Alcohol treatment funds taken away as problems get worse
Funding for alcohol treatment is being removed in real terms
AN exclusive data investigation has found that funding for alcohol treatment is being stripped away - at the same time that alcohol-related hospital admissions and illnesses are soaring, and shops selling booze around-the-clock are multiplying in numbers.
Campaigners said there was “serious need” for mandatory health warnings on alcohol labels.
The government has been slashing how much funding it gives to local authorities in the name of budget cuts and austerity.
It means councils are effectively having to pick and choose which services get cash.
The investigation - by the Reach Data Unit - found alcohol treatment was one area bearing the brunt of such cuts.
Council spending figures reveal that in 2013/14, Leicester City council and Leicestershire council collectively allocated £3.2 million to providing adults with treatment for alcohol misuse.
In today’s money that worth around £3.6 million.
But they actually spent just £3.0 million would be on providing treatment for alcohol misuse in 2018/19, the figures show.
It means people in need of support have lost £633,000 of funding for services.
Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Reductions to councils’ public health grant over the last six years by central government means effective outreach work is being restricted to only a small proportion of those that need support.
“Latest studies show four out of five adults dependent on alcohol are not getting into treatment – clearly more work needs to be done to investigate the reasons for this, but we need to fund these services appropriately.
“The causes of alcohol misuse and the solutions for tackling it are multifactorial.
“It requires close working with partners, imagination and hard work.
“When we get it right it can have a tremendous impact, vulnerable people are being given another chance to find work, rebuild relationships, improve their health and secure safe accommodation.
“To help avoid compounding acute pressures for criminal justice and NHS services further down the line, more money needs to be invested in cost-effective prevention work.
“Councils know more needs to be done in close collaboration with partners locally to ensure everyone gets the support they need wherever possible.”
Nationally, councils across England spent £190.4 million on schemes to tackle alcohol misuse in 2013/14.
That would be worth £214.3 million in today’s money.
But the data reveals councils spent just £170.5 million in 2018/19.
This is despite alcohol misuse costing the NHS an estimated £3.5 billion per year and society as a whole £21 billion annually.
At the same time as funding for treatment is cut, the toll alcohol is having on the health of people in Leicestershire is worsening.
NHS figures reveal that the number of emergency hospital admissions across Leicestershire for alcoholic liver disease rose to 285 in the year to 2018/19 - up from 180 the year before and the highest number since comparable records began in 2013/14.
The number of alcohol-related cancer diagnoses hit a record high of 1,050 between 2015 and 2017, the latest period with figures available.
There were also 306 deaths directly caused by booze between 2015 and 2017.
New figures published this month also reveal that 9,667 adults across Leicestershire and Leicester were classed as being alcohol dependent in 2017/18.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “These stark findings highlight the huge burden that alcohol places on the NHS, as well as the wider community.
“Alcohol is linked to over 200 different kinds of disease and injury and every year, one million hospital admissions are related to alcohol and yet the government is still failing to take alcohol harm seriously.
“Current government policy allows alcohol to be sold at pocket money prices whilst offering little support to those affected by alcohol misuse.
“The government must review duty rates across the board so that drinks of higher alcohol volume always cost more, and adequately fund treatment for people with addiction – saving taxpayers’ money in the long run as well as people’s lives.
“Policymakers should take action to reduce the overall amount of alcohol people drink through more appropriate alcohol marketing and regulations.
“There is a serious need for mandatory, specific health warnings on alcohol labels as well as sustained, government-backed campaigns warning people of the risks.”
Accessing alcohol at any time of the day is becoming increasingly easy in Leicestershire, too.
The latest Home Office figures reveal 95 premises across the county were allowed to sell alcohol 24/7, up from 92 the year before.
Nearly a third (30) were supermarkets.
Addressing the investigation, a spokesperson from The Department for Health and Social Care said: “While most people drink in moderation, some are unaware of the dangers of regularly consuming alcohol.
“The UK Chief Medical Officers have issued low risk drinking guidelines to help the public make healthier choices, with clear advice about alcohol-related health risks.
“As part of our Long Term Plan for the NHS, alcohol care teams will be introduced in hospitals with the highest number of alcohol-related admissions and we expect this to prevent 50,000 admissions from alcohol related harm over five years.” licensing