Doctors should be paid to warn patients who have a bad drinking habit, as a radical new way of curbing Britain's excessive drinking culture.
Alcohol Concern wants the Government's forthcoming National Alcohol Strategy to consider ways that GPs can be encouraged to quiz people on how much they drink and to give them hard-hitting advice on how to curb their excessive boozing.
'Studies show that this sort of intervention has a demonstrable impact. People won't be nagged, but they will listen to someone in a white coat who warns them that, if they carry on the way they are drinking, they will end up, say, impotent,' said Richard Phillips, director of policy and services at Alcohol Concern, which has made a series of key suggestions on how the new strategy should be framed.
The plan would be for doctors to receive a fee for discussing a patient's drinking habits, similar to the way GPs are now paid by some health trusts to help people quit smoking.
Alcohol Concern would like to see patients asked a series of questions to ascertain how much they drink and then be given feedback on their results. The doctor would outline the kind of problems a patient could expect in the future if they did not cut their drinking and suggest possible courses of action to tackle the problem.
If Health Ministers agree, the scheme would be written into doctors' contracts - as a way of encouraging GPs to take a more active role in tackling the alcohol problem.
Almost nine million people in the UK are labelled 'heavy drinkers' - people whose consumption is a cause for concern. Health officials are worried in particular about the huge rise in the number of so-called binge drinkers, especially among young women.
The Government warns that, if trends continue, by 2012 53 per cent of young women will be drinking more than their weekly limits compared with 48 per cent of men.
Alcohol-related problems place a huge burden on the NHS, costing it up to £1.7 billion a year. The average GP sees 360 patients a year who are misusing alcohol, but intervenes in fewer than 5 per cent of cases. At peak times, statistics show up to eight out of 10 patients in accident and emergency departments have alcohol-related injuries.
It is unlikely, however, that cash-strapped health trusts will welcome the proposals which would see cash diverted from 'more deserving' areas. In addition, the Government fears 'nanny state' accusations if it is seen to be lecturing the public on its drinking habits.
Divisions between Ministers over what approach should be taken have delayed publication of the long- awaited National Alcohol Strategy, but it is understood that the document will be published next month.
Drawn up by the Number 10 Strategy Unit, it is expected to call for all alcoholic products to carry health warnings and suggest a number of ways the drinks industry could help raise awareness of problems associated with excessive drinking.
Government statisticians calculate that the UK loses £6.4bn in productivity while the cost in related crime and public disorder is estimated to be up to £7.3bn. Offsetting this is the fact that the Treasury makes more than £7bn a year in taxes on alcoholic drinks. One plan being considered at ministerial level is to force the drinks industry to pay more towards alcohol awareness campaigns. The Government's Big Conversation website puts the question: 'Is there a case for a levy on alcohol advertising, with the proceeds ploughed back into treatment and into advertising campaigns promoting responsible drinking by young people?'
Ministers also want to give powers to issue licences to local authorities instead of magistrates while pubs and clubs failing to curb drunkenness and bad behaviour could be shut. A number of schemes already running will be highlighted as examples of 'best practice' for pubs and clubs. These include one in which local pubs unite to share information and ban particular problem drinkers.
