Addicted to alcohol from age 10, a programme helped him to kick the habit

SINGAPORE – At the age of 10, Mr Goh started drinking three to five bottles of beer daily. By the time he was 16, he was downing seven bottles of beer, in addition to two bottles of hard liquor like whisky and gin, every day.“We would drink together at coffee shops till I became drunk. My friends didn’t stop me and no one in my family cared,” says the 51-year-old, who declines to give his full name.

Research has shown that alcoholism can contribute to the development of epilepsy, especially in chronic heavy drinkers. In 2023, Mr Goh was admitted to the emergency department of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital five times within six months for falls due to seizures. “Due to the time-restricted nature of a visit to the emergency department, physicians are able to tackle only the acute medical issues these patients face and never quite identify nor handle the underlying reasons that make them return to the department frequently. We felt that we could do more to help this group of patients,” says Dr Rao.

The team starts by identifying patients based on hospital medical records and the number of times they have visited the emergency department. Those who fulfil the inclusion criteria of being frequent attenders will be recruited for the programme. In the first two months, the medical social workers and nurse visit the patient every week to build rapport and trust as they investigate issues such as social isolation and anxiety that the patient may be experiencing.

After the first two months, the frequency of the meetings is reduced to once in two weeks, and once a month in the final two months. According to the Epilepsy Foundation in the US, in people with epilepsy, drinking three or more drinks may increase the risk of seizures. It took Mr Ong almost a month to educate him on the importance of complying with medication and to encourage him to stop drinking. He would also make surprise visits to Mr Goh’s home to check his pill box to see if he had been taking his medication throughout the week.

Ms Sarah Nanayakara, a senior medical social worker at NTFGH, says one of the biggest challenges is contacting patients. Towards the end of the six-month programme, the team reviews the patient’s progress and makes a referral to community partners to follow through with maintaining their alcohol recovery goals.

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