What type of study is this?

This is a Observational study (also classified as: Case Report).

August 22, 2025Open Access

Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team

Key Points

Positive change in Recovery Quality of Life scores was observed in patients accessing the personalised care service, emphasizing its effectiveness.
Patients primarily consisted of females with co-occurring mental health conditions, suggesting complex care needs for this population.
Service evaluation involved both quantitative analysis of health records and qualitative interviews to understand patient and clinician experiences.
Findings revealed key themes about the service's impact, potential for scaling, and areas for improvement, calling for broader implementation strategies.

Abstract

Background Excessive alcohol use is common among people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm; however, this group face barriers accessing appropriate support. This study aimed to evaluate a rapid access personalised face-to-face service developed to address this gap and explore wider implementation opportunities. Methods We conducted a service evaluation with a mixed methods convergent design. An NHS data custodian extracted and anonymised electronic health records data prior to sharing with the research team for analysis using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and clinicians and analysed thematically. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated, and meta-inferences drawn. Results Patients accessing the service (n=68) were mostly female (61.8%), white (83.9%), mean age 35 years (range 19-69), and most experienced additional mental health conditions alongside excessive alcohol use. Preliminary exploratory calculations comparing baseline to follow-up Recovery Quality of Life (ReQoL-20) scores suggested positive change. Three themes were identified from interviews with patients (n=11) and clinicians (n=7): (1) what the service added: rapidly plugging a recognised care gap for people using alcohol excessively but who are non-dependent and have poor mental health (2) what worked well: tailored relational support that builds recovery positive social networks and personal coping strategies (3) what could be improved: opportunities/challenges to sustaining and scaling-up the service. Conclusions The findings contribute to an evidence gap in appropriate care for patients with excessive alcohol use, self-harm and poor mental health. Whilst limited to one service, the findings highlight what patients valued, opportunities for implementation in other contexts, and thus have relevance internationally.

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