earlier. Data from health chiefs also shows an increase in interventions over problem drinking in Dumfries and Galloway.The number of people screened for harmful drinking via NHS services in the region increased prior to the pandemic.The data was revealed in Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership’s annual report for the area’s Integrated Joint Board.The number of people screened for harmful drinking has increased from 4,797 in 2017/18 to 5,677 between April and December 2019.But fewer people have gone on to complete Alcohol Brief Interventions - known as ABIs - which offer “a structured conversation with people who are likely to be drinking harmfully”.Screening for harmful drinking is the first step in the ABI process,.