§ 35. Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs to the national health service in this financial year of alcohol abuse; and if he will make a statement. [52806]
§ Ms BlearsThree independent studies have been undertaken looking at the costs of alcohol abuse.
In 1987 a study by Godfrey and Maynard estimated the cost to the National Health Service was £400 million. A further study by Godfrey and Hardman in 1994 estimated the cost to the NHS in 1992 was around £200 million. The most recent study by the Royal College of Physician published in 2001 estimated the cost as £3 billion.
§ 39. Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on steps he is taking to deal with alcohol abuse and its impact on health services. [52810]
§ Ms BlearsWe are undertaking a number of initiatives to reduce alcohol misuse, for the benefit of both patients and public services. These include work on health promotion and education, the piloting of a new alcohol training course for general practitioners and practice nurses to help them to support patients who need to cut down on their alcohol consumption, the funding of nearly 500 alcohol treatment services in England and cracking down on violence towards NHS staff through the NHS zero tolerance zone campaign. The national strategy to tackle alcohol misuse, which the Department will be implementing by 2004, will also consider the impact of alcohol misuse on the public services and wider society.
§ 40. Ross CranstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of alcohol care services. [52811]
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§ Ms BlearsA recent study carried out for the Department indicated that there were nearly 500 alcohol treatment services in England. The provision of alcohol treatment services is principally a local matter. Primary care trusts carry out assessments of local need and commission services to meet that need.