IMO conference: People who drink in a way that is hazardous to health can significantly reduce their drinking when treated with a new technique, the AGM of the Irish Medical Organisation has been told.
Mr Rolande Anderson, the director of the Irish College of General Practitioner's project, "Helping Patients with Alcohol Problems", told doctors that "a 10 per cent reduction in alcohol consumption in every general practice in the country is possible".
Outlining how doctors can intervene effectively in patients' alcohol problems using a brief intervention technique, he said there was ample evidence to show the effectiveness of such interventions in both a family practice and an accident and emergency setting.
Preliminary results from a pilot project which has started in 10 general practices throughout the Republic indicate that a five-minute alcohol screening intervention found favour with patients. "When we present the final results this September, we expect to show that a significant number of patients have altered their alcohol consumption as a result of the intervention," Mr Anderson said.
The initiative, which has the support of the Department of Health and Children, has also placed a dedicated alcohol counsellor in a practice in Co Wicklow. Now in place for eight months, a preliminary analysis of his work indicates even better outcomes for patients. Doctors and nurses report greater confidence in treating patients with alcohol problems.
Mr Anderson said he would like to see changes at a societal level if the problem is to be effectively tackled. "All cans and bottles should be labelled in terms of 'standard drinks' as well as having warnings regarding hazardous use." He also called for a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sporting activities and for further restrictions on advertising by the drinks industry.
Dr Ronan Hearne, consultant psychiatrist with the Cluain Mhuire Family Centre, spoke about the impact of alcohol on psychiatric illness. "Alcohol is cited as the number one reason in 34 per cent of cases of marital breakdown, and costs the economy €1,034 million every year as a direct result of alcohol- related absence from work."
Outlining the three types of problem drinking - hazardous drinking, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence - Dr Hearne said that, in 2001, alcohol accounted for 60,000 in-patient days in psychiatric hospitals. "Alcohol abuse causes depression in 70 - 90 per cent of cases. It is the exception to the rule for people to drink because they are depressed," he said. Referring to the link between suicide and drinking, Dr Hearne said alcohol exacerbated feelings of depression and increased impulsive behaviour, making it more likely for people to die by suicide.
Dr Maire Cassidy, the Deputy State Pathologist, told the meeting that the homicide rate in the Republic had almost doubled between 1990 and 1996.
During the same period, violent deaths in Northern Ireland had decreased by 50 per cent.
While 60 per cent of homicides occur in the greater Dublin area, Limerick, with a homicide rate of 26 per million people, "is living up to its name of stab city", she said. Children made up 20 per cent of homicides in 2002, a "dreadful, dreadful situation".
Pointing out that in 50 per cent of homicides, neither the victim nor the perpetrator are intoxicated, Dr Cassidy said: "Mercifully, from the perspective of a pathologist, the mix of alcohol and violence does not generally translate into homicide."