Alcohol Detox Essays

Alcohol Detox Essays Alcohol Detox Essay Alcohol Detox Essay The article I chose is â€Å"Nurse-led detox in primary care. In my paper I will be discussing how alcohol detoxification works in London in a primary care setting. In the case of this article the primary care setting is considered working together with a nurse specialist in a community detox center. In most cases a referral is made by the primary care physician to the nurse specialist. There are two different referral categories’ that are used in London. The first referral is for patients with complex physical needs where alcohol is a major contributing factor to physical elements (ex. jaundice, ascites, and liver failure). The second referral is for the dependent drinkers, which are considered people who drink every day. When a patient in referred to a community detox center the patient has to be willing to accept responsibility and shows signs of wanted to detox from alcohol. This concept is found to be harder in patients who have had a long standing problem with alcohol dependence. However, once a patient has made up their mind detoxing can change a person’s life and open up so many doors. In London the community detox guideline states â€Å"community detoxification is a process by which clients are enabled to withdraw safely from alcohol while remaining in a community setting. This is achieved with a combination of support, a reducing regime of medication and ongoing monitoring† (UK Department of Health, 2007). In the community detox center the nurse specialist has a treatment package that includes detoxification, relapse prevention education, and to provide support to the patients who want to be alcohol free. There is a criteria that has to be met in order to do the program as well as exclusion that don’t allow a patient to do the program. In order to do the program a patient must have a stable living environment, with social support, the patient has to agree to attend aftercare sessions with nurse specialist, and have no severe physical health problems. The exclusions to the program include a patient with a severe physical health problem, unstable living arrangements, no additional support, a high number of previous failed community detoxes, and evidence of poly-drug use with a chaotic lifestyle. Once the patient has met the program criteria an assessment is done to find out the history of their current alcohol pattern within two weeks, how much they drink per day/week, how long they have been drinking, previous treatments, and any history of physical and mental health problems. The nurse specialist will include in her assessment a physical examination of the patient and the ordering of a liver function test. The nurse specialist usually has the detox program start on a Monday or a Tuesday so to allow enough time for the patient to be alcohol free. The patient has to be alcohol free for at least nine hours before starting the programs. The program starts the patient on a medication called Chlordiazepoxide which they start to decrease on the fifth day of treatment. Along with taking the medication the patient must attend aftercare sessions in which they meet with their case worker to establish whether the patient has been drinking alcohol, discussing any feelings that the patient may be having about the treatment program, making sure the patient is following their medication regimen, and developing a plan for support and aftercare sessions for when detox is completed. Once detox is completed the patient must follow up with their case worker within in one week to discuss how things are going and to make sure the patient is going to daily aftercare sessions. In conclusion I think this article showed the importance of the nurse specialist role in helping a patient to detox without having to be in an in-patient care facility. I feel like the guidelines the nurse specialist set forth for the patients was very well put together and reasonable. I think in order for the detox to work the patient has to have a mindset that they are ready and willing to make this journey and to understand that its going to be a day to day battle. A person can detox for however long their body will withstand it but it’s their mind that has to be in it.