Alcohol leaves more than 12,000 a year in hospital
9:01am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in News
MORE than 12,000 people are taken to hospital every year in Bolton because of alcohol.
The shocking figures, which include hundreds of young people under the age of 18, saw medics at the Royal Bolton Hospital treat more than 30 patients a day for drink-related illnesses.
And the statistics do not count attendances at accident and emergency because of injury or illness caused by booze.
Dr George Lipscomb, consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said: “The figures very much reflect what we see on the wards and throughout the hospital.
“We are increasingly seeing young people, particularly girls, with significant alcohol-related diseases. I think it’s very sad.
“They often start drinking as teenagers and carry on and it damages their lives and the lives of the people around them.”
A study by the North West Public Health Observatory, released yesterday, revealed a third of people in the town are risking serious damage to their health by regularly drinking to excess.
Academics based at Liverpool John Moores University’s Centre for Public Health have created local health profiles, which expose Bolton as one of the worst places in the country for harmful alcohol intake.
The profiles also reveal about 2,000 people in Bolton were admitted to hospital for alcohol-specific conditions, such as liver disease and alcohol overdose, between April 2008 and April last year.
More than 200 of the patients were under the age of 18.
And more than 6,000 people had to be admitted to hospital because of conditions that can be caused by drinking, such as stomach cancer and injuries.
More than 4,000 residents ended up needing treatment because of alcohol-related harm.
Dr Lipscomb said: “One of the most important things we can do is increase the price of alcohol per unit.
“It’s also important to improve education and tackle our binge drinking culture.”
● The impact of alcohol abuse in Bolton means men who drink too much lose an average of 11 months of their life ● Women’s life expectancy is reduced by six months ● More than 40 men and 30 women a year die as a result of alcohol-specific conditions in Bolton ● The deaths of a further 180 people over the same period can be attributed to alcohol.
