The Sinclair Method on the NHS: what's available?

The honest answer is that the Sinclair Method is rarely available on the NHS. Naltrexone is not unavailable, it is licensed and NICE-recommended for alcohol use, but the usual NHS pathway sends you to a specialist alcohol service, and those services typically prescribe it for people who have already stopped drinking, not as a reduce-while-drinking approach.

Three reasons:

• NHS alcohol services are built around abstinence and detox, the dominant model in addiction medicine for decades. The reduce-while-drinking approach does not fit those pathways neatly.

• Most GPs are not familiar with the method and are not set up to prescribe naltrexone for it, so they refer on to specialist services, which then assess for abstinence-based treatment.

• Specialist services are in high demand, and their resources go to people with severe dependence and complex needs. People with hazardous or harmful drinking who could benefit from the method often fall outside the criteria.

Technically yes. A GP can prescribe naltrexone if they are comfortable doing so, or on the NHS if they consider it appropriate within local policy. In practice most will not, because they are not familiar with the method and there is no NHS protocol for it. Some people have had success asking their GP to read the evidence, the 2023 JAMA review is a good start, but it is not common.

• A referral to your local drug and alcohol service for an assessment; they can prescribe naltrexone if they think it appropriate, though usually for people who have stopped

• If you have severe physical dependence, a referral for medically supervised withdrawal, which absolutely does sit on the NHS and matters

• Free counselling and self-help groups

• A baseline liver test, which your GP can do free of charge and which you can use if you pay privately for the prescription

Private care has a cost, and we will not pretend otherwise. At LoveMyLife the lightest way in is an online assessment with a doctor-reviewed prescription at £95, then £49 for repeats, with naltrexone from £89 a pack. Bring a free NHS liver test from your GP and a one-pack start is around £184. If even that is out of reach, ask your GP about a referral to your local alcohol service, which is free. We will not pretend we are the only option.

The online assessment is quick. A doctor reviews it and, if naltrexone is right for you, prescribes it, dispensed and delivered to your door.

Begin your assessment →