Addiction services could struggle to cope with ‘soaring alcohol misuse’

The Royal College of Psychiatrists is warning that ‘soaring’ numbers of people misusing alcohol may lead to addition services in England struggling to cope.

Recent data has shown that many adults are drinking more since the coronavirus pandemic began and the college estimates that in June, over 8.4m people in England were drinking at increased risk levels, up from 4.8m in February.

It added that significant cuts made to addiction servicers could mean patients missing out on life-saving care.

Drinking too much alcohol can damage your liver and increase the risk of other health conditions such as stroke and heart disease. People with alcohol use disorder are also more likely to develop serious complications if they catch Covid-19.

The college is calling for the government to invest more in addiction services.

Professor Julia Sinclair, chair of the addictions faculty at the college, said “Covid-19 has shown just how stretched, under-resourced ad ill-equipped addiction services are to treat the growing numbers of vulnerable people living with this complex illness.

“There are now only five NHS inpatient units in the country, and no resource anywhere in my region to admit people who are alcohol dependent with co-existing mental illness.

“Drug-related deaths and alcohol-related hospital admissions were already at all-time highs before Covid-19. I fear that unless the government acts quickly we will see these numbers rise exponentially.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care, said “We have increased their funding this year, providing over £3.2 billion to spend on public health services like addiction.

“We support evidence-based approaches to reduce the health-related harms of drug misuse and, as part of our NHS Long Term Plan, alcohol care teams will be introduced in hospitals where alcohol-related admissions are high, intervening in 50,000 cases over five years to reduce harm.”

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