Hospital admissions due to alcohol have fallen to their lowest level since the mid-1990s despite Scotland's rising death toll from drink.

Provisional figures from Public Health Scotland show that there were 31,206 stays in acute general and psychiatric hospitals between April 2022 and March 2023 for problems relating to alcohol use.

This was equivalent to a rate of 532 per 100,000 people, a reduction of 13% year-on-year and the lowest level since 514 per 100,000 in 1995/96, after adjusting for changes in the size and age of the population over time.

READ MORE: 

The figures exclude any cases of people seen in A&E who were not subsequently admitted to hospital.

Alcohol-related hospital admissions cover a wide range of conditions including mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use, alcoholic liver disease, alcohol-related brain damage, alcohol-induced pancreatitis, alcohol poisoning, degeneration of the nervous system due to alcohol, alcoholic gastritis, psychoses due to alcohol, alcohol dependency syndrome, and cardiomyopathy - diseases of the heart muscle - caused by alcohol.

The Herald: Alcohol-related hospital stays are falling, but it is unclear how much of the year-on-year reduction may be due to NHS bed pressuresAlcohol-related hospital stays are falling, but it is unclear how much of the year-on-year reduction may be due to NHS bed pressures (Image: PHS)

The number of alcohol-related stays in psychiatric hospitals - which accounted for 8% of the admissions last year - has been steadily falling from a high of 5,073 in the late 1990s to 2,406 in 2022/23, partly reflecting a decline in inpatient beds and changes in treatment approaches.

In general acute hospitals, alcohol-related stays peaked at more than 43,000 in 2007/8 and have been falling steadily since then to 28,800 last year.

Men were 2.4 times more likely than women to be admitted to general acute hospitals, while people from the most deprived postcodes in Scotland were seven times more likely to require hospital treatment for alcohol than those from the most affluent areas.

This was up from a six-fold difference in admissions between the most and least deprived areas the year before, suggesting widening health inequalities.

Experts have also cautioned that some of the decline in admission rates may be due to bed shortages in the NHS given that the number of alcohol-specific deaths recorded in Scotland was at a 14-year high in 2022.

Statistics for 2023 will not be available until August.

The Herald: Alcohol-specific deaths have been on the rise in ScotlandAlcohol-specific deaths have been on the rise in Scotland (Image: NRS)

Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, a retired liver specialist and chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), said: “On the face of it, this fall in alcohol related hospital admissions, continuing the downward trend of recent years, looks like good news.

"However, the reasons behind this fall - at a time when deaths from alcohol have been rising - are unclear.

“One possible factor is that liver disease, which accounts for the vast majority of alcohol deaths, only make up a small amount of hospital admissions.

"The majority of these hospital admissions are for acute problems such as alcohol poisoning or alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

"Most of the reduction in admissions is for those acute alcohol conditions - with only a slight reduction in liver disease admissions.

“It is also important to understand that these statistics only represent people admitted to hospital, and do not include the many people who present to A&E but are not admitted.

"Is this drop in admissions truly because of a reduction in severe alcohol problems, or is it influenced by NHS pressures reducing access to hospital beds?”

The Herald: Campaigners want to see measures going beyond MUP to tackle the affordability, availability and marketing of alcoholCampaigners want to see measures going beyond MUP to tackle the affordability, availability and marketing of alcohol (Image: PA)

It comes ahead of a vote by MSPs in April on Scottish Government proposals to raise the levy for minimum unit pricing (MUP) from 50 to 65 pence.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said there was "no cause for complacency".

She added: "The level of admissions due to alcohol remains high and represents an entirely preventable burden on our already overstretched NHS.

“Worryingly, there is evidence of increasing inequality in these data, with people in our most deprived communities now seven times more likely to be hospitalised due to alcohol than those in our most well-off communities – compared with six times more likely in the previous year."

In addition to MUP, Ms Douglas said the Scottish Government must "ensure that people with existing alcohol problems receive the support they need to reduce their drinking and to recover".

Earlier this month, the Herald revealed that the number of rehab beds operational for people requiring alcohol and drug treatment had increased by just 32 in three years.

READ MORE: 

Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group - the body which regulates alcohol labelling and promotion in the UK - said: "It’s concerning to see that men and people who live in deprived areas are still more likely to be admitted to hospital with alcohol related conditions, which is why we continue to vocally support targeted and tailored measures focused at the highest risk drinkers, as well as widely accessible treatment for those who need it.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said it was "positive" to see a reduction in alcohol-related hospital stays, but acknowledged that there was "more work to be done".

He said: "Reducing alcohol and drug deaths is a top priority for the Scottish Government and we are treating both of these issues as public health emergencies.

"We want to make sure people have access to support when and where they need it - which is why last year, we provided a record £112 million of funding to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships.

"This funding has helped support pilots of new and innovative approaches to alcohol treatment such as the Managed Alcohol Programme pilot in Glasgow.

"Research commended by internationally renowned public health experts estimates that our world-leading minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to reducing health inequalities.

"The evaluation found the largest estimated reductions in deaths and hospital admissions, during the study period, wholly attributable to alcohol consumption were seen in men and those living in the 40% most deprived areas."