AlcoChange

Problem

Alcohol harm costs the NHS over £3.5bn a year. More than 280,000 hospital admissions annually are alcohol-related, and up to 30% of patients are readmitted within three months. While hospital Alcohol Liaison Teams provide effective inpatient care, most patients lose contact with support services after discharge.

Community alcohol services are overstretched, unevenly distributed, and difficult for many patients to access — particularly those facing stigma, rural isolation, or digital exclusion. Fewer than 10% of people with alcohol-related conditions receive structured follow-up treatment.

This creates a gap between hospital and community that drives repeated crisis admissions, worsening health, and rising costs. The burden falls disproportionately on deprived communities, where alcohol-related hospitalisation rates are 50% higher than the national average.

Clinicians lack the tools to monitor patients remotely or intervene early after discharge. Paper-based follow-ups and fragmented communication between hospital, primary care, and voluntary sector partners mean that high-risk patients often fall through the cracks.

There is no widely adopted digital solution in the NHS that connects hospital alcohol services with community recovery support.

Solution

AlcoChange creates a continuous digital pathway between hospital alcohol services and community recovery. It works alongside existing care — not replacing clinical teams, but extending their reach beyond the hospital

Patients are onboarded at discharge or after a brief intervention. Through the app, they receive personalised behavioural support, including goal setting, craving management, motivational messaging, and progress tracking. An optional Bluetooth breathalyser enables objective self-monitoring for higher-risk users.

Clinical and community teams access a real-time dashboard showing patient engagement, relapse risk indicators, and breathalyser readings. This allows them to prioritise caseloads, intervene earlier, and reduce reliance on ad-hoc phone calls and face-to-face appointments.

The platform is designed to fit within existing NHS workflows. It integrates with Alcohol Liaison Team pathways and can support referrals from emergency departments, primary care, and community services. A self-management version is already available for people at lower risk to self-manage.

Impact

• AlcoChange clinical pilot study (Royal Free London; JHEP Reports, 2024): Compliant users showed significant reductions in alcohol consumption and increased rates of complete abstinence. Number needed to treat of 6.5 to prevent one alcohol-related rehospitalisation during treatment.
• Royal Aberdeen Hospital (NHS Grampian): Used by the Alcohol Liaison Team for post-discharge digital monitoring and recovery support. Clinicians report improved caseload prioritisation and reduced ad-hoc follow-up contacts.
• Priory Group (12 hospitals): Integrated into structured aftercare pathways. Patients and clinicians report improved continuity between inpatient and community recovery phases.
• Multicentre NIHR RCT (25 NHS hospitals): Recruitment and Data collection completed late 2025. Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness results expected Q2 2026.