North Staffordshire residents worried about how much they drink can visit Harplands Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent this week for a free alcohol test.

The specialist alcohol detoxification services run by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust are offering help as part of Alcohol Awareness Week 2011, which runs until Sunday, November 20. 

On Friday, November 18, from 9am to 2pm, visitors to Harplands Hospital in Hilton Road will be able to take part in a free test called an Audit (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test). 

The survey of 10 questions assesses how much someone drinks and their level of alcohol dependency. This information is then used to calculate the best kind of treatment for someone, such as support or detoxification. 

The Stoke Community Alcohol Detoxification Service and Moorlands and Newcastle Community Addiction Services – the main community services for the North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust – have a highly-successful detox rate of 90 per cent. Latest figures show that four weeks after completing a detox programme, 80 per cent of people are continuing to abstain from alcohol. 

There is also an inpatient service based at the Edward Myers Unit at Harplands Hospital. This also has detox rate of 90 per cent. 

Darren Bowyer, modern matron for substance abuse, said: "We can guide someone through a detoxification and we see how life changing this is for people who have become dependent on alcohol. 

"If people want to make a change to their drinking and they are committed, then we have the expertise to support them and help them quit. At the start of the programme we visit people up to three times a day in their own home, which is why our programme is so successful." 

More information about the free detoxification programme is available from GPs, the charity Adsis (Alcohol and Dependency Specialists in Staffordshire) or by calling the service direct.