§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of admissions to accident and emergency is directly related to the individual's use of alcohol. [139247]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Government's latest estimate of the proportion of alcohol-related attendances at accident and emergency was prepared by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's strategy unit as part of their project to develop an Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. This work indicated that 41 per cent. of all accident and emergency attendances were alcohol related, rising to 70 per cent. between midnight and five a.m. on Saturday night.
These estimates were prepared using specially commissioned research, and were published as part of the strategy unit's interim analysis on the harms associated with alcohol misuse on 19 September 2003.Agency Staff