South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Health (SESIH) has officially launched the
third edition of The Langton Centre’s guide for drug and alcohol treatment.
Entitled The SESIH Addiction Medicine Handbook, it provides clinicians working
and training in drug and alcohol services a standard set of guidelines to ensure
a benchmark for clinical practice across the area health service.
The Langton Centre is one arm of a network of services in SESIH and the guide
aims to standardise assessments and treatments of drug and alcohol patients
across hospital and community care.
The Langton Centre director Associate Professor James Bell said this edition of
the handbook had grown considerably from the original text produced in 2003.
"The first edition was written by doctors in the Centre’s drug and alcohol
internal training program, but the guidebook is now a valuable resource used by
staff across SESIH dealing with drug and alcohol matters," Assoc Prof Bell said.
"Methods for treating drug and alcohol patients are constantly evolving, so it’s
important for clinicians to have a guidebook that suggests a standardised
approach for care."
SESIH Director of Population Health, Planning and Performance George Rubin
congratulated the Langton Centre staff for their dedication toward completing
such a worthy project.
"Clinicians across emergency departments, mental health units, adolescent
divisions and obstetric care – just to name a few - are forced to deal with drug
and alcohol issues among their patients," he said.
"The handbook reflects the superior knowledge of The Langton Centre and provides
all SESIH staff with a vital tool for improving the care of drug and alcohol
patients."
Media Enquiries: Melissa Chain, 9382 8226 or 0421 618 793
