Alcohol deaths at an all-time high in 2020

A study by an addiction centre has found that London’s alcohol-related hospital admissions have fallen by 74 per cent in the past five years – the biggest drop in the country.

A UK Drug Addiction 2022 Report from rehabilitation clinic Delamere, using Public Health England data, shows in 2016 the capital saw 104,770 alcohol-related issues in hospitals.

By 2021 that number had decreased by 74 per cent, to 25,600.

In England and Wales hospital admissions for alcohol-related issues have seen a 70 per cent decrease since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

Catherine Carney, Delamere’s psychiatrist and addiction specialist, said of the findings: “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.

“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.”

Picture Credit:  Pixabay/jarmoluk