Booze shame
County’s grim toll: 278 people killed from alcohol abuse
A total of 278 people have died from alcoholrelated illnesses in Ayrshire and Arran over the past four years, The Post can reveal.
New data shows that 33 adults died in hospital in Ayrshire from abusing booze from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.
During this period, 14 died in Ayr Hospital and 19 at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.
The number of adults who died from abusing booze has reduced by 64 per cent over four years.
A total of 278 people have died from alcohol- related illnesses in Ayrshire and Arran over the past four years, The Post can reveal.
New data shows that 33 adults died in hospital in Ayrshire from abusing booze from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019.
During this period, 14 died in Ayr Hospital and 19 at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.
The number of adults who died from abusing booze has reduced by 64 per cent over four years.
In 2017- 18, there were 68 deaths from alcohol- related illnesses compared to 85 in 2016- 17 and 92 in 2015- 16. Over the four period, 87 people died at Ayr Hospital with less 141 deaths at Crosshouse Hospital.
It means that at least one person every week was recorded as a death from a booze- related illness at the county’s hospitals. The highest year for deaths at Ayr Hospital was 29 in 2015/ 16, four more than 2016/ 17 total of 25 and ten more than 19 in 2017/ 18.
Health secretary Jeane Freeman MSP, whose constituency covers Ayr Hospital, said The Scottish Government introduced Minimum Unit Pricing ( MUP) in May to try and turn around Scotland’s troubled relationship with alcohol.
“The health and wellbeing of people is absolutely paramount
– and the fact that alcohol misuse costs Scotland £ 3.6 billion every year shows how damaging our relationship with alcohol is,” she added.
“Given the clear and proven link between consumption and harm, minimum pricing is the most effective and efficient way to tackle the cheap, high strength alcohol that causes so much damage to so many families and places an unnecessary strain on A& E departments across the country.”
Ayr MSP John Scott said more cash must be spent on organisations helping people to beat their alcohol addiction.
“Research shows that alcohol causes around 1 in 15 deaths in Scotland and these figures are a clear illustration that the challenge of curbing alcoholrelated deaths is just as pressing here in Ayrshire as anywhere else in the country,” he added. “Add to that the pressure put on local health and emergency services as a result of the misuse of alcohol and the need for further action is all to evident.
“Alcohol and Drug Partnerships across Scotland have suffered from a budget squeeze over recent years and, although cuts have been heavier in other parts of Scotland, we have not been immune to their effect in Ayrshire. A failure to properly invest in organisations seeking to reduce alcohol- related harm is clearly the wrong thing to do while we are battling with such major problems with drug and alcohol addiction.”
Our special investigation shows that 14,252 patients were discharged from accident and emergency or inpatients were alcohol was mentioned in the discharge for diagnoses over the four- year period. Of the 14252, 2596 had attended A& E and
11656 were inpatients at the county’s hospitals. Over the four- period, 4904 patients attended Ayr Hospital for boozedrelated problems, 755 were discharged at A& E and 4149 were inpatients. The figures were higher at Crosshouse Hospital with 9106.
This consisted of 515 discharged at A& E and 8591 as a hospital inpatient.
Stephen Brown, director of Health and Social Care North Ayrshire, said “One alcohol- related death was one too many and each death is a tragedy for the individual’s family and local community.”
Mr Brown said tackling alcohol was one of the health authority’s top four priorities for improving health.
“We provide an alcohol liaison service throughout our hospitals, in our emergency departments and general wards,” he added.
“When someone is identified as potentially having an alcohol- related admission, we offer support and treatment advice. If required, patients are referred on to NHS Addiction Services before they are discharged.
“Our Addiction Services team provide detoxification treatment interventions to support people who want to become abstinent from alcohol and other substances. This support is available at home and in local community settings. All residents who want to become abstinent from alcohol or drugs and require support to cope with withdrawal symptoms can access this treatment. Hospitalbased detoxification facilities are also available at Woodland View in Irvine for those people for whom home detoxification is deemed unsuitable after assessment. We support and encourage people to engage with other community- based recovery activities following this treatment, many of which are funded and supported by the local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships.”