News of statistics showing a rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions was all over the media on Friday (eg this BBC story). The figures came from a report published by the Information Centre for health and social care, whose report, Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2006 says:
- Admissions for alcoholic liver disease have more than doubled in a decade, reaching 35,400 in 2004/5.
- Alcoholic liver disease deaths increased by 37%.
- Admissions for alcoholic poisoning increased to 21,700 from 13,600 over the same 10-year period.
Professor Ian GiImore, Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, and who takes over as President of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) later this month, was prominent in the coverage - as in this BBC video.
The RCP alcohol group has published a number of key reports on alcohol in recent years (on this webpage), and it seems likely we will see more of Prof Gilmore in the coming months putting pressure on the government to tackle alcohol related harm more effectively.
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