Alcohol Help

Primary Care Trusts’ (PCTs) investment into alcohol prevention and treatment services can reduce the high cost of treating alcohol-related ill-health, according to a new report on alcohol services published today by the National Audit Office. Increased funding is one of several measures recommended by the NAO, such as better assessment of local needs, structured planning and streamlined commissioning, all necessary if the Department of Health wants to reduce the costs of alcohol misuse.

Alcohol Concern welcomed the report’s emphasis on the Department’s role in helping PCTs improve their alcohol policies and hopes its recommendations will be implemented as a matter of urgency.

This critical report confirms findings of Alcohol Concern’s report earlier this year, Poor Relation, which found that people with alcohol problems were often let down by patchy provision of local services. The NAO report also found that many PCTs do not assess the level of alcohol harm and its effects on health in their area or know exactly how much they are spending on alcohol treatment.

Commenting on the report today, Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern said: “The report confirms that there are wide discrepancies between waiting times and access to treatment between different localities in England. People with alcohol problems still face a postcode lottery of access to alcohol services.”

He added: “There is a clear case for urgent improvement to treatment services, if we want to see an end to spiralling costs of alcohol misuse to the NHS. To this end, we are calling for a sufficient and ring-fenced funding for alcohol treatment in each locality, a centrally established level of access and mandatory reporting of treatment and waiting times by PCTs."

Alcohol Concern