Growing alcoholism concerns tackled

Cllr Dalaat Ali, Dr Michael Taylor, Wendy Meston, Merissa Washington (Pathways Manager), Tracy Ginnever (RMBC), Janice Holliss (RMBC), Andrew Fern (GMP), Steve Morton PHE, Cllr Janet Emsley

Alcohol-related problems cost Rochdale borough £90.42m last year alone.

Statistics showing that alcohol was a factor in 5,411 hospital admissions, 882 antisocial behaviour incidents, 1,640 crimes and 380 benefit claims across the borough in the 12 months from 1 April 2014.

Rochdale Borough Council and its partners got together for a conference, part of alcohol awareness week (15 – 22 November), a national campaign which aims to get people thinking about alcohol and the effect it has on individuals, families and society.

Nationally, alcoholism costs society £21bn a year and puts massive pressure on the NHS, police, licensing and social services.

The conference, at Heywood Civic Centre, saw around 80 representatives from the council, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the health service discuss the scale of alcohol misuse in Rochdale borough, as well as hearing personal stories from people affected by alcoholism.

Delegates, who also included organisations such as Acorn Recovery, Renaissance, Health Watch, Early Break UK and Job Centre Plus, also talked about the effectiveness of unit guidelines and how best to get people to think differently about alcohol, as well as promoting all the support services which are available in the borough.

Councillor Janet Emsley, Rochdale Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Health and Wellbeing, said: “In Rochdale around 23% of our population are binge drinkers and a further 20% are considered to be increasing risk drinkers. Alcoholism is a growing problem nationally, which not only impacts on individuals and families, but puts massive pressure on society, with higher levels of hospital admissions, crime and antisocial behaviour all related to excessive alcohol consumption.

“Conferences such as this mean that local experts can come together and discuss creative preventative measures to reduce harmful drinking in the borough and the negative impact it has on our health and society as a whole. I think the conference was a great success and I hope some of the ideas that came from it can be put into practice soon.”

Throughout Alcohol Awareness Week, the Living Well Service also provided free health checks and advice in venues across the borough.

Free, confidential help and support is available for people living in Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton from Renaissance on 01706 924883.