PURPOSE: AUDIT OF ALCOHOL RELATED PRESENTATIONS TO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS.
In the 2002 Scottish Executive, Plan for Action on alcohol problems,a commitment was made to consider the development of standards for the treatment and management of people with alcohol problems.In response, NHS QIS set up a short-life Alcohol Advisory Group in May 2004 to explore how best it could support the implementation of key policies and the improvement of alcohol services. Membership of the group involved individuals from a range of backgrounds and disciplines including policy makers, service planners, and service providers from voluntary and statutory organisations. The group oversaw the organisation of a discussion event in December 2004, involving key alcohol service providers, to provide NHS QIS with a better understanding of where to focus future work. Following the event, an opportunity arose to use the expertise and detailed knowledge of Emergency Departments acquired over a number of years by the Scottish Trauma Audit Group (STAG).
Dr Bill Morrison, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, NHS Tayside, is chair of the NHS QIS Scottish Emergency Department Alcohol Audit (SEDAA) Group set up to direct this work. The SEDAA Group is multidisciplinary and multi-agency as well as having representation from the public and voluntary organisations.
The aim of the project is to describe the burden of disease and provide descriptive epidemiology for all alcohol-related presentations to the Emergency Departments in Scotland. A series of time-limited audits will be conducted to examine current practice in specific areas. The project is scheduled to report by March 2008.
updated on 30/08/2007
