The latest national figures for alcohol-related deaths are a huge concern, with more than 10,000 people in the UK dying in 2023 as a result of heavy drinking (Office for National Statistics). There has been a significant level of concern from clinicians and media, including this piece on ITV Tyne Tees featuring Sue Taylor from Balance (an organisation which works to reduce harms from alcohol across the North East).
With alcohol now driving around one million hospital admissions every year across England, our North East and North Cumbria alcohol programme is supporting action on alcohol’s price, promotion, and accessibility – which are the key drivers of harm – and to remove the stigma associated with addiction, so people can get help when they need it. Work is also ongoing to make sure people can get help from alcohol support services across the region – and helping staff to spot opportunities to talk about alcohol use with patients and with each other.
These figures paint a bleak picture – the North East has the worst figures in England. Meeting the the Minister for Public Health Andrew Gwynne MP in London, Balance colleagues highlighted the need for a national cross-governmental alcohol strategy as well as steps to tackle the aggressive advertising of cheap alcohol in our communities.
Falling smoking rates show that a concerted, joined-up effort across all services can make a difference and improve our region’s health. We will continue to make the case for coordinated action on harms from alcohol. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) also supports Balance’s Blueprint for Reducing Alcohol Harm – a call for action nationally to tackle the significant impact of alcohol harm on health, social care, disorder and crime, workplaces and the economy.
From listening to our workforce, we know that there is a lack of training and development opportunities in some areas of alcohol related harm.
The Programme of Alcohol Studies has been developed as a collaboration between the North East & North Cumbria Health and Care Partnership and NHS England Education to provide consistent access to training on the prevention, early identification and management of alcohol harm.
The programme provides links to existing good quality training where available. Topics include:
Please visit our learning academy to access this training today…
