Services Database Alcohol Identification & Brief Advice

This service incorporates not only the provision of Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA), and related advice, information and signposting to other services, but also includes supply of scratch cards and leaflets and provision for direct referral to specialist services.

This service is only available in 2016/17 to those community pharmacies that have taken part in the 2015/16 pilot scheme.

The pharmacy team will offer and carry out a brief assessment, using the accredited alcohol assessment tools, AUDIT-C and CRAFFT, by self-completion of scratch cards. For AUDIT-C scratch card scores of 5 or higher, the pharmacist will invite the service user into an oral interview to complete the full AUDIT template. The pharmacist will discuss the full AUDIT score, provide FRAMES brief alcohol advice and, for scores 16 and over, offer and make direct referrals to Spectrum specialist alcohol service.

FRAMES mnemonic:

• Feedback: provide feedback on the patient's risk for alcohol problems
• Responsibility: highlight that the individual is responsible for change
• Advice: advise reduction or give explicit direction to change
• Menu: provide a variety of options for change
• Empathy: emphasise a warm, reflective and understanding approach
• Self-efficacy: encourage optimism about changing behaviour

For service users who are Under 18 if their CRAFFT score is 1 or higher, the pharmacy will explain the result and offer a direct referral to A-DASH. (When the service user is under 16 years of age, pharmacists will apply child protection guidelines).

The service is available to those aged 14 years and above.

The pharmacist providing the service must have completed the following CPPE packs as a pre-requisite to attending an ‘Alcohol IBA Implementation in Hertfordshire training event:

• CPPE Alcohol misuse: support and advice from the pharmacy team Course Ref 40606 (Download) or 39397 (Paper version)
• CPPE Safeguarding Children & Vulnerable Adults Course Ref 41082(Download) or 41964 (Paper Version)

Pharmacists must also attend a Council-led training event.