LONDON SEES THE BIGGEST DECLINE IN ALCOHOL RELATED HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS IN 5 YEARS

London has seen the biggest decline in alcohol related hospital admissions over the past five years, according to a new study by Private Rehab Clinic Delamere.

The new UK Drug Addiction 2022 Report by Delamere has analysed data from before the pandemic to current data, to show the impact COVID-19 had on alcohol admissions. In England and Wales hospital admissions have seen a 70 decrease since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

London saw the biggest decrease in admissions since 2016, the capital had 104,770 alcohol-related issues in hospitals. That number decreased by 74% to just 25,600 by 2021.

The North West of England came in second place, seeing a 73% decrease in admissions to 35,560 in 2021. Yorkshire and Humber came in third place with a 71% decrease from 2016, the region had dropped to 25,980 alcohol related hospital admissions in 2021.

Catherine Carney, Delamere’s psychiatrist and addiction specialist said: “On the face of it, a decrease in alcohol-related hospital admissions appears to be a positive outcome. However, upon deeper inspection, it’s clear that this is not necessarily the case.”

“During the pandemic, ready access to health and social care was much more restricted — this meant routine hospital services were also very restricted.”

“In order to prioritise access to hospital beds for those fighting COVID-19, other health services were replaced with telephone or online consultations — or postponed entirely. In addition, hospital staff were redeployed or limited in their abilities due to a stark increase in their workload,” she added.

Carney concluded: “”In this context, it’s also worth noting that alcohol deaths throughout the UK rose to an all-time high in 2020. From this statistic alone, it’s clear that the dramatic decline in alcohol-related hospital admissions sadly had fatal consequences for far too many people.”

Find out more here: https://delamere.com/blog/uk-drug-addiction-report-2022