O3 Evaluation of the acceptability and effectiveness of assistant psychologist-led screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) within hillingdon hospital alcohol pathway

<h3>Introduction</h3> Gastroenterology Assistant Psychologists (GAPs) within Hepatology at a District General Hospital deliver Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol inpatients. This study aimed to (1) map the GAP intervention (2) evaluate and compare the acceptability and effectiveness, including community alcohol service engagement (Addiction, Recovery Community, Hillingdon, ARCH) (3) pilot a one-month intervention targeting acceptability of Outpatient Telephone Clinic (OPTC). <h3>Methods</h3> 195 new patient episodes analysed retrospectively from November 2024-April 2025. Referral criteria: previous alcohol dependence, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test Score ≥ 5, drinking &gt; recommended guidelines (RG) (14 units per week). <h3>Results</h3> GAP Screening: 93.3% (n=182) of patients accepted the GAP intervention. Evidence of false reporting found for 12.5% (n=4) of patients who claimed to be drinking within RG. One-month readmission rate of alcohol withdrawal patients (21%), similar to previously reported (Phillips et al., 2025). ARCH referral: 30.9% (n=38) of patients accepted ARCH referral. Self-management (46.43%, n=39), lack of acknowledgement (25%, n=21), perception of ineffectiveness (7.1%, n=6), not wanting to stop (7.1%, n=6), stigma (6%, n=5) and recent abstinence (6%, n=5) cited as reasons for declining ARCH. OPTC: 43.8% (n=49) ‘opt-in’ acceptability rate. One-month pilot ‘opt-out’ intervention produced a nonsignificant improvement in acceptability. Patients were 38% more likely to engage with OPTC than attend ARCH one-month post-discharge, p &lt;.001. Relationship between OPTC and readmission data was nonsignificant. Hepatology referrals: 83.8% (n=93) acceptability rate, 52% more likely than to accept ARCH referral, p &lt;.001. Furthermore, patients were 56% more likely to attend Hepatology FibroScan® appointments than ARCH one-month post-discharge, p &lt;.001. Engaging in change talk at GAP intervention significantly increased likelihood of accepting hepatology referral (p &lt;.001) but did not of attending the appointment. Significant reduction in alcohol units from GAP intervention to: presentation at ARCH, with a mean difference of 112.06 units, p &lt;.017; at OPTC (79.1 units), p &lt;.017; at hepatology FibroScan® appointment 4–12 weeks post discharge (44.1 units), p &lt;.017. <h3>Discussion</h3> Assistant Psychologist delivered SBIRT is more acceptable than community alcohol team, ARCH. ARCH was less acceptable than Hepatology clinic, suggesting that physical health is valued by these patients over mental health, despite the same approach to referral. We demonstrated that GAP intervention is effective in reducing alcohol consumption up to 12 weeks post-discharge, yet engagement from inpatient intervention to community alcohol services was still poor.