Alcohol

All inpatients in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are routinely asked about their alcohol consumption. The Alcohol Care Team (ACT), based at NSECH, is a small team of specialists that help to support patients, identified to be at-risk due to their alcohol consumption, to reduce, quit or use alcohol more safely.[1] It has in-reach services in A&E, short stay and specialist wards, as well as outreach services into North Tyneside and Wansbeck General Hospital sites.

North Tyneside Recovery Partnership (NTRP) is the specialist treatment service in North Tyneside and offers treatment and support to any resident who is experiencing problems with drugs and/or alcohol. It is delivered by a formal partnership between CNTW NHS Foundation Trust, Changing Lives and Turning Point of which the latter two organisations are Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises. There is both an adult service and a young person’s service for anyone up to the age of 25 and individuals can either self-refer or be referred by a healthcare professional. Staff within NTRP provide one-to-one support to the individual, building a Personal Recovery Plan which address both short-term and long-term recovery needs.[2]

The North Tyneside Strategic Alcohol Partnership exists to facilitate a whole-system approach to addressing alcohol misuse and its resultant harm to individuals, their family, and the wider community. Members of the board include Balance North East, North Tyneside Council, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHCT), Northumbria Police and community and voluntary sector agencies. The partnership meets four times per year and reports to the Health and Wellbeing Board. 

The three North of Tyne local authorities (North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland) have access to an inpatient detoxification bed (IPD) at St Nicholas Hospital in Newcastle for their residents. Patients are medically assessed and must fulfil certain criteria to be eligible.

PROPS North East is a charity which provides specialist support for family members whose lives are affected by a relative’s drug or alcohol misuse within Newcastle and North Tyneside.[3] They offer a variety of support including emotional support, one-to-one support, and group support.[4] They also offer sessions to help families to have the confidence to manage situations that may be encountered by a relative’s substance misuse including dealing with crisis, harm minimisation, relapse prevention and post-acute withdrawal.[5]

Balance North East was launched in 2009, following commitments made in the regional health and wellbeing strategy, ‘Better Health, Fairer Health’ and is currently funded by seven local authorities in the North East of England. Their aim is to encourage people to reduce their alcohol consumption which in turn will reduce the burden of alcohol-related harm within the region. 

There are a large number of VCS organisations which offer help and support to people in North Tyneside who are affected by alcohol misuse. Such organisations are not commissioned by North Tyneside but offer an invaluable service to many. These include P.A.U.S.E, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Street Pastors, Al-anon, Alcohol Change UK and UK Smart Recovery (UKSR).

[1] NHS Northern Care Alliance. Alcohol Care Teams – All Sites. Available from: https://www.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/our-services/alcohol-care-team [Accessed 25th August 2022].

[2] Turning Point. North Tyneside Recovery Partnership. Available from: https://www.turning-point.co.uk/services/ntrp.

[3] PROPS. Who we are. Available from: https://props.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/.  

[4] PROPS. Support. Available from: https://props.org.uk/how-we-can-help/support/.

[5] PROPS. Structured Programmes. Available from: https://props.org.uk/how-we-can-help/structured-programmes/.