New plans are being drawn up to tackle rising problems with alcohol misuse in the Moorlands and across Staffordshire, as well as Stoke-on-Trent.
Drinking is an increasing factor behind health problems, particularly in Stoke, with emergency hospital admissions for alcohol-related liver disease in the city now nearly twice the English benchmark.
Increasing numbers of alcoholics are also facing problems with housing and disability, impacting on the social care system. It has been over a decade since a national alcohol strategy was produced, so the NHS and partner organisations in Staffordshire have decided to take the lead and develop their own local strategy, (writes local democracy reporter Phil Corrigan).
Matthew Missen, a public health consultant at the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care board, told Stoke-on-Trent city councillors that the strategy would look to take a preventative approach to reducing alcohol misuse, targeting the whole population.
Mr Missen said: “Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have a history of seeing harms from alcohol that are above the national average. There’s a particular challenge in the city around hospital admissions.
“What is noticeable is that, with alcohol being widely available to a whole population, the impacts are slightly different to drugs misuse. It impacts on a broader swathe of our population.
“There has not been a national strategy on alcohol since 2012, so locally we’ve very much decided to take the initiative and respond to evidence of increasing harm from alcohol in our population and formulate a strategic response.”
He explained: “In our approach we’re taking a broad public health scope. We’re not just looking at it purely through a health lens. While that is important, we’re taking a broader societal view as well, looking at where alcohol is driving social care activity, at crime and justice, and looking at how we can address it collectively.”
The new strategy builds on an alcohol health needs assessment, produced by the care board earlier this year.
Some of the stark findings in the report included:
• Licensing density is 6.3 times the English average in Stoke-on-Trent, 4.6 times the average in Tamworth, and 2.8 times the average in Cannock Chase;
• There has been a recent increase in sudden infant death syndrome in Staffordshire, with seven cases being linked to alcohol between 2020 and 2023;
• The proportion of people in treatment for alcohol dependence in Stoke-on-Trent experiencing disability has increased from 35% to 74% over the last six years;
• The burden of alcohol-related liver disease is increasing across Staffordshire, particularly in Stoke-on-Trent, where emergency admissions are 1.9 times, and mortality is 1.5 times the English benchmark.
Drinking alcohol is becoming increasingly polarised, with 25% of Stoke-on-Trent residents now engaging in binge drinking, and 25% abstaining altogether. Groups at higher risk of alcohol misuse include 45- to 65-year-olds, women and people in deprived communities.
Mr Missen explained that the strategy would be “culturally sensitive” to ensure messaging worked with the intended audience, with input from the Expert Citizens group. For example, alcoholism can be hidden in Muslim communities because of the religious prohibition on drinking.
He said: “We need to make sure the messaging and the framing of it resonates with communities – it can’t come from a position of authority saying, ‘thou must do it’.”
Coun Sarah Hill, Cabinet member for children’s services, said some parents hid their alcohol problems, making it more difficult for them to get help.
She said: “Some mums in particular get very anxious about raising issues that they might have about their alcohol consumption, because they think they will lose their children. We have to get the message across to parents that we want to support them with their parenting.”
Coun Chandra Kanneganti, who also works as a GP, told the meeting that it was currently very difficult to refer patients for help for alcoholism, with long waiting lists for the drugs and alcohol service.
Mr Missen acknowledged these issues and said the strategy would look to make it easier for GPs to play a key role in prevention.
The board and its partners are aiming to complete the new alcohol strategy by January.
