RECOVERING alcoholics are being given mobile phones so they can stay in touch with health services in a bid to keep them off the drink.

The phones will allow health workers to send supportive text messages to people who are battling alcohol addiction.

Research shows 80 to 90 per cent of people treated for alcohol dependency relapse within a year.

Now health chiefs hope the innovative £75,000 project to keep them on track.

Debra Malone, consultant in public health at NHS Bolton, said: “The best way to make sure service users successfully adjust to a life without alcohol is to provide them with ongoing support during this difficult period of adjustment.

“However, this is not easy to achieve when the client is back in their own home. Normally there is little or no contact between the service user and the service in the periods between set appointments and it is often during these periods that people can experience stress and be tempted to drink again.

“We hope this project can change that.”

Bolton is the first place in the country to use the innovative technique to help detox patients.

The Bolton Relapse Prevention Project is a joint initiative between NHS Bolton, Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and d2 Digital by Design, funded by healthcare improvement charity The Health Foundation.

The 120 phones being given out are designed solely for the scheme.

They can send to and receive messages from an automated system and cannot be used for any other purpose. This means the handsets have no street value.

Under the programme, a patient receives a daily text. If they send a positive response, saying they are fine, for example, they will receive an automated reply congratulating them and helping their progress.

However, if they text back that they are in danger of drinking again, the response will be to offer personal support — for example, to arrange a face-to-face meeting or telephone conversation with a key worker as soon as possible.

If someone does not reply, a member of the alcohol team will ring their home.

It is hoped that by maintaining contact with patients and providing them with a line of direct communication, more people will successfully complete their post-detox treatment programme and be able to stay alcohol-free.

If the scheme works, the technology could help other conditions.