Alcohol Concern says "it's time to invest in alcohol treatment" to the Department of Health

14th March 2006

On the 2nd anniversary of the publication of the government?s Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, and as the economic and human costs of alcohol misuse continue to rise, Alcohol Concern will today present postcards from across the country to the Department of Health calling for urgent action to address the underfunding of alcohol treatment services.

Leading charity Alcohol Concern will today present over 1000 postcards to the Department of Health, as part of their ?Spend £1, Get £5 Free? campaign, calling for the government to make alcohol treatment the priority it deserves to be.

As the government?s own figures show a huge gap in provision of help-giving services for problem-drinkers, Alcohol Concern will be taking 18 campaigners and service-users to the Department of Health to say to the government: ?only 1 in 18 people with an alcohol problem get access to the help they need: it?s time to invest in alcohol treatment?.

The charity says that both the economic and the human case for investing in alcohol treatment is strong, with the recent UK Alcohol Treatment Trial showing that every £1 spent on treating people with alcohol problems saves the public purse £5.

Media doctor and practicing GP, Dr Hilary Jones, said:

?Alcohol misuse is one of the biggest public health problems facing this country, killing 22,000 people every year and placing an enormous burden on the NHS. I?m pleased to be supporting Alcohol Concern in calling for increased investment to help the millions of people with an alcohol problem, and I hope the government sits up and takes notice of this crucial campaign.?

Srabani Sen, Alcohol Concern?s Chief Executive, said:

?Every year alcohol services help thousands of problem-drinkers turn their lives around, but the reality is that only 1 in every 18 people who need help get access to the treatment they need. Postcards calling for urgent action to address this shocking situation have flooded in from right across the country, and today we are delivering that message to the Department of Health: it?s time to invest in alcohol treatment.?

Alcohol Concern?s campaign highlights the burden that problem-drinking places on the UK?s economy and society. Alcohol misuse costs the economy £18 billion each year and causes around 22,000 deaths. 8.2 million people in England have an alcohol problem, and 1.1 million of them are thought to be dependent on alcohol. Around 1.3 million children are affected by their parents? alcohol problems.

Ms Sen added:

?If the government is serious about reducing the damage that alcohol misuse does to individuals, families, communities and the economy, then it needs to act now to make alcohol treatment the priority it so urgently needs to be.?

ENDS




Notes to Editors:

- Campaigners and service-users will take part in a photocall to illustrate the campaign message outside the Department of Health, 79 Whitehall, at 10.30am on March 14th 2006. Following this a delegation will present the postcards to the Department of Health.

- The Department of Health?s Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project showed that of those people who need help for an alcohol problem, only 1 in 18 get the help they need. And figures released last month in Parliament by the Public Health Minister, Caroline Flint MP, showed that this figure varies widely across the regions (figures rounded to the nearest whole number):

- East Midlands - 1 in 16
- Eastern - 1 in 31
- London - 1 in 13
- North East - 1 in 102
- North West - 1 in 12
- South East - 1 in 20
- South West - 1 in 14
- West Midlands - 1 in 15
- Yorkshire and Humber - 1 in 46

- The UK Alcohol Treatment Trial, published in the BMJ in September 2005 showed that every £1 invested in treating people with alcohol problems saves the public purse £5.

- Alcohol Concern launched their ?Spend £1, Get £5 Free!? campaign in November, and have collected postcards from across the country calling on the government to make alcohol treatment the priority it deserves to be.

- 81 Members of Parliament have signed Early Day Motion 783 in the House of Commons to support the campaign.

- For all enquiries, please contact the Alcohol Concern Press Office on 020 7928 7377 or email press@alcoholconcern.org.uk. For out of hours press enquiries, please contact Helen Symons, Press and Parliamentary Officer, on 07866 063 013.



Alcohol Concern is the national agency on alcohol misuse. We work to reduce the incidence and cost of alcohol-related harm and to increase the range and quality of services available to people with alcohol-related problems and their families.

Date: 14 March 2006