Concern at high rates of Barnsley drinkers in hospital - especially since lockdown

Barnsley has the highest rate of hospital admissions for ​women drinkers in Yorkshire and Humber, a new report shows.​
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​The borough has ​'​significantly​'​ higher rates of alcohol admissions ​for men than the national average.

​A​lcoholic liver disease​ seen in hospital is​ at​ the ​'​highest for ten years​'​ for men and women, ​a trend repeated nationally.

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​And admissions for those injured by violent crime in Barnsley stands at 75.6 percent per 100,000 - significantly higher that the England average of 44.9 percent.

Barnsley HospitalBarnsley Hospital
Barnsley Hospital

​​In the week before lockdown in Barnsley alcohol sales were up by 67 percent​, according to a report by Garreth Robinson, ​s​enior ​p​ublic ​h​ealth ​o​fficer, ​who investigates drinking habits, and lays out what can be done to tackle alcohol abuse.

​It states that although there is no data to link all of ​the admissions to alcohol: ​'​Strong assumptions can be made that a number are indeed related to the use of alcohol.’

In a bid to tackle this, information will be shared by Barnsley Hospital A&E department to identify and target "hotspots" of violent crime.​

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​A​ survey​ found nearly one in five daily drinkers had increased the amount they drank since lockdown, but those who were already drinking the least had cut down the most - 37 per​ ​cent stated they were drinking less; 17 per​ ​cent were drinking more; and eight per​ ​cent had stopped drinking alcohol all together.

An audit of 12 under-18s referred to a specialist drug and alcohol service found that eleven of the youngsters were between the age of 15-17, with the youngest 13 years old.

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