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New Local
Alcohol Profiles for England reveal the poorest suffer the greatest
health harms from booze culture
THE new updated Local Alcohol Profiles for
England (LAPE) are published by the North West Public Health
Observatory, on behalf of the Public Health Observatories in
England. LAPE provides 25 different indicators of harms associated
with alcohol use for every local authority in England. New figures
reveal every local authority is experiencing substantial ill health,
anti-social behaviour and premature deaths as a result of alcohol
but levels are substantially higher in the poorest communities.
Compared to the 30 most affluent local
authorities in the country, in the 30 most deprived local
authorities:-
► Adults are
362% more likely to be on incapacity benefit as a result of
alcoholism (average local authority rate in 30 most affluent 33.7
per 100,000 population; in 30 most deprived 155.8 per 100,000
population)
►
Under 18s are 129% more likely to be admitted to hospital for an
alcohol specific condition 1 * (average local authority rate in
30 most affluent 30.1 per 100,000 population; in 30 most deprived
68.9 per 100,000 population)
►
Males are 72% more likely to die from an alcohol related
condition * (average local authority rate in 30 most affluent
27.6 per 100,000 population; in 30 most deprived 47.4 per 100,000
population)
►
Females are 58% more likely
to die from an alcohol related condition1 (average local
authority rate in 30 most affluent 11.5 per 100,000 population; in
30 most deprived 18.2 per 100,000 population)
►
Males are 87% more
likely to be admitted to hospital for an alcohol related
condition1 (average local authority rate in 30 most affluent
1083.0 per 100,000 population; in 30 most deprived 2027.9 per
100,000 population)
►
Females are 80% more
likely to be admitted to hospital for an alcohol related
condition1 (average local authority rate in 30 most affluent
623.6 per 100,000 population; in 30 most deprived 1123.2 per 100,000
population)
►
Levels of alcohol
related crimes1 are 158% higher (average local authority rate in
30 most affluent 4.0 per 1,000 population; in 30 most deprived 10.2
per 1,000 population)
Professor Mark Bellis, Director of the North West
Public Health Observatory, commented:- "The more alcohol you
drink each week, the more you increase your risks of alcohol related
ill health. However your pattern of drinking, such as whether you
drink steadily throughout the week or binge all your drinks in one
night, can change the harms caused by alcohol. Exercise, diet and
other lifestyle issues also affect the impact alcohol has on
drinkers' health. More work is needed to identify how differences in
drinking patterns and in drinkers themselves contribute to alcohol
causing so much harm to the health of our poorest communities. We
will be examining this in more detail over the next year."
Clare Perkins, Deputy Director of the North West
Public Health Observatory, added:- "The impact of alcohol is a
major driver in the health inequalities we see across England. The
government's plans to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol
should be an important feature not only in tackling the harms caused
by alcohol but also in addressing the overall health gap between the
richest and poorest."
* The impact of
alcohol is measured in 2 ways - Alcohol specific conditions;
these are harms only caused by alcohol such as alcoholic liver
disease; Alcohol related conditions; these include harms
where only a proportion is caused by alcohol; such as some cancers
and assaults. For alcohol related conditions the proportion caused
by alcohol is added to the alcohol specific conditions to provide
the total alcohol related (or attributable) conditions e.g. numbers
of deaths, hospital admissions or crimes.
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Merseytravel
response to West Coast Main Line Franchise
ON 15 August 2012,
Councillor Liam Robinson, whi is the Chair of Merseytravel, response
to West Coast Main Line Franchise has said:- "We would like to
place on record our appreciation for the excellent services provided
by Virgin Trains. We look forward to continuing our close working
relationship with First Group, established through their First
Transpennine Express operations. In particular we will be talking to
them about an increase in services to Liverpool, and some of those
services stopping at Liverpool South Parkway. Our aspiration is for
2 trains per hour between London and Liverpool, 1 express and 1
semi-fast service. Liverpool South Parkway has proved increasingly
popular with travellers since we opened it 6 years ago and we will
continue to push for further improved services, for which we know
there is a demand. We would also like to explore the opportunity of
London to St Helens services, once electrification is complete on
this route in 2015."
Local disability charity
saddened by death of Lord Morris of Manchester
THE National disability charity Vitalise,
which runs the Sandpipers respite break centre in Southport, was
saddened to hear of the death of Lord Morris of Manchester at the
weekend. The Rt. Hon Lord Morris had been a Vice President of
Vitalise, which provides much needed respite breaks for people with
disabilities and carers from across the region, for over 2 decades.
Lord Morris was one of a number of Vice Presidents lending their
support to the charity's work, including Dame Judi Dench, Esther
Rantzen CBE and the writer and comedian Arthur Smith.
As Labour MP for Manchester Wythenshawe, Alf Morris drafted and
pushed through the ground-breaking Chronically Sick and Disabled
Persons' Act of 1970, the first legislation of its kind in the
world. Alf went on to become Minister for the Disabled in 1974 and
introduced benefits for people with disabilities and carers,
including a mobility allowance. He was made a life peer in 1997.
Vitalise Chair of Trustees Mindy Sawhney said:- "Vitalise is
privileged to have had such a pioneer of the rights of people with
disabilities as a Vice President. All of us who work to improve the
lives of people with disabilities and those who care for them owe
Lord Morris an enormous debt of gratitude. On behalf of everyone at
Vitalise I would like to express my sympathies to Lord Morris's
family. He will be very sadly missed."
Vitalise Chief Executive Chris simmonds said:- "Last year I
was honoured to attend a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of
Lord Morris's ground-breaking Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons
Act at Westminster Abbey. The importance of this piece of
legislation; the first of its kind in the world; in transforming the
lives of people with disabilities cannot be overstated. It was Alf
who blazed the trail for the world to follow and, as we look forward
to Vitalise's 50th birthday next year, we hope Alf would have been
proud of the progress we have made over the past five decades in
providing respite breaks with dignity, humanity and respect for the
individual at their core. Thanks to his tireless campaigning - and
on the eve of the London Paralympics; people with disabilities and
carers are now able to play a more fulfilling and productive role in
society than ever before."
Vitalise provides essential short breaks in a holiday environment
for people with disabilities; including Alzheimer's and dementia and
carers at Sandpipers and two other accessible UK Centres, with
24-hour nursing care on-call, personal support and a range of
accessible excursions, activities and entertainment. |
