The Health Service Executive (HSE) has published the second edition of the SAOR (Screening and Brief Intervention for Problem Alcohol Use) model first introduced in 2009. Developed by O’Shea, Goff and Armstrong, SAOR II provides an evidence-based framework for screening and brief intervention (SBI) for problem substance use for application in a range of settings and with all levels of need.¹ The document provides a step-by-step guide as well as outlining the context, rationale and evidence underpinning the model.

In 2014/15, an audit was carried out in Ireland of hepatitis C (HCV) testing and referral in Addiction Treatment Centres in Health Service Executive (HSE) Community Health Organisation (CHO) Area 7 (formerly HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster). CHO Area 7 covers Dublin 2, 4 (part of), 6, 6W, 8, 10, 12, 16 (part of), 22 and 24. The audit was not carried out in the satellite clinics or in West Wicklow and Kildare as services there are in community-based general practice. The number of patients attending the addiction treatment centres in CHO 7 at the time of starting the audit was 1,255.

A J-shaped relationship between supervised methadone consumption and retention in methadone maintenance treatment in primary care represents a ‘double edge sword’, according to authors of a study recently published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.¹ Funded by the Heath Research Board (HRB) through the HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, the study is the first to examine the influence of supervised methadone consumption on retention in methadone treatment over multiple treatment episodes in primary care.

The use of a brief intervention (BI) has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an intervention to address problematic substance use.¹ It recommends a two-step approach, whereby the most problematic substance is first identified using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). Once identified, the clinician can deliver a BI tailored for the identified substance. WHO advises refining and tailoring the BI to meet the needs of the target population, to consider the context and culture of the service setting, thus ensuring it meets local needs and is both culturally and contextually suitable.²