Knowledge of alcohol-related problems in clinical staff in psychiatric community resource centres in Glasgow

We report on a survey of knowledge of alcohol-related problems in the multi-disciplinary staff in 12 general adult psychiatry community resource centres. In total we obtained data from 111 staff, the majority of whom (63%) were community psychiatric nurses (CPNs). Seventy-three per cent of staff routinely ask clients about their alcohol consumption and 66% felt that they could identify those clients with an alcohol problem. We identified gaps in knowledge that could be seen as significant, for example, the legal driving limit and the number of units of alcohol in bottles of wine and spirits. Less than a third of staff knew the criteria for alcohol dependence. The majority of staff were able to recognise clinical complications of alcohol abuse and to identify alcohol withdrawal symptoms. We consider that it would be useful to provide a simple concise data-sheet, containing basic information about alcohol, for clinical staff.