Stories behind the bottle

While an excellent standard of care is usually provided, people with alcohol problems occasionally still experience judgemental and stigmatising attitudes when seeking health care in the NHS. A small grant was obtained from Health Education South London (HESL) to develop a staff training resource that would tackle such generalisations, and improve the overall patient experience. King’s College London coordinated a competition run for students of film schools across south London. Three entries were shortlisted for development into a full film, and support and mentoring was provided by a professional film maker in the health arena. The winning entry features three women, in their own words, reflecting on their individual experiences.

We are now developing an accompanying training resource in collaboration with an expert nurse educator from south London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Health Education England. All NHS staff and social care professionals will be able to access this training pack online, which will comprise a lesson plan for group staff training, and an option for individual completion. This will be accessible in south London and across the whole of England.