Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Clinical Commissioning Groups are encouraging GPs to identify heavy drinkers who would potentially benefit from a prescription for nalmefene in addition to psychosocial support.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance describe best practice and health and care commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Current guidelines for general practitioners and other health professionals to identify, assess and intervene for people misusing alcohol are available and can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg115/chapter/1-guidance

Staff responsible for assessing and managing assisted alcohol withdrawal should be competent in the diagnosis and assessment of alcohol dependence and withdrawal symptoms and the use of drug regimens appropriate to the settings (for example, inpatient or community) in which the withdrawal is managed.

The Government has taken a robust approach to tackling alcohol harms. Between 2016 and 2020/21 we are investing more than £16 billion in local government public health services. In 2019/20 over £3 billion is to be used exclusively on public health including alcohol treatment services.