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Alcohol discharges hit new high
24/02/2009
Alcohol-related discharges from Scottish hospitals have hit an all-time high of nearly 42,500 - a 20 per cent jump in five years.
In response, Public Health Minister Shona Robison said urgent and bold action was needed to stem the tide of alcohol misuse across Scotland.
The admissions figure is among a raft of information from Information Services Division (ISD) entitled Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2009. The publication brings together a range of information from several reports published in the last two years, but also includes the latest information on discharges for 2007-8.
Key points include:
- In 2007-08 in Scotland, there were 42,430 alcohol related discharges from hospitals, a rate of 777 per 100,000 population
- Over the last five years, rates of alcohol-related hospital discharges have increased in every age group except the under-15s
- The diagnostic grouping 'mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol' - a broad definition including health impairments associated with alcohol misuse - accounted for 71 per cent (30,092) of alcohol related discharges
- In 2007-08 there were 6,817 discharges for alcoholic liver disease and 4,646 discharges for alcohol poisoning. Nearly 90 per cent of liver disease patients were over 40, while nearly 60 per cent of alcohol poisoning patients were under 40
- In 2006-07, there were 4,053 alcohol-related discharges from psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 65 per cent were re-admissions
- In Scotland, in 2006-07 there were an estimated 111,200 consultations with GPs and practice nurses for alcohol misuse
Shona Robison, Minister for Public Health, said:
"These figures are further proof, if more were needed, that we need to take urgent action to tackle alcohol misuse.
"They show that there were 116 hospital discharges directly due to alcohol-related problems every day in Scotland. This is putting a huge strain on the health service, but it also hints at a great deal of misery for individuals, families and communities.
"The rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions has coincided with a big fall in the relative price of alcohol, which is now 70 per cent cheaper than in 1980.
"Recent reports suggest Scottish women are now more likely to die of an alcohol problem than English men and Scotland's high level of consumption would place us in the top 10 worldwide. We also know that alcohol misuse is costing Scotland 2.25 billion pounds per year.
"The Scottish Government believes our country has to wake up to these warning signs. We have consulted on a radical package of measures to tackle alcohol misuse and we will outline the way forward shortly."
The full document of Alcohol Statistics Scotland 2009 can be downloaded from the ISD website at:
Figures analysed on behalf of the Scottish Government show that Scots drank 50 million litres of pure alcohol in 2007 - equivalent to 42 bottles of vodka per person.
ISD general hospital and psychiatric hospital information is based on patient's discharge records as this provides the most accurate information on diagnosis.The number of admissions for a particular condition is generally very similar to the number of discharges.