Drinkaware appoints medical advisory panel

27 Jan 2010

Drinkaware, the alcohol awareness charity, has appointed a national advisory panel made up of expert medical professionals, to advise its work educating consumers about alcohol misuse.

Six panel members whose expertise covers a broad spectrum including liver, mental health, accidents and emergencies, public health, adolescent health and oral cancer have committed to offering the charity advice for at least a year, under the overall direction of Drinkaware’s Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Paul Wallace.

As experts in their respective fields, the new panel members will help ensure Drinkaware continues to provide consumers with the most up-to-date, medically-sound information. Drinkaware believes education is an essential component in combating the harm caused by alcohol misuse in the UK and the medical panel will assist the charity to raise awareness of the long and short term social, physical and mental health risks associated with drinking to excess.

The team includes:
• Drinkaware Chief Medical Adviser, Professor Paul Wallace - Professor of Primary Care at University College London, Director National Institute for Health Research Primary Care Research Network and a General Practitioner.
• Professor Mark Bellis - Director of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, the North West Public Health Observatory and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention.
• Dr Jonathan Chick - Consultant Psychiatrist, Royal Edinburgh Hospital and Part-time Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Edinburgh University.
• Professor Chris Day - Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Liver Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Senior National Institute for Health Research Investigator.
• Professor Graham Ogden - Professor of Oral Surgery at the University of Dundee and Honorary Consultant Oral Surgeon Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust.
• Professor Jonathan Shepherd CBE - Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Director of the Violence Research Group and Vice Dean at Cardiff University, member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Fellow of the College of Emergency Medicine.
• Dr Russell Viner - Consultant and Directorate of Adolescent Medicine, University College London Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.*

Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says: “It is imperative that we are all aware alcohol misuse can have a harmful effect on our social, physical and mental health. The appointment of the medical advisory panel will help Drinkaware to be at the forefront of medical advice relating to alcohol and will ensure that the charity continues to be a trusted source for consumers seeking the facts about alcohol and how it affects their health.”

Professor Paul Wallace, Chief Medical Adviser to Drinkaware, says: “Providing consumers with best evidence about the health implications of drinking to excess is a key factor in helping to reduce the harm alcohol can cause. I’m delighted to be working with a panel of experts across the field who can ensure that people visiting the Drinkaware website and interacting with the charity’s campaigns keep abreast of all the best quality information in order to protect their own health and well-being.”

-Ends-

For more information please contact:
Laura Ellis
Communications Assistant, Drinkaware
Email: lellis@drinkaware.co.uk
Tel: 020 7307 7459
Mob: 078 2797 1740

Notes to editors:

• * Panel Biographies:
Professor Paul Wallace is Director of the NIHR Primary Care Research Network and Deputy Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network Co-ordinating Centre. He is also Professor of Primary Care at University College London, and a general medical practitioner in the Hampstead Group Practice. He was involved in pioneering studies on the detection and management of patients with excessive alcohol consumption in general practice and continues to take an active interest in alcohol research. He has contributed to a number of Working Parties of the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of General Practitioners,

o Professor Mark Bellis is Director of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, the North West Public Health Observatory and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention. He leads teams on national and international projects which address alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviour, violence and public health intelligence. Bellis is a member of the Medical Research Council’s College of Public Health Experts and an expert advisor on drug prevention to the United Nations (UNODC) and European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). Bellis is an active researcher and has published over a hundred peer-reviewed articles, books and reports.

o Dr Jonathan Chick- Consultant Psychiatrist, Royal Edinburgh Hospital and Part-time Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Edinburgh University. Chick has previously been a Member of the Scientific Staff Medical Research Council Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry. Whilst working in the substance misuse treatment services Chick conducted research into brief counselling for those in general hospitals with a newly identified alcohol problem. He has written numerous academic papers and has published book chapters and books on alcohol related problems. Chick is also currently Editor-in-chief of the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

o Professor Chris Day- Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Liver Medicine, Faculty of medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Senior National Institute for Health Research Investigator . Previously Day was Head of the School of Clinical Medical Sciences at Newcastle and also Academic Head of the Liver Research Group, which is regarded as the largest and most successful group of its kind in the UK. Day is currently the Director of the Biomedical Research Centre in Ageing and Chronic Disease, which is operated jointly by the Newcastle NHS Trust and the University. Day plays an influential role within the Medical Research Council and he is also a Trustee of the Alcohol Education and Research Council.

o Professor Graham Ogden- Professor of Oral Surgery at the University of Dundee and Honorary Consultant Oral Surgeon Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust. Ogden’s research has been principally in the area of Oral cancer, developing techniques designed to facilitate the early detection of oral cancer. More recently, he has focussed his attention on the role of alcohol and tobacco in the aetiology of oral cancer as well as raising awareness of this condition in the public and professional arenas.

o Professor Jonathan Shepherd CBE - Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Director of the Violence Research Group and Vice Dean at Cardiff University, member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Fellow of the College of Emergency Medicine. Shepherd is a member of nearly a dozen National Committees. He has also given expert evidence to Parliamentary all party groups on Urban Violence, Alcohol Related Violence and Alcohol Abuse. His research on alcohol misuse established a causal link between binge drinking and injury in assault, in part through NHS R&D and Research Council funded randomised experiments of brief (motivational interview) interventions in the lives of victims and offenders. One of Shepherd’s current priorities is the national implementation of routine screening for alcohol misuse and interventions for violent offenders in UK courts.

o Dr Russell Viner- Consultant and Directorate of Adolescent Medicine, University College London Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. Viner set up the first Adolescent Medicine Service in the UK jointly between Great Ormond St Hospital for Children and University College London Hospitals. He works clinically in adolescent diabetes, endocrinology and obesity. He also works as a consultant on adolescent health for the Departments of Health and of Education in the UK, and for the WHO internationally. Viner’s research focus is on the implications of adolescent development of physical and mental health, particularly around obesity, health risk behaviours (alcohol, smoking and drug use), health services for young people, and clinical management of obesity and diabetes in children and young people.*

• Drinkaware advises men to stay within the recommended guidelines of no more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day (equivalent of a pint and a half of lager) and women to stay within 2-3 units per day (equivalent of a 175ml glass of wine).

• Drinkaware (www.drinkaware.co.uk) provides consumers with information to make informed decisions about the effects of alcohol on their lives and lifestyles. Our public education programmes, grants, expert information, and resources help create awareness and affect positive change. An independent charity established in 2007, Drinkaware works with the medical profession, the alcohol industry, government and independent members to achieve its goals.

Page last updated by: Unknown, 10 May 2012.