Alcohol addiction treatment experts are urging Councils across London today to “listen to the numbers” and to admit that today’s double-whammy Public Health England crisis due to alcohol cannot go ignored for yet another year.
The call comes as Public Health England has today revealed that alcohol related hospital admissions across areas in London reached almost 155,000 people; 13% of all of England’s hospital admissions due to alcohol.
The areas with the most amount of alcohol-related hospital admissions were Ealing (8,088 admissions), Brent (6,940), Croydon (6,512), Enfield (6,383) and Barnet (6,182)- all of which, except Croydon and Enfield, have risen year on year.
At the same time, the report also shows how many people have died because of alcohol across the London; 2,480 in 2017.
Places like Bexley have seen a staggering rise in the number of alcohol related deaths- from 76 in 2016 to 89 in 2017- a 17% rise.
Eytan Alexander, CEO of addiction treatment specialists UKAT comments;
“The numbers speak for themselves; thousands of people across London hospitalised because of alcohol and worse still, staggering rises in alcohol related deaths. It’s time to admit that there is a problem here, and we call on Councils across London to make better budget decisions this coming April and to invest more of their Public Health Grant into local drug and alcohol treatment services, as well as early intervention and awareness campaigns in order to support those most vulnerable.”
Today’s report comes as UKAT reveals that throughout 2018, over half (55%) of all patients treated were for alcohol addiction, the highest amount they’ve ever treated. UKAT treated 1,025 patients for alcohol addiction in 2018, compared to just 579 in 2015; a 77% rise in just 3 years.
Think you have a problem with alcohol? Take a 30 second internationally recognised screening test to see if you need help; https://www.ukat.co.uk/alcohol/cage-questionnaire/
