News
SCOTS RECORD HIGHEST EVER DRUG-
RELATED HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
SCOTLAND HAS SEEN A FOURFOLD INCREASE in drug-
related hospital stays in the last 20 years, according to
the latest figures from the Scottish NHS. Rates have
increased from 51 to 199 stays per 100,000 population,
with a ‘sharper increase’ seen in recent years.
In 2017-18, there were more than 10,500 drug-related
general acute hospital stays in Scotland, the highest
figure since records began. This related to nearly 8,000
patients, more than half of whom were ‘new’. Nearly 60
per cent of drug-related general acute hospital stays were
the result of opioid use, while more than half of drug-
related psychiatric hospital stays were associated with
‘multiple/other drugs’, including solvents, stimulants and
hallucinogens. The 35-44 age group was the most
represented in both types of admissions, with drug-
related general acute stays for this group increasing more
than tenfold since the mid-1990s.
Admission rates for 15-24 year olds are also
increasing, however, with the 2017-18 rate the highest in
more than a decade. Around half of all patients with a
drug-related general acute or psychiatric hospital stay
lived in the country’s most deprived areas.
‘These figures are of great concern,’ said Scottish
Drugs Forum (SDF) CEO David Liddell. ‘It highlights very
clearly the need for greater and targeted interventions
with this population both within the hospital setting and
in the community, which can reduce unplanned hospital
admissions. This will save the NHS resources and deliver
a better service to people with a drug problem.’
There were examples of good practice however, he
said, such as drug and alcohol nurse liaison posts based in
hospitals. ‘These posts aim to assist people in getting
appropriate care while in hospital and help link people up
with appropriate community based services.’ The trend in
increasing
admission rates for
younger patients
was also ‘worrying’,
he added, and
mainly linked to
cocaine and
cannabinoid use.
Meanwhile, a
report from Audit
Scotland shows a
71 per cent
increase in drug-
related deaths in
Scotland since
2009, with 76 per
cent of fatalities
now in the over-35
age group. The
2017 figure was the
highest ever
recorded, at 934
(DDN, July/August
2018, page 4), with
the 2018 total –
due to be published
this summer –
expected to be
higher still.
Drug-related
hospital statistics
Scotland 2017/18 at www.isdscotland.org
Drug and alcohol services: an update at www.audit-
scotland.gov.uk
4 | drinkanddrugsnews | June 2019
DAviD LiDDeLL
COUNTY CRACKDOWN
COUNTERING
CORRUPTION
A NEW TASK FORCE TO TACKLE
CORRUPTION in prisons and the
probation service has been
announced by the Ministry of Justice.
The Counter Corruption Unit will
address issues such as staff smuggling
drugs and other contraband into
prisons, and will be split into one
national and five regional teams. ‘A
small minority continue to engage
in corrupt behaviour in our prisons –
damaging both the integrity of the
system and their profession,’ said
justice secretary David Gauke. ‘This
unit underlines our determination
to stamp out criminality in prison in
all its forms and will make sure we
are closing the net on the
individuals driving this.’
‘These figures...
highlight very
clearly the need
for greater and
targeted
interventions’
‘A small minority
continue to en -
gage in corrupt
behav iour in our
prisons’
DAviD GAuke
FIVE HUNDRED MEN AND 86 WOMEN WERE
ARRESTED for county lines-related activity in
the week beginning 13 May, according to
the National Crime Agency (NCA). The
coordinated activity also saw 519
vulnerable adults and 364 children engaged
for safeguarding, with more than 30
referrals as potential victims of modern
slavery. The grooming techniques used by
county lines gangs are ‘similar to what has
been seen in child sexual exploitation and
abuse’, states the NCA. ‘We know that
criminal networks use high levels of
violence, exploitation and abuse to ensure
compliance from the vulnerable people they
employ to do the day-to-day drug supply
activity,’ said NCA’s county lines lead, Nikki
Holland. ‘These results demonstrate the
power of a whole-system response to a
complex problem that we’re seeing in every
area of the UK.’
DRINKING UP
ANNUAL GLOBAL PER CAPITA ALCOHOL
CONSUMPTION INCREASED from 5.9 to 6.5
litres per adult between 1990 and 2017,
according to a study published in the
Lancet. This is estimated to reach 7.6 litres
by 2030, with the proportion of adults
classed as ‘heavy episodic drinkers’ rising to
23 per cent. Global alcohol exposure
between 1990 and 2017 and forecasts until
2030 at www.thelancet.com
CASH CALL
A CONSENSUS STATEMENT signed by more
than 80 organisations including Collective
Voice, Alcohol Change UK and the royal
colleges of nursing, GPs and surgeons is
calling on the government to increase
investment in public health to reduce
health inequalities. While local authorities
had ‘made efficiencies through better
commissioning’, cuts were affecting
services, it says, adding that removal of
funds from public health was ‘a false
economy’. Statement at
www.cancerresearchuk.org
DAY IN
DR EDWARD DAY HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS
THE GOVERNMENT’S DRUG RECOVERY
CHAMPION, the Home Office has
announced. Dr Day is a clinical reader in
addiction psychiatry and has helped
develop national clinical guidance for the
substance field. He will agree an ‘annual
delivery plan for drug recovery’ with
ministers, support collaboration between
partners such as councils, housing
organisations and criminal justice, and aim
to tackle issues such as stigma. ‘His work
will make a real difference to the lives of
those suffering the misery of drug
dependency,’ said home secretary Sajid
Javid. See feature, page 8
DRINKING CULTURE
ONE IN FIVE IRISH ADULTS IS A ‘HAZARDOUS’
DRINKER, with a further 23 per cent at risk of
becoming one, according to a report from
Drinkaware.ie. ‘Within the findings is a deep-
rooted and broad acceptance of excessive
drinking as our cultural norm,’ says the
document, adding that most survey
respondents had ‘little or no’ awareness of
what constitutes low-risk drinking. ‘The
negative impact of alcohol in Irish society is
widely known,’ said CEO Sheena Horgan. ‘Of
particular concern is that these drinking
habits appear even more embedded among
younger people, with 64 per cent of under-
25s stating that they often drink as a coping
mechanism.’ Report at www.drinkaware.ie
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