Labour wants alcohol care teams

A Labour government would fund an alcohol care team in every NHS hospital in England, shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has announced.

Mr Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, pledged to spend £13.5 million to ensure all 191 district hospitals have teams of at least three staff to offer specialist help to patients admitted with drink-related problems.

Figures obtained by Labour show at least 41 English hospitals do not have an alcohol care team in place.

Research suggests the initiative could save the NHS £40 million in the long term by reducing the length and frequency of stays in hospital by people with alcohol problems, Mr Ashworth said.

The MP has spoken of his experience of growing up with an alcoholic father.

He told a meeting hosted by the Huffington Post on the fringe of Labour’s conference in Liverpool: “It seems to me we are ignoring huge numbers of people in society who have an addiction problem, whether it’s for alcohol or drugs.”

Deaths from drug misuse were “at their highest ever”, while 600,000 alcohol-dependent people were not receiving the support they need following cuts totalling tens of millions of pounds to treatment services, he said.

“I think we are failing large numbers of people,” said Mr Ashworth.

“Not only is it wrong for those people, it also puts huge pressure on the wider NHS.”

Richard Piper, of Alcohol Concern, welcomed the pledge.

He said: “All the evidence suggests these teams not only help people get the support they need, but that they also save the NHS money.”