BOURNEMOUTH has one of the highest proportions of alcoholics in England, data reveals.
According to a new council report, there are estimated to be some 3,000 dependent drinkers in the borough, placing it 20th out of 155 local authorities, and indicating "a significant problem around dependent drinking in Bournemouth". Poole was ranked 93rd and Dorset 132nd under this system.
The total number of alcohol-related hospital admissions is at its highest level in the borough after a consistent increase since 2013. Most of the report's data comes from 2016.
The report states: "For Bournemouth, the increase may be suggestive of a possible failure in the education and preventative services and measures in place to avoid escalating physical health complications from alcohol misuse."
According to the report, the admissions rate to hospitals for alcohol-related physical and mental problems in Bournemouth is, in some areas, dramatically higher than the national average.
Admissions for alcohol-related mental health and behavioural disorders in Bournemouth are 100 per cent higher than national average for men, and almost 75 per cent higher for women.
"This highlights that amidst a national increasing trend in admissions to hospital for mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol, that Bournemouth is performing significantly worse," the report states.
"This may again be an indication of a possible failure in the preventative services and measures in places to avoid escalating mental and behavioural disorders from alcohol misuse and again it could potentially be indicative that Bournemouth is host to a more complex population."
The report notes that people living in deprived areas, of which Bournemouth has several, are more at risk of alcohol-related harm.
Nevertheless the data shows the proportion of adults exceeding their allocation of units on at least one day in the last week was greater in managerial and professional households (38 per cent) than in routine and manual households (28 per cent), and the proportion exceeding eight units for men or six for women followed the same pattern, 19 per cent compared with 15 per cent.
More than 40 per cent of alcohol-related hospital admissions in Bournemouth in 2015/16 were people aged over-65.
The borough also has a higher mortality rate from related physical conditions, such as chronic liver disease, than neighbours or a selection of similar locations, including Brighton, the Isle of Wight, Plymouth and Torbay.
"It is important to highlight that when comparing the specific rates per 100,000, that Bournemouth has the poorest performance across all four measures of mortality compared to all the comparator areas and geographical neighbours," the report states.
"These findings highlight the significant and irreversible impact alcohol misuse can have on individuals and their families.
"Chronic illness and premature deaths also pose a significant cost to health services as well as impacting on the wider economy."
The more severe 'blue light' cases – alcoholics who are "treatment resistant" and "the greatest burden" – are thought to each cost public services between £36,000 and £48,000 a year.
"Public Health England suggests that 94 per cent of dependent drinkers are not engaged with services. A percentage of these will meet the definition of being blue light clients," the report states.
"Twenty change resistant drinkers in Bournemouth could be costing public services between £720,000 and £960,000 per year."
Concluding, the report says funding cuts to services may bear some of the blame for the increase.
"Since 2013 local authorities nationally, have cut overall funding for alcohol and drug treatment by £300m.
"Locally budgets for substance misuse have been cut by up to 50 per cent during a four-year period.
"A recent report from Public Health England questioned if the Bournemouth treatment system was under stress due to budget cuts as performance is declining.
"Findings within the needs assessment suggest there is a need to educate and raise awareness around unsafe patterns of alcohol consumption.
"Education and health promotion materials would benefit from being segmented and targeted toward the different patterns of alcohol consumption seen within each age range and gender.
"It would also be of benefit to consider the correlation between income and alcohol consumption – higher earners are a potential cohort of people who are not effectively targeted with health promotion material."
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