The team behind the Collaborative’s ‘Reduction of Harm From Alcohol’ programme have recently showcased the excellent work taking place in Cheshire and Merseyside by presenting at two national conferences.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Education Forum National Conference took place in April and out of hundreds of abstracts submitted, the Competencies Framework Programme for Alcohol Care Teams (PROACT) was selected to deliver a breakout session on the theme of ‘competence’.
The aims of PROACT include delivery of education, clinical supervision, and developing a community of practice to share best practice across the sub-region. In addition, whilst the initial focus was on Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs), the network has expanded to the cover the wider system, with the aim of supporting integration and the delivery of better, joined up care for patients and service users.
The presenters were Mandy Smith1, Ravi Menghani2 and Hannah Sharp3, with the wider PROACT team, Dr Lynn Owens4 and David Byrne5, supporting in preparing the presentation and abstract submission.
Following the successes of the April conference, the team presented again in May at the National Alcohol Harms Conference (NAC). The event brought together people from across the country who are interested in changing the conversation about alcohol, moving from a focus on individual behaviour towards effective interventions and polices to reduce alcohol consumption and its related harms.
Over the two-day event, Margaret Jones, Director of Public Health for Sefton Council and Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Reduction of Harm from Alcohol programme, presented on the launch of the North West Alcohol Consensus Statement. This position statement recognises the wide range of alcohol-related harm that is experienced by people across our region, summarises the evidence, and details the commitments of the North West Directors of Public Health to address these harms.
Professor Paul Richardson, Consultant Hepatologist, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust and Deputy Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Reduction of Harm from Alcohol programme, then delivered a breakout session on early detection and intervention with community liver health checks.
Working in collaboration with community partners, the Collaborative’s Alcohol Harm Reduction programme, the Cheshire and Merseyside Hepatitis Operational Delivery Network (ODN) completed over 4,000 free liver health checks in a range of settings including fire stations, primary care, drug and alcohol services, community events, businesses and many more. The checks use a Fibroscan to non-invasively check liver health, helping to detect those at risk of liver disease and provide them with the appropriate support.
Lastly, the PROACT Team were given another opportunity to showcase their work to a national audience. Presenters Mandy Smith and Ravi Menghani were joined by Catherine Gardiner, Alcohol Specialist Nurse (ASN) at Southport Hospital and Brian Dagnall, Team Leader for Prehab Services at the YMCA, who spoke about their experiences and benefits of being part of the network.
About the presentations at RCN and NAC, Margaret Jones, said:
“Presenting at these conferences is a huge achievement for the Cheshire and Merseyside Alcohol Programme, enabling the work of our team to be showcased nationally and facilitating links to be made with colleagues in other successful national programmes.”
For more information about the Collaborative’s ‘Reduction of Harm From Alcohol’ programme, visit https://champspublichealth.com/reduction-of-harm-through-alcohol/
1 Mandy Smith, Clinical Lead Nurse, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust
2 Ravi Menghani, Programme Manager for Prevention, Champs Support Team
3 Hannah Sharp, Public Health Practitioner (Population Health), Champs Support Team
4 Dr Lynn Owens, Nurse Consultant, University of Liverpool
5 David Byrne, Project Manager (PROACT), Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust
