Abuse of drink and drugs within families on rise

PANDEMIC BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF REASONS FOR INCREASE

DRUG and alcohol abuse by parents and children across the North East has soared in the last two years.

Research based on the assessment of households by social workers shows that drug misuse identified in children went up 84% from 541 to 993 between 2018 and 2020 across the region. Alcohol misuse by kids in that period went up 46% from 475 to 695.

Meanwhile, for parents, alcohol misuse had gone up 27% from 2,623 to 3,341 and drug misuse 28%, from 2,572 to 3,300.

The figures were released by the UK Addiction Treatment Group (UKAT), which they said were based on recent Department for Education statistics showing the number of children in need due to either parents or the children themselves misusing drugs or alcohol in the home.

In Newcastle, alcohol misuse identified in children rose by 187% from 39 to 112, while drug abuse leapt by 240% from 53 to 180.

In County Durham, alcohol misuse went up by 181% from 48 to 135. The figure for drug misuse identified in children went up 226% from 54 to 176.

While North Tyneside also saw the highest percentage jump of all, they were from lower figures. A rise of 10 to 47 in alcohol misuse represents a 370%, increase while drug misuse rose 353%, from 13 to 59.

Alcohol misuse identified in parents went up 91% in Newcastle, and drug misuse 84%. In the Durham area, the figures were 63% and 60% respectively.

Nuno Albuquerque, group treatment lead at UKAT, said: “This report is truly saddening as it paints such a graphic and telling picture of how some families in the North East are living.

“Our immediate concern now is how much worse their situations may have become since the Covid-19 crisis.

“It has been a difficult year for everyone but if households across the North East had a pre-existing problem with drugs and alcohol then that abuse could well have worsened in the last 12 months, placing more children in need of more help.”

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in massive disruptions in society. We know that alcohol consumption has increased since the start of the pandemic and people are drinking more frequently.

“We’re seeing an increase in drug and alcohol misuse across the country. In Newcastle we have taken a proactive stance to identify harmful drug and alcohol behaviours early on.

“We have, with our commissioned services partners, trained more than 3,600 professionals in hospitals, drug and alcohol services, social work settings and children’s homes on delivering brief interventions to staff and patients. Our Newcastle Treatment and Recovery offers a fully integrated young people’s service.

“Tackling drug and alcohol misuse is a continued priority for the council and we are committed to working with our partners to ensure help and support is available to people.”

Amanda Healy, Durham County Council’s director of public health, said: “We commission Humankind, Spectrum and The Basement Project to deliver our Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (DARS), which provides a comprehensive range of support for individuals and families across the county.

“The increase in the number of parents and children being assessed as having problems with drugs and alcohol reflects the significant investment in training we have made in recent years to ensure staff can identify issues at the earliest possible opportunity.

“We work in partnership with a range of agencies to offer support that is tailored to the individual’s and families’ needs. This co-ordinated, multi-agency approach has led to an increase in referrals... as the reputation of the service grows.

“I would encourage anyone in need of alcohol or drug-related support to contact DARS on 03000 266 266.”