Southampton is worst for alcohol hospital admissions
Some 35,000 people drink at 'increasing risk levels'
Southampton has the highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in the country, and is more than twice as high as the UK as a whole.
These figures come as Southampton City Council introduced its draft Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Strategy, which aims to tackle the issues in the city.
The NHS says that in 2020, Southampton had just over four per cent of its population being admitted to hospital for alcohol-related causes. The national level was under two per cent.
Some 35,000 people, out of Southampton’s quarter of a million, drink at ‘increasing risk levels’ and 1,200 children live with an alcohol-dependent parent.
It isn’t just the sufferers of alcoholism or drug addiction who are affected however; it is their friends and family – as 66,000 people in Southampton ‘are affected by the drug or alcohol use of someone they know’.
This equates to around one in every four people.
One Southampton-based charity that works to help these people who are affected by a loved ones addictions is Parent Support Link.
Rhona Hawkins, chief executive of the group spoke about the ‘huge rise’ in alcohol use they have seen.
She said: “This charity has been supporting people for nearly 30 years and has seen a huge rise in alcohol use and its effects, on not just the user but everyone around them.
“More complex needs such as mental health, domestic violence, and criminal activities have risen alongside this.
“Sadly, our death toll has been the highest we have ever seen and due to this we now not only offer weekly support groups throughout Hampshire and Southampton but specialise in bereavement groups specifically around this issue.”
One person who knows of the work that Parent Support Link does as well as other similar charities is Councillor Tony Bunday.
Cllr Bunday, who represents Bitterne Park Ward, where the Parent Support Link centre is based, is a frequent participant in their talks, and aims to advocate support for people suffering from addictions.
He said: “I have been aware of the very valuable work the Parent Support Link has been offering our local community for some 30 years.
“From a simple volunteer telephone support service operated from a back bedroom for people in Southampton it has grown to be a county wide support service.”
As well as the personal health affects of alcohol misuse, there is also a social affect – as in Southampton there are on average 2,268 alcohol related crimes every year, 71 per cent of which are violent.
The council’s new strategy, starting in 2023, will aim to tackle the issue with alcohol, drugs, and smoking and improve the situation in the city by 2028.