Hospital drink admissions jump 60% in a decade
HOSPITAL admissions linked to alcohol have soared more than 60 per cent in a decade, official figures show.
Experts last night warned that heavy drinking is ‘crippling’ the NHS, with nearly 1.3million people admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol in England in 2018/19.
That is an 8 per cent rise on the previous year and a 61 per cent increase since 2008/9, according to NHS Digital.
Reasons for alcohol-related admissions include direct causes such as liver disease, acute intoxication and alcohol withdrawal, as well as secondary reasons such as fall injuries, car accidents and liver cancer.
The middle-aged are driving the rise – providing further evidence that baby boomers have overtaken the young as the country’s problem drinkers.
Teenagers used to be considered the country’s biggest drinkers, bingeing at weekends in pubs and clubs. But today experts are more worried about the middle-aged daily drinkers, who buy wine from supermarkets and consume it at home.
Some 47 per cent of those admitted for alcohol-related reasons last year were aged between 55 and 74, the report revealed.
Those aged 16 to 24 were responsible for only 3 per cent of admissions. Men made up 65 per cent. Some 5,698 people died due to drink last year – 2 per cent lower than in 2017/18 but a 7 per cent rise on 2008/09.
The report also found that men and women aged 55 to 64 are the most likely to drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week – the maximum amount recommended by the NHS.
Some 38 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women in this age group usually drink more than 14 units in a week. It also revealed a rise in drinking at home.
Since 2014, purchases of drinks for home consumption have increased by 16 per cent, while alcohol sales in bars, restaurants and clubs rose 6 per cent.
Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said last night: ‘The data released today reflect a national picture of increasing rates of alcohol harm.
These harmful drinking trends are driven by a combination of alcohol becoming increasingly affordable and accessible, and marketing by a powerful industry that fails to provide health information to consumers.’
Nuno Albuquerque, of UKAT rehab clinics, said: ‘This country’s problem with alcohol is a ticking time bomb about to explode.
‘The NHS is crippling under pressures directly attributable to the misuse of alcohol – what will it take to make the Government sit up, listen and take effective action?’
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: ‘England needs minimum unit pricing, following the lead of Scotland and Wales, and cuts in support for harmful drinkers need to be reversed.’
An NHS spokesman added: ‘Alcohol care teams will be rolled out in hospitals with the highest number of alcohol-related admissions and will support patients and families who have issues with alcohol misuse.’