Auditor reveals £900m cost of alcohol abuse in NI as he highlights ‘unsustainable burden’ of substance misuse

Alcohol abuse is costing the Northern Ireland economy up to £900m each year, a new Audit Office report has found.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jun 2020, 06:32 BST
The Audit Office estimates that alcohol abuse costs the local economy up to £900m a yearThe Audit Office estimates that alcohol abuse costs the local economy up to £900m a year
The Audit Office estimates that alcohol abuse costs the local economy up to £900m a year

The report states that more than 200 hospital beds are occupied here each day as a result of issues related to alcohol and drugs misuse.

Comptroller and Auditor General, Kieran Donnelly has highlighted the cost of substance misuse to the public purse.

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Of the estimated £900m cost of alcohol abuse, the auditor states that up to £250m falls on the already stretched Health and Social Care sector.

Mr Donnelly said that despite these significant costs, the Department of Health allocates a “relatively small budget” to tackling the problem - £8m for

implementation of its Drugs and Alcohol strategy, and a further £8m for statutory addiction services from the mental health budget (around 5% of the budget).

The report also found that the number seeking treatment for drug misuse has grown significantly, doubling from 2,107 people in 2007 to 4,183 people in 2019.

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The number of deaths relating to substance misuse is also rising, with drug misuse deaths more than trebling in the last decade. The level of harm is most acute in areas of high deprivation, where deaths related to drug and alcohol misuse are around four and a half times that seen in the least deprived areas.

Mr Donnelly said: “This is an increasingly unsustainable burden. Alcohol and drug addiction are complex problems and don’t occur in isolation. People need support with a wide range of issues, not just their addiction.

“While this report focuses on the services delivered by healthcare providers, it is clear that only a joined up approach across the whole of government will begin to tackle this issue effectively.”

The reports also reveals that prescription drug misuse is a growing problem in Northern Ireland, with the majority of drug related deaths now involving prescription drugs such as pregabalin and diazepam. Northern Ireland prescribes more pregabalin and diazepam per capita than anywhere else in the UK.

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While the potential for the misuse of pregabalin is widely known and guidance was provided to all GPs and community pharmacists in Northern Ireland in 2012 and 2016, prescriptions of the drug have continued to rise, the report said.

The report also highlights shortcomings in information collected on addiction services, including significant issues with data quality and completeness.

Related topics:Northern IrelandDepartment of HealthPeople