Alcohol putting Tayside's hospitals under increased strain
Alcohol-related admissions to Tayside hospitals have risen to a five-year high, bucking the national trend.
Ninewells Hospital A&E consultant Bill Morrison dealing with a drunk patient.
- By Graeme Ogston
- Published in the Courier : 16.06.10
- Published online : 16.06.10 @ 05.49pm
NHS Tayside treated 2336 people for alcohol-related problems in 2008/09 — a rise of 262 on the previous year.
The number of people treated in Dundee climbed into four figures for the first time, with 1102 requiring treatment.
Angus treated 399 people — a rise of 47 — while the figure in Perth and Kinross was up 40 to 835 people.
Despite the rise in Tayside, the number of alcohol-related discharges in Scottish hospitals fell by more than 1000 to 41,922.
The figures were discussed in Holyrood this week and come in the wake of MSPs' rejection of minimum pricing for alcohol, a key component of the SNP Government's Alcohol Bill.
Public health minister Shona Robison said the statistics made "grim reading" and provided "more evidence" that the tide of alcohol harm must be turned.
The Dundee MSP said, "Scotland's love affair with drink is well documented and we're taking radical and decisive action to tackle pocket-money prices which — as the World Health Organisation recognises — help to drive consumption and harm.
"Most worrying is the increase in alcohol-related problems among young people, who are putting themselves at risk of serious health problems.
"Alcohol is now around 70% more affordable than it was in 1980 and, over the same period, consumption and alcohol-related harm have spiralled. These factors are not unrelated."
Dr Peter Rice, consultant psychiatrist with NHS Tayside's drugs and substance misuse service, said, "Tayside's alcohol admission rate still remains below what would have been expected in comparison to areas like Grampian.
"It's not a surprise that alcohol is a big issue in Scotland and in our hospitals. Although there has been a lot of talk about price and harm, nothing has been done about it yet and we're still seeing cheap deals.
"We're really still waiting for some effective action to be taken."
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