Walkgrove has been appointed to develop two e-learning modules covering Brief Opportunistic Advice (BOA). This initiative is part of Quality Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QIPP), which is a new programme of radical business transformation in the NHS.
Preventing ill-health is an obvious way to reduce the demand for healthcare and is therefore an essential component of the QIPP programme. Prevention means that a fundamental change in clinical practice is required; one where obtaining an alcohol/smoking and broader lifestyle history is routine. Also, BOA will be offered as part of routine care by staff at all levels.
BOA can be defined as actively raising awareness of healthy lifestyle issues during an employee’s day-to-day contact with a person. Providing BOA can take between 30 seconds and 5 minutes and can might also lead on to other interventions. BOA skills are straightforward and easy to learn and the various trials have proven effective. BOA is not just for delivery by a psychologist, professional counsellor, nurse or clinician. Anyone dealing with the public; police officers, probation officers, housing workers, fire service workers – has a 1 in 3 chance of, for example, dealing with an excessive alcohol user.
