Medical and Safety Notice — Groundwork
If you or someone else is in danger, call your local emergency number now. In the EU, 112 works in every country. Groundwork is not an emergency service and no one monitors what you enter.
1. Groundwork is a tracker, not treatment
In short: a self-management tool for adults. It does not diagnose, treat or cure anything, and it cannot guarantee any result.
Groundwork is a self-help tracking and planning tool for adults who are drinking less or stopping drinking. It is not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose, screen, assess, monitor, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. It does not give medical advice. It does not replace a doctor, a pharmacist, a counsellor, a treatment service or emergency services.
The app cannot guarantee that you will stop, cut down or stay stopped, or that you will avoid any harm.
2. Check with a doctor
In short: use the app alongside professional care, not instead of it.
Check with a doctor or another qualified professional before you make medical decisions, and in addition to using this app. If anything in the app seems to conflict with what your doctor told you, follow your doctor.
3. How the information in the app was made
In short: from named public sources, checked by the author, who is not a clinician.
- The health and coping information in Groundwork is general, population-level information. It is not about you.
- Each piece names its source. The full list is at https://steadwright.net/legal/groundwork/sources
- The content was written and checked by the app's author. The author is not a doctor or other clinician, and the content has not been reviewed by one. We tell you this so you can decide how much weight to give it.
- Translations of the app's text into other languages may contain errors. If something is unclear, use the English version or ask a professional.
4. Alcohol: do not stop suddenly if you drink heavily
In short: stopping heavy drinking suddenly can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor first.
The NHS says: "It can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you're dependent on alcohol." It also says: "If you get withdrawal symptoms, get medical help before you try to stop drinking."
- If you drink heavily or every day, talk to a doctor before you stop or cut down a lot. This applies whether you plan to stop or to cut down quickly.
- Call your local emergency number if you, or someone cutting down, has visible shaking, confusion, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there) or a seizure.
- Get medical help if you feel shaky, sweaty, confused or unwell while cutting down.
The short questions the app may ask before you start a plan help you reflect and point you to medical help. They are not an assessment. Whatever the app shows afterwards, it cannot tell you whether it is safe for you to stop. Only a doctor who knows you can do that.
Reduction goals. Showing progress on a reduction goal is not a statement that any amount of alcohol is safe for you.
5. Help numbers and the "last checked" date
In short: the numbers come from public sources and may be out of date. Confirm them if the date is old.
- The Help section lists emergency numbers, crisis lines and support services for 22 countries. Each comes from a public official or organisation source.
- Each entry shows the date we last checked it against that source. A date means "this matched the official source on that day". It is not a promise that the number still works.
- Numbers and services change. If a date is old, or you are unsure, confirm the number with the official website or your local emergency number.
- If your country is not listed, the app says so. Use your local emergency number.
- If you find a wrong number, tap "Tell us about a resource" or e-mail support@steadwright.net. We aim to correct confirmed errors in the next app update.
- The organisations listed do not endorse Groundwork, and we are not affiliated with them.
6. Privacy and safety
In short: your entries stay on your phone. Use App Lock if others use your device.
Your entries stay on your device. If other people can use your phone, consider turning on App Lock. See the Privacy Policy: https://steadwright.net/legal/groundwork/privacy
7. Contact
support@steadwright.net · https://steadwright.net/legal/support