12/06/2003

Charity urges better services for treating alcoholism

A leading social care charity has urged the government to give alcohol treatment as high a priority as it does for drug misuse, following the publication of research earlier today.

Turning Point, the country’s largest voluntary sector provider of alcohol and drug misuse services, made the call after their report, 'Waiting for Change: Treatment delays and the damage to drinkers', found that for every problematic Class A drug user, there are "at least six dependent alcohol drinkers".

Published in advance of the government’s forthcoming National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, Turning Point has highlighted an anomaly in funding whereby the government spends £573 million to drug treatment in 2005/6, it only commits £95 million annually on alcohol treatment.

The charity said: "This major shortfall in alcohol services is preventing dependent drinkers from getting the treatment they need –destructive for them, and society, just at the time when they are asking for help after years of alcohol misuse.

"And this shortfall is despite the fact that alcohol treatment is proven to be effective in turning lives around – better for the individual and better for society."

After smoking, alcoholism kills more people in the UK than any other drug, and one adult in 13 is dependant on drink, according to government statistics.

More than 33,000 people die each year due to alcohol-related incidents or associated health problems. Alcohol is involved in 15% of road accidents, 26% of drownings, and 36% of death in fires. A quarter of accidents at work are drink-related.

Turning Point’s research has also found that some dependent drinkers have to wait up to 18 months for treatment, and "patchy and fragmented alcohol services" are denying drinkers who want to overcome their dependency of their best chance of success.

Speaking today, Lord Victor Adebowale, Turning Point’s Chief Executive, said: "'Waiting for Change' demonstrates that there is a desperate need for the government to call time on alcohol dependency and to systematically invest in alcohol treatment services.

"At present, the government does not even know how many people nationally are in alcohol treatment. There is an urgent need for the government to give as high a priority to tackling alcohol dependency as it does to addressing drug misuse."

There are 3.8 million people classed as dependent drinkers in England and Wales and general alcohol use costs the NHS up to £3 billion a year on hospital services – 12% of the total NHS hospital spend.

Turning Point's call has been underscored by Alcoholics Anonymous who have urged more funding to investigate links between domestic violence and alcohol misuse.

Home Office figures have revealed that in 2000, 44% of domestic violence victims said their attacker was under the influence of alcohol – compared with 33% in 1998.

(GMcG)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

18 May 2006
Government action urged on alcoholic parents
An estimated one in eleven children in the UK are living with parents who misuse alcohol, according to a report. Social care charity Turning Point said that children whose parents had alcohol problems often suffered behavioural, emotional and school-related problems.
02 March 2009
Plans To Tackle Alcohol Abuse Announced In Scotland
Plans to ban two-for-one alcohol promotions and cheap supermarket booze have been outlined by the Scottish government today, to help tackle alcohol misuse.
21 January 2014
Motorway Pub Becomes First To Serve Alcohol
JD Wetherspoon has begun serving alcohol at a motorway services in Buckinghamshire. The Hope and Champion restaurant and bar at junction two on the M40 at Beaconsfield, will open from 04:00 to 01:00 and begin serving alcohol from 09:00.
17 July 2013
Govt Shelf Minimum Alcohol Pricing Policy
Plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing for England and Wales have been shelved. Announcing the move, minister Jeremy Browne said there were fears the policy would hit responsible drinkers but added that the policy would remian "under consideration".
12 June 2013
Charity Calls For Ban On Alcohol Advertising
Alcohol companies should be banned from advertising at sporting and music events, the charity Alcohol Concern has said. The ban would limit the exposure of young people to such advertising, as the charity claims that young people more readily recognise alcohol brands over ice cream and cake products.