The government should give drink as high a
priority as drugs, according to new research published today by
Turning Point, the leading social care charity and the country's
largest voluntary sector provider of alcohol and drug misuse
services.
Waiting for Change: Treatment delays and the damage to drinkers,
published this week (12 June) in advance of the government's
forthcoming National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, highlights
that for every problematic Class A drug user, there are at least
six dependent alcohol drinkers, yet it's still drugs that attract
the headlines, and the cash.
Whilst the government spends £95 million annually on alcohol
treatment, there's £573 million committed to drug treatment in
2005/6. This major shortfall in alcohol services is preventing
dependent drinkers from getting the treatment they need
-destructive for them, and society, just at the time when they are
asking for help after years of alcohol misuse.
And this shortfall is despite the fact that alcohol treatment is
proven to be effective in turning lives around - better for the
individual and better for society. Turning Point's research reveals
that some dependent drinkers have to wait up to 18 months for
treatment, endangering their lives and perpetuating the huge social
and personal impact of drinking. Treatment for dependent drinkers
is less effective if drinkers are forced to wait long periods -
plus, they often need to on drinking as much treatment is designed
to help withdraw safely from alcohol.
Patchy and fragmented alcohol services are denying drinkers who
want to overcome their dependency of their best chance of success
-a high price for society as well as the individual. Investment in
treatment services could reduce the demands elsewhere on the NHS
and the criminal justice services by helping dependent drinkers to
change their behaviour.
The report urges the government to tackle the problem head on in
the forthcoming strategy by investing in alcohol services and
reducing waiting lists for treatment - in line with drug treatment
services.
Turning Point's 'Waiting for Change' report:
• Some dependent drinkers had to wait up to 18 months for an
assessment. Turning Point believes the ultimate goal should be to
ensure waiting times of no more than two weeks for an assessment,
two-weeks for in-patient detoxification and three weeks for all
other forms of treatment - in line with government targets for drug
services.
• Nearly six out of ten dependent drinkers experienced delays in
getting treatment for their alcohol problem.
• The average length of time that people had been a dependent
drinker was 14 years. The range was between five and 37 years. Many
dependent drinkers took some years to recognise they had a problem
and needed treatment.
• One dependent drinker said that he had been drinking up to 3-4
litres of vodka a day - around 1000 units of alcohol a week.
Turning Point's experience as a major provider of alcohol treatment
services is that it is commonplace for dependent drinkers to drink
at least the equivalent of a bottle of spirits a day - 280 units a
week. The government recommends that the sensible level of drinking
is not more than 3-4 units a day for men and 2-3 units a day for
women.
• Many people with alcohol problems have other social care
needs. Half of dependent drinkers (51%) said that they also had a
mental health problem.
Dependent drinkers - key facts:
• Dependent drinkers have a compulsion to drink and lack control
over their drinking, even when it affects their physical or mental
health. There are 3.8 million people dependent drinkers in England
and Wales (3 million men and 800,000 women).
• Dependent drinkers are often very ill when they seek
treatment. Unless assessment and treatment is quickly available, a
rare opportunity to provide much needed treatment may be lost. If a
person stops drinking abruptly without medical supervision, there
may be serious physical effects such as epileptic seizures.
• Every seven minutes someone is admitted to an NHS hospital
where mental and behavioural problems due to alcohol were a factor
in their admission.
• Every day, 13 people die as a direct result of alcohol misuse.
In all, alcohol plays some role in around 40,000 deaths each year.
Alcohol misuse is thought to be a major cause in about 3% of new
cancers in England - or in over 8,000 a year. It also increases the
risk of dying from illnesses such as strokes, cirrhosis of the
liver and damage to the brain and nervous system.
• Dependent drinkers are eight times more likely than
non-dependent drinkers to appear in court. Alcohol is a factor in
up to 45% of cases of domestic violence.
• The Department of Health spends 18 times more on funding
research into drug treatment compared to research into alcohol harm
reduction.
• General alcohol use costs the NHS up to £3 billion a year on
hospital services - 12% of the total NHS hospital spend.
Speaking today, Lord Victor Adebowale, Turning Point's Chief
Executive said that:
"'Waiting for Change' demonstrates that there is a desperate
need for the Government to call time on alcohol dependency and to
systematically invest in alcohol treatment services. With almost
four million people in England and Wales dependent on alcohol, over
six times the number of people who are problem users of Class A
drugs, society cannot afford to continue to neglect alcohol
treatment. At present, the government does not even know how many
people nationally are in alcohol treatment.
"There is an urgent need for the government to give as high a
priority to tackling alcohol dependency as it does to addressing
drug misuse. As the country's largest voluntary sector provider of
alcohol and drug misuse services, Turning Point is keen to work
with the government to ensure that dependent drinkers no longer
have to wait for up to 18 months to receive much needed
treatment."
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Notes to editors:
For further information, case studies or to arrange an interview
with Turning Point spokespeople or alcohol treatment service users
contact Turning Point's Press Office on 020 7553 5500 or by mobile
on 07900 418720.
Waiting for Change: treatment delays and the damage to drinkers
is available free of charge from Turning Point.
Turning Point is the UK's largest social care charity providing
services for people with
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