Commenting on the publication of yestery's Alcohol Strategy, NHS Confederation deputy chief executive David Stout, said:

"Alcohol abuse is putting an unsustainable strain on our health services. It is already costing the NHS more than £3 billion a year and the problem is steadily growing.

"We see day-after-day the destructive effects that too much alcohol has on people's lives.

"Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease have risen more than a quarter in under a decade. In some parts of the country more than a fifth of A&E admissions are alcohol related.  Drink can be a contributory factor with some of our biggest killers such as cancer. It can also lead to particular difficulties for people with mental health problems.

“So the nation’s relationship with alcohol, and the impact on our health service, is a problem the Government can no longer ignore.

“The NHS can of course carry on picking up the tab for our nation’s drinking.  But if it does so without some consideration being given by society as a whole to the price and availability of alcohol, we will be using a sticking plaster solution for a national problem."

Notes to Editors

      The NHS Confederation represents all organisations that commission and provide NHS services. It is the only membership body to bring together and speak on behalf of the whole of the NHS. We help the NHS to guarantee high standards of care for patients and best value for taxpayers by representing our members and working together with our health and social care partners.

     We make sense of the whole health system, influence health policy and deliver industry-wide support functions for the NHS.

 Contact Francesca Reville 020 7074 3312 or Niall Smith 020 7074 3304. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.

Contacts

Francesca Reville
020 7074 3312
Francesca.Reville@nhsconfed.org

Niall Smith
020 7074 3304
Niall.Smith@nhsconfed.org