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Alcohol-related
hospital admissions up
20 per cent in a decade
A
lcohol was the main
reason for almost
360,000 hospital
admissions in 2018-19,
according to figures
from NHS Digital – a 6 per cent
increase on the previous year and 19
per cent up from a decade ago.
The figures are based on the
narrow measure of instances
where an alcohol-related disease,
condition or injury was the primary
reason for admission. Using a wider
measure that includes conditions
that could be caused by alcohol the
number rises to 1.3m admissions, 8
per cent up on the previous year.
Alcohol-related primary hospital
admissions accounted for 2 per
cent of all admissions, with more
than 40 per cent of patients aged
between 45 and 64. More than 60
per cent of the admissions were men.
Last year saw 5,698 alcohol-specific
deaths, which is 2 per cent down on
the previous year.
The Alcohol Health Alliance,
meanwhile, is urging the government
to increase alcohol duty in this month’s
budget to fund ‘thousands of new
jobs’ in health and public services. The
alliance is calling for an increase of 2
per cent above inflation – recent cuts in
duty have cost the Treasury more than
£1bn per year, it says, enough to fund
the salaries of 40,000 nurses.
‘Alcohol is 64 per cent cheaper
than it was thirty years ago, and
its availability at these prices is
encouraging more of us to drink at
unhealthy levels,’ said alliance chair
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore. ‘In order
to protect the future health of our
society, the government must take
action now by increasing duty on
alcohol and investing that money into
our over-stretched and underfunded
NHS and public services.’
Statistics on alcohol, England 2020
at digital.nhs.uk
Alcohol Health Alliance letter to the
chancellor at ahauk.org/letter-to-the-
chancellor
Loneliness pushing The right questions
people towards
ALMOST 90 PER CENT OF
PEOPLE accessing Phoenix
alcohol
Futures’ services have
More than a third
MORE THAN ONE IN TEN PEOPLE who experience
loneliness are turning to alcohol to cope, according
to you a YouGov survey commissioned by Turning
Point. Around 30 per cent of Britons feel lonely
‘all, often or some of the time’, the poll found – 35
per cent of women and 26 per cent of men – with
people aged 40 and above most likely to drink to
cope with their isolation. ‘It’s worrying that so many
feel lonely, and some are turning to alcohol for
comfort,’ said Turning Point’s head of psychology
Jan Larkin. ‘More commitment is needed from the
government to addressing the issue.’
Meanwhile, provisional estimates from the
Department for Transport (DfT) show a 4 per cent
increase in drink-drive accidents for 2018. Almost
6,000 incidents involved at least one driver who
was over the alcohol limit, resulting in around 240
deaths –13 per cent of all road accident fatalities.
Reported road casualties in Great Britain:
provisional estimates involving illegal alcohol levels
2018 at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/
department-for-transport
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM
suffered a traumatic life
event and more than a
third have experienced
sexual abuse, according
to the organisation’s
latest Footprints survey.
More than half have been
homeless, 15 per cent were
in the care system as a
child and 70 per cent have
been to A&E in the last year. Almost half, meanwhile, had found
it ‘difficult or very difficult’ to find residential rehab information
and funding, with 30 per cent of residents in one service having to
attend a panel in an unfamiliar location in order to access funding.
‘Every two years at Phoenix we ask the people who use
our services the questions other people probably haven’t
asked them,’ the charity says – ‘questions that give us an
understanding of the life lived before a person comes to us’.
Locally designed processes are ‘onerous and stigmatising and
deter people from getting the help available’ it adds. ‘This
creates a perception of “lack of demand” which impacts national
and local policy decisions.’
Survey findings at www.phoenix-futures.org.uk
of people accessing
Phoenix Futures’
services have
experienced sexual
abuse.
Local News
ASPIRE TO LEARN
Doncaster-based Aspire
Drug and Alcohol Service
has joined forces with the
universities of Sheffield and
North Carolina on a two-
year behavioural activation
study on substance use and
depression. ‘Being involved
in this type of research
puts us at the forefront of
trialling new treatment
interventions and patterns
of care for people who use
our services in the future,’
said service manager
Stuart Green.
GET THE EDGE
The winner of this year’s
Outside Edge Theatre
Company competition for
scripts about addiction
will receive a £6,000
commission and mentoring
from playwright Edna
Walsh, the company has
announced. Entries are
invited from 16 March, with
full details at edgetc.org
and at the DDN Conference,
which will feature a
performance from the
group.
HIV HELP
Change Grow Live is leading
a new HIV partnership
project in London to boost
testing and help more
people stay on treatment.
‘HIV infection has a huge
impact on vulnerable
people including those
with substance misuse
problems,’ said director
Gaby Price. ‘This partnership
is an excellent opportunity
to promote collaboration
across the HIV and
substance misuse sectors.’
MARCH 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 5