Why is this HEAT standard important?
This standard helps tackle hazardous and harmful drinking, which contributes significantly to Scotland's morbidity, mortality and social harm. Latest data suggests that alcohol-related hospital admissions have quadrupled since the early 1980s and mortality has doubled. The cost of alcohol misuse to the Scottish economy is estimated at between £2.47 billion and £4.64 billion per annum (with a mid-point of £3.56 billion).
Brief interventions have been proven to be a highly effective and evidenced-based early intervention for those individuals (for those currently over the age of 16) who are drinking at hazardous and harmful levels to moderate their level of drinking and thereby reducing their risk of developing more serious alcohol-related problems. Brief interventions provide an important opportunity to highlight potentially harmful behaviours and provide individuals with the tools to make informed choices about how they drink and reduce the risk to their health.
Given the momentum and national profile established in Scotland, we would expect high levels of ABI delivery to be maintained and should remain a core component of local strategies to reduce alcohol-related harm. The establishment of the ABI HEAT standard accords with the long-held vision that ABIs should be embedded in routine practice and allows for diversification across a wider range of settings, in line with the ABI HEAT standard guidance, to develop the evidence base.
How are we performing?
The number of alcohol brief interventions delivered during 2011/12 is shown in the table below. For the ABI HEAT standard in 2012/13, Boards and their ADP partners should maintain the same total level of target delivery of ABIs as under the HEAT H4 target for 2011-12 (i.e. 61,081 ABIs nationally). It is expected that at least 90% of delivery (i.e. a minimum of 54,973 ABIs) will continue to be in the priority settings.
| NHS Board | Number of interventions delivered 2011/12 | Target 2011/12 |
| NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 7,501 | 4,076 |
| NHS BORDERS | 2,727 | 1,247 |
| NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 2,337 | 1,629 |
| NHS FIFE | 7,430 | 4,505 |
| NHS FORTH VALLEY | 8,789 | 3,676 |
| NHS GRAMPIAN | 8,682 | 6,054 |
| NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 18,571 | 14,066 |
| NHS HIGHLAND | 5,658 | 3,802 |
| NHS LANARKSHIRE | 9,034 | 6,167 |
| NHS LOTHIAN | 17,093 | 9,939 |
| NHS ORKNEY | 308 | 206 |
| NHS SHETLAND | 361 | 240 |
| NHS TAYSIDE | 8,733 | 5,137 |
| NHS WESTERN ISLES | 606 | 338 |
| NHSSCOTLAND | 97,830 | 61,081 |
Further Information
ABI HEAT standard guidance 2012-13
Alcohol Brief Intervention statistics
Alcohol brief Intervention Communications and Guidance
SIGN74 Guideline - The Management of Harmful Drinking
The Societal Cost of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland for 2007
Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action
Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol - A Framework for Action Progress Report
Scottish Government Alcohol resources webpage
Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2012
Scottish Health Survey 2010
Related National Outcomes
- We live longer, healthier lives
- We have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others
- We have improved the life chances for children, young people and families at risk
- Our children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed
- Our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people's needs
- We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society