeing more patients.
And the people we've helped have expressed to us how much they valued the information and assistance we provided them regarding alcohol withdrawal, she continued.
