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The situation regarding alcohol treatment in England is
improving, claims a new report from the NTA. While
alcohol has long been seen as a ‘poor relation’ compared
to drugs, waiting times are now lower and more people
are coming forward for treatment, says
Alcohol treatment
in England and Wales 2011-12
.
The number of people successfully completing
treatment is also increasing, it says, with just over 38,000
people doing so in 2011-12, 6 per cent up from the
previous year. The majority of those in treatment – 70 per
cent – were in the 30-54 age range, with an average age of
42, and two thirds of the treatment population was male.
Nearly 90 per cent were in the ‘white British’ ethnic group,
and 19 per cent were referred by their GP, compared to 38
per cent who self-referred.
More effort was still needed however, the agency
stated, adding that alcohol treatment would be a
‘significant priority’ for Public Health England (PHE). The
proportion of people waiting fewer than three weeks to
start treatment stood at 85 per cent, compared to 78 per
cent in 2008-09, and while the figures were ‘heading in
the right direction, there remains plenty of room for
further improvement’, says the document.
‘The high number of people who require help with
problem drinking remains a great cause for concern,’ said
the NTA’s director of delivery, Rosanna O'Connor. ‘The signs
that more are seeking to overcome their alcohol misuse
and more are successfully completing treatment are,
however, encouraging. This progress will continue to be
driven by Public Health England, working with local
authorities to ensure that the full range of effective
alcohol services are available and accessible.’
She warned against complacency, stating that around
1.6m people were thought to have some level of alcohol
dependence. ‘The health problems and costs associated
with alcohol misuse are rising year-on-year, and preventing
and tackling it will be a key priority for PHE,’ she said.
Meanwhile, the latest set of alcohol-related death
figures has been issued by the Office for National Statistics
(ONS). There were 8,748 alcohol-related deaths in the UK
in 2011 – a figure largely unchanged from the previous
year – with more than 66 per cent among males and death
rates highest in the 55-59 age group.
NTA report at www.nta.nhs.uk
Alcohol-related deaths in the United Kingdom 2011 at
www.ons.gov.uk
HOMELESS HELP
DrugScope has joined forces with St Mungo’s
on a new campaign to make sure that women
who are homeless and facing drug or alcohol
problems get the help they need. The
organisations want to hear examples of best
practice in supporting homeless women, as
most homelessness provision has traditionally
been designed for men. ‘Women experiencing
homelessness face stigma from society,’ said
DrugScope chief executive Martin Barnes. ‘For
those who also have problems with drug or
alcohol use, this can be even more severe.
We want to hear from practitioners on the
ground and women using services themselves
about what works and what support is
missing.’
rebuildingshatteredlives.org
COMMUNITY CASH
The 2013/14 budget for local public health
services will be just under £2.7bn, health
secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced, rising
to around £2.8bn in 2014/15. Every local
authority would receive a ‘real terms’ increase
in funding, he said. ‘By putting local authorities
in charge of public health, we are giving them
the power, freedom and the funding to tackle
the issues that blight their local areas and
help improve the lives of their local
communities.’
Full details of allocations at
www.dh.gov.uk/health/2013/01/ph-grants-las/
LICENSING LINKS
A new briefing on public health and alcohol
licensing has been published by the LGA and
Alcohol Research UK. The briefing contains a
list of potential partnership bodies and useful
documents, and explains the policy context.
www.local.gov.uk
FRANK DECADE
The Home Office’s drugs advice service
FRANK is marking its tenth anniversary with
the launch of three new adverts and an
online live chat facility for its website. More
than 35m people have visited the website
since its launch.
www.talktofrank.com
AIMING TO SCORE
A mephedrone awareness campaign,
Do you
know the score?
has been launched by the
Welsh government to coincide with the Six
Nations Rugby tournament. Leaflets, posters
and radio adverts highlight the risks
associated with taking the drug and let users
know where they can get help, while
campaign beer mats will be distributed to
every Wetherspoons pub in Wales.
February 2013 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 5
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
News |
Round-up
NEWS IN
BRIEF
Doctors warn on prescription addiction
A consensus statement has been issued by the Royal
College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Royal College
of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) cautioning against the long-term
prescribing of medicines that carry a risk of addiction.
The statement, which is supported by nearly 20 other
organisations including the NTA, SMMGP, National
Pharmacy Association and the British Association of Social
Workers, says medicines such as tranquilisers and
painkillers should not be prescribed for long periods
‘except in exceptional circumstances’. While many patients
may feel that the drugs are beneficial, it is vital that they
understand the risks and are able to make informed
choices, say the organisations, which also call for ‘rigorous
and holistic’ reviews to be regularly carried out.
The statement acknowledges the challenges faced by
people who have developed an addiction to prescription
or over-the-counter medicines, and stresses that ‘extreme
caution’ should be taken when reducing or stopping the
medication, including seeking specialist help. Some
medicines – such as benzodiazepines – carry a known risk
of dependence, which can be ‘devastating to those
affected and their families’, it states, and stresses that
prescribing should always be informed by up-to-date
guidance. Patients should also be offered ‘appropriate
non
‐
pharmacological options’ where appropriate.
Health and social care professionals across the
statutory and voluntary sector need to work together to
prevent addiction from occurring and support ‘all those
suffering dependence and its impact’, the document
adds, with GPs well-placed to work in partnership with
other agencies.
This joint-working approach had ‘been shown to be
successful in helping patients to slowly adjust their
treatment and achieve their recovery goals, including
providing them with more access to alternatives such as
psychological therapies and physical rehabilitation for pain
relief,’ said RCGP chair Dr Clare Gerada. ‘GPs and health
professionals are already helping these patients to reduce
their medication and understand all the options – but
there is general agreement that we all need to do more.’
The statement has been welcomed by the NTA, with the
agency adding that much of what it called for was already
underway. Public Health England (PHE) would ‘continue to
support local authorities to ensure that appropriate help is
available for everyone who needs it’, it said.
Addiction to medicines consensus statement at
www.rcgp.org.uk
See news focus, page 6
Alcohol services ‘improving’
Rosanna O’Connor:
‘More are seeking to
overcome their alcohol misuse and more
are successfully completing treatment.’