Alcohol misuse is costing town £66m
7:50am Friday 17th June 2011 in Latest News By Katie Bond
BINGE-drinking teens and violent drunks are costing Swindon tax-payers more than £66m a year, says a new health report.
NHS Swindon has drawn up a new strategy to tackle the number of under-18s admitted to hospital with alcohol-related illnesses.
The report, written as part of the town’s Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for the next three years says that Swindon performs significantly worse in alcohol related admissions for the under 18s, alcohol related violent crime and sexual offences than the UK average.
Figures included in the report show: l 16.1 per cent of adults in the town binge drink regularly l 20 per cent exceed the recommended units of alcohol a week l The average Swindon man loses 8.3 months of his life due to excessive drinking and the average woman 3.5 months l The cost to the town in health and policing costs is £66.6m a year and nationally it is thought to be £55.1bn.
Frances Mayes, senior public health manager for NHS Swindon, said: “Excessive use of alcohol is causing considerable harm in Swindon, to individuals and communities.
“Swindon rates of alcohol specific admissions for the under 18s, alcohol related violent crime and alcohol related sexual offences are higher than the England average.
“The demands on services due to alcohol use is significant and costly and this strategy aims to reduce the harms and demands by educating individuals and health professionals; introducing screening and brief interventions; improving access to detox and treatment services, targeting vulnerable groups and those with particular need such as offenders and the homeless; and working with the licensed trade.
“This strategy reflects this partnership approach to a vision of Swindon in which health, social, economic and personal opportunities are maximised through the removal of the barriers that alcohol misuse causes.”
According to the report, the average man living in Swindon loses about 8.3 months of life due to alcohol-use disorder, while the average woman loses about 3.5 months.
At Great Western Hospital (GWH) an alcohol liaison team has been created to support patients who consume too much alcohol or are dependent on it.
The team is made up of two specialist nurses, Sarah Baughn and Debbie Smith, who offer intervention and support to patients over the age of 18 who arrive at the emergency department having consumed harmful amounts of alcohol.
They use techniques to get individuals to think differently about their alcohol use and provide advice and guidance to help patients reduce the amount of alcohol they consume. The team also assess and offer longer term support to patients who are alcohol dependant throughout their hospital admission and immediately after they leave.
The new Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for the next three years focuses on four key themes to combat the problem through education, identification and treatment, crime and disorder and working with the licensed trade.
Frances said the strategy will be delivered by community safety partnership members and stakeholders, while an alcohol co-ordinator will be appointed and an alcohol steering group established to monitor and ensure the implementation of the strategy.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said the biggest problem with alcohol in Swindon is people drinking at home before nights out.
He said: “People are coming into the town centre and Old Town having already consumed alcohol.
“Pre-loading is something that has become more prevalent over the last 12 to 18 months. This could be down to a variety of factors – the recession means there is less money about and so pubs, clubs and supermarkets are all vying for business.
“It is an issue if people are coming into the town drunk – both for licensed premises and for us in terms of policing.
“What we have tried to do is look at education – it’s very difficult to stop people drinking in their own homes. People need to make their own choices and we have given them the information to help them make an informed choice.”
Comments(22)
Robfm
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9:36am Fri 17 Jun 11
Well at least that is a step forward. Whilst I am in no way defending the type of drunkenness we see in town centres all across England and Wales, I do take issue with is 'gib' throwing together of so called cost to the NHS.
The official cost of alcohol related health issues which includes GP and prescription costs is £2.7 billion a year according to the NHS/ONS.
The Government receives approximately £8 billion in duty and VAT (incidentally the below cost selling by supermarkets cost HMG hundreds of millions in VAT) from the sale of alcohol.
A.Baron-Cohen
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9:40am Fri 17 Jun 11
Robfm
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9:52am Fri 17 Jun 11
ManWithCar
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11:56am Fri 17 Jun 11
But wait, I was forgetting that the whole problem is due to drinking at home and NOT down to the stupidly high number of 2nd rate drinking holes that proffer discounted drinks to all and sundry... surely?
adsinibiza
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12:37pm Fri 17 Jun 11
ManWithCar wrote:Itsactually got far more to do with the individual than the particular premises and the offers that they give out or drinking at home.
Perhaps SBC might consider non-renewal of licensed premises in the Bridge Street area? After all it's the high business rates that drove all the retailers out, and brought the god-awful pubs in that can afford to pay them, given the huge profit margin that these places make. Personally I would not touch any of them with a barge pole, I prefer a quiet pint in Old Town.
But wait, I was forgetting that the whole problem is due to drinking at home and NOT down to the stupidly high number of 2nd rate drinking holes that proffer discounted drinks to all and sundry... surely?
At the risk of repeating a point made in a discussion from a few weeks ago - you see an awful lot of alcohol being consumed at rugby and cricket matches but rarely see any trouble - football is often the opposite with the sale of alcohol often being banned close to matches. There are other factors at play that have little if anything to do with when and where the alcohol is consumed or the price that is paid for it.
Robfm also makes some valid points concerning ons statistics concerning the costs and revenues involved with alcohol.
However the bottom line is, as long as we stay within the law, despite what doctors and health managers may say or think, we are quite entitled to drink alcohol!
ManWithCar
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1:36pm Fri 17 Jun 11
adsinibiza wrote:I don't disagree with your points either - yes, it is down to the individual! And you don't see many rugby fans drinking bottles of Smirnoff Ice, it's pints all the way. The town centre establishments pander to the younger minority by selling pitchers of multiple spirit-based cocktails and it's all aimed at the "vodka crowd". Beer isn't at the root of binge-drinking, it's spirits. Trouble is, most young people are too stupid to realise they are drinking 40% proof drinks all night rather than a few pints of 5% or 6% bitter.
ManWithCar wrote: Perhaps SBC might consider non-renewal of licensed premises in the Bridge Street area? After all it's the high business rates that drove all the retailers out, and brought the god-awful pubs in that can afford to pay them, given the huge profit margin that these places make. Personally I would not touch any of them with a barge pole, I prefer a quiet pint in Old Town. But wait, I was forgetting that the whole problem is due to drinking at home and NOT down to the stupidly high number of 2nd rate drinking holes that proffer discounted drinks to all and sundry... surely?Itsactually got far more to do with the individual than the particular premises and the offers that they give out or drinking at home. At the risk of repeating a point made in a discussion from a few weeks ago - you see an awful lot of alcohol being consumed at rugby and cricket matches but rarely see any trouble - football is often the opposite with the sale of alcohol often being banned close to matches. There are other factors at play that have little if anything to do with when and where the alcohol is consumed or the price that is paid for it. Robfm also makes some valid points concerning ons statistics concerning the costs and revenues involved with alcohol. However the bottom line is, as long as we stay within the law, despite what doctors and health managers may say or think, we are quite entitled to drink alcohol!
The only positive way to look at it is that it may "thin the herd" a little in years to come when they start dropping dead of liver failure!
yougi bear
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1:49pm Fri 17 Jun 11
her_in_doors2
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1:50pm Fri 17 Jun 11
Add to this the illegal immigrants who are arrested, bailed and surprise surprise fail to turn up to court and go on the run and you can see why this country is going to rack and ruin.
Judges need to get their heads out from where the sun doesn't shine, hand out proper sentences and the Justice system needs to be a deterrent not a holiday camp. Remove TV's, Playstations etc then sentences could be shorter but a lot lot harder to endure. I would even bring back the Birch for Anti Social Crime.
yougi bear
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1:53pm Fri 17 Jun 11
yougi bear
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1:57pm Fri 17 Jun 11
yougi bear
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2:00pm Fri 17 Jun 11
I 2 Could B
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2:53pm Fri 17 Jun 11
yougi bear wrote:Absolutely agree. Anyone who requires A&E treatment for self-inflicted injuries caused through excessive alcohol consumption should be invoiced for the cost of their treatment.
the drunken yobs, should be forced to pay for any hospital treatment they have, and additonally why dont we sack all the soft judgeswho have no idea of reality.
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ANY and ALL drunks who are brought into A&E and who then physically assault NHS staff should be sentenced to a mandatory 7 days in prison - no ifs, no buts, no 'I've got a baby'.
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As with so many aspects of what's wrong with this country, the laws are there (lots of them, in fact) to deal with this problem, it's just that the police and, especially, the judges simply do not use them.
Antonio Lorusso
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3:09pm Fri 17 Jun 11
Now I don't agree with that statement, but if you disagree with the prohibition of the alcohol drug, but agree with the prohibition of other drugs, you have have an inconsistency that needs to be explained.
I 2 Could B
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3:59pm Fri 17 Jun 11
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Alcohol itself does not need to be made illegal (and it's not 'inconsistent' to hold that view). What we do need to do is properly deal with the illegal behaviour that surrounds it.
Robfm
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6:15pm Fri 17 Jun 11
Red Bull is a stimulant and alcohol is a depressant, the Red Bull deludes the brain into believing the person is not drunk and can drink more. This can and has led to tragic consequences.
I think the treatment element in the end is the same used for smoking and to be honest just doesn't stand up, because of the ratio between revenue and cost as I've outlined.
There is no easy answer to the problem of town centre drunks, other than perhaps a wall of shame, where those 'caught' in a completely 'legless' state are photographed and their images displayed. Would it stop it????
Antonio Lorusso
says...
9:16pm Fri 17 Jun 11
I 2 Could B wrote:@I 2 Could B. Apologies I apparently wan't clear enough.
@Antonio Lorusso: I don't think *anyone* is suggesting we make alcohol illegal for everyone. It's impractical and, as America showed, virtually impossible. In any case, it wouldn't work (just as the ban on existing illegal drugs doesn't prevent them being readily available to anyone who wants them).
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Alcohol itself does not need to be made illegal (and it's not 'inconsistent' to hold that view). What we do need to do is properly deal with the illegal behaviour that surrounds it.
There are people here and throughout the country who while advocating a targeted response to the problems alcohol drug use causes, advocate draconian blanket bans on other drugs. That's the inconsistency. I advocate targeted response to the problems of all drugs to avoid the greater problems that prohibition bring.
The greater problems prohibition brings has been seen with alcohol drug prohibition previously and we're seeing it now with current drug prohibition laws.
Robfm
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6:11am Sat 18 Jun 11
That is not the case with classified drugs.
Scrumping
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4:36pm Sat 18 Jun 11
Robfm wrote:Oh dear here we go again. Robbo making a righteous sounding statement as though he knows all yet he clearly knows nothing. Time for another guest review perhaps?
The difference between classified drugs and alcohol is a simple one. If one abstained from alcohol for as little as 15 hours the body would be clear of it.
That is not the case with classified drugs.
itsamess
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4:05pm Sun 19 Jun 11
going to pubs or clubs with friends who do. There is no true comparison
beween drugs and alcohol either socially or medically.
There has always been an element of drunkeness which in most cases was ignored or friends made sure their buddies made it home safely and always a small element who went crazy with drink. With modern policing
and FPNs i personally believe that years ago the Police were helpful and simply observed and ensured folk made their way home safely or if they were disruptive gave them a room for the night. Today they use too much force and little or no tolerance and automatically reach for the book of tickets. Drugs on the other hand are totally unpredictable
and the need for a fix leads to many forms of crime and behaviour.
I 2 Could B
says...
4:05pm Mon 20 Jun 11
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Given that we're told just 6 police personel are on duty in Swindon on a Friday and Saturday evening, it's hard to see how there could really be any significant intolerance or force used against the drunk.
itsamess
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4:26pm Mon 20 Jun 11
Dont believe everything you read in the papers.
I 2 Could B says...
8:54am Fri 17 Jun 11
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A few articles down from this one is another article with the headline, 'Assault Mum Walks Free'. Here we had a woman attack another woman inside a nightclub, use racist language and then again punch the woman to the floor once they'd both left the club - again using racist language.
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So, what did Judge Euan Ambrose do? He let her waltz out of court with a miniscule fine and 80 hours of 'community service' (which you can guarantee she won't complete because, 'she has a baby').
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When people wonder why we hear so much about violent drunks, assaults in bars, pubs, clubs and on our streets, it doesn't really take much working out as to why it happens. When there are no negative consequences to your actions and when the courts confirm that such behaviour is basically acceptable, why *wouldn't* people go out, get drunk and then do whatever they feel like?
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There is also a worrying two-tier justice system developing in this country. If you have children you receive far more lenient treatment than if you do not have children. Oddly, most decent thinking people would think that parents would go out of their way NOT to wind up in court precisely because they're supposed to care about their children and not risk ending up in prison. But, nope, they couldn't give a **** and yet our hopelessly deluded judges reward them for caring for their children when they clearly demonstrated that they don't.
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Time we had a change in our court rooms.