GP's / Primary Care Staff - How to Refer A Patient?

Download GP/Primary Care Referral Form

If you are a GP, Primary Care Staff, Social Worker of Employer you can download our referral form and complete information on screen.  On completion of the form simply print it out and post to our general office or fax on: 01592 206201

Screening

GP's, are well placed to identify at an early stage whether patients have an alcohol problem.

If you suspect an alcohol problem exists asking the 4 following questions may assist.

How often do you have eight or more drinks on one occasion?

    Never         Less than monthly      Monthly       Weekly    Daily or almost daily 

How often during the last year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?
 
    Never        Less than monthly       Monthly     Weekly        Daily or almost daily

How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected of you because of your drinking?
 
    Never       Less than monthly         Monthly        Weekly        Daily or almost daily

Has a relative or friend or a doctor or other health worker been concerned about your drinking or suggested you cut down?
 
    No                   Yes, but not in the last year                  Yes, during the last year  

Referral of Patient

The first point of contact for patients with an alcohol related problem is often the GP.  That is why Fife Alcohol Support Service is keen to promote its work in Health Centres throughout Fife. Early intervention of unsafe drinking may improve the effectiveness of treatment and reduce costs to individuals and society.

Services available to patients referred by GPs:

• confidential, one-to-one alcohol counselling service
• counselling, advice and support to partners, concerned relatives and friends of problem drinkers
• leaflets / booklets for patients who wish to know more about alcohol and its effects
• referral of patients to another service such as Community Alcohol Team, CARF, Incest Survivors, FIRST KASP, Cruse, etc. when other specialist help is required

Counsellors do not restrict themselves solely to alcohol problems, since these seldom occur in isolation.  They are able to tackle significant areas with which the client is experiencing difficulty, as well as tackling such matter as the development of other areas of life skills.  Counsellors are, in fact, able and willing to take on the client as an individual, with special features and identifiable life problem areas.

Diagnosis Difficulties

It can be difficult for GPs to identify a patient with an alcohol problem, particularly when consultation time is short.

The patient may regularly present with stomach upsets, flu-like symptoms, sickness, diarrhoea and may wish to mask the true extent of an alcohol problem.  It is important nonetheless that GPs and Healthcare staff strive to identify unsafe drinking at an early stage and thus enhance the patient’s prospects of effective treatment.

Referral Process