But it’s not all about teenagers – Alcohol Concern says ‘baby boomers’ are draining NHS resources through alcohol misuse
The first ever map of alcohol-related health costs, launched by Alcohol Concern, reveals that the baby boom generation are the greatest burden on the NHS compared to all other age groups.
The figures reveal the inpatient cost of the 55-74 age group, closely aligned to the baby boom generation, is over ten times greater than the 16-24 age group, often negatively associated with ‘binge drinking’ and their impact on NHS resources. Furthermore, the baby boom generation inpatient costs are greater than the 16-24 age group inpatient costs plus all alcohol-related A&E costs put together.
The findings, taken from the Alcohol Harm Map, are the first complete picture of alcohol-related health costs across England by local authority. The launch of the map comes six months before local authorities take on responsibility for public health.
The cost of alcohol-related inpatient admissions in England for 55 to 74 year olds was £825.6m compared to £63.8m for 16 to 24 year olds in 2010/11. The Alcohol Harm Map found over 8 times as many 55 to 74 year olds (454,317) were admitted as inpatients compared to 16 to 24 year olds (54,682).
The cost of alcohol-related inpatient admission was £1,993.57m, over 3 times greater than the cost of A&E admissions, £636.30m. The cost of alcohol-related inpatient admissions for men was £1,278.4m, just under double the cost for women, £715.1m.
Commenting on the results, Alcohol Concern Chief Executive, Eric Appleby, said: “It is the common perception that young people are responsible for the increasing cost of alcohol misuse, but our findings show that in reality this is not the case. It is the middle-aged, and often middle class drinker, regularly drinking above recommended limits, who are actually requiring complex and expensive NHS care. There needs to be more investment in local alcohol care pathways and services by Local Authorities for this group, to prevent them from ending up as an in-patient.”
Commenting on the significance for the NHS, Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, President of the British Gastroenterology Society and former President of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “It is the unwitting chronic middle-aged drinkers who are taking serious risks with their health. They present in hospital with conditions attributable to their alcohol consumption such as stroke, heart disease, cancer and liver disease. People simply do not realise that chronic drinking signifi cantly increases their chances of suffering health problems. Indeed it is these people who are costing the NHS the most.”
The Map also shows that:
- The cost of inpatient admissions ‘partly attributable’ to alcohol was £1,545.46m, over 3 times greater than the cost of ‘wholly attributable’, £448.11m.
- Over 10 million people are drinking above the Government’s recommended limits, unaware of the health problems that they are storing up.
The picture across all local authorities is captured in the Alcohol Harm Map, produced by Alcohol Concern, in partnership with Lundbeck Ltd - www.alcoholconcern.couldthisbe.com. The purpose of the map is to reveal the real harm and cost of alcohol at a local level, so that local authorities and local health providers can ensure that alcohol prevention and treatment services are available to those with drinking problems.
The map includes data, by each local authority, for:
- Alcohol-related healthcare costs, broken down by age and gender
- Alcohol-related hospital admissions, broken down by age and gender
- Alcohol-related deaths
- Number of people drinking too much
The Alcohol Harm Map can be viewed at http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/campaign/alcohol-harm-map