Binge-drinking epidemic increases as alcohol related A&E admissions soar

Two years after the Government's bitterly controversial licensing reforms ushered in late-night drinking in pubs and clubs, data from hundreds of hospitals across the country show A&E departments are dealing with huge numbers of patients who fall victim to drunken fights or who binge-drink until they are seriously ill.

Health experts warned that people of all ages were 'simply drinking too much', while opposition critics accused Labour ministers of being 'in denial' over the impact of their new laws.

The stark figures, drawn from the NHS Hospital Episodes Survey to be published this week, will add to the growing pressure on the Government to rethink its strategy on the harm caused by alcohol.

Gordon Brown has already paved the way for a humiliating U-turn, ordering a full review and claiming he would 'not hesitate' to change the law if it was found to be encouraging excessive drinking and lawlessness.

The statistics are drawn from patient records, and reveal the numbers admitted to hospital as emergency cases as a direct result of their own or someone else's drinking.

They include victims of drunken attacks, cases of liver cirrhosis or alcohol poisoning and those hurt in alcohol-related accidents including car crashes.

The number of men admitted nationwide rose from 714 per 100,000 in 2001-02 to 909 per 100,000 in 2005-06 - up more than a quarter.

For women the numbers rose from 396 to 510 per 100,000, a jump of 29 per cent over the same period.

Across England the figures are equivalent to more than a third of a million people being taken to hospital each year because of excessive drinking.

The statistics also reveal a stark north-south divide, with the worst problems in the hard-drinking north-east where 1,232 men and 689 women per 100,000 were admitted to hospital in 2005-6.

Nine of the 10 worst regions were in the north, with Manchester, Liverpool and Middlesbrough all in the top five.

Eastern England was at the other end of the scale, with admissions figures of 743 for men and 425 for women per 100,000.

Professor Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, which compiled the information, said: 'The figures show an increase in alcohol problems in the population.

"A lot of attention is paid towards binge drinking in younger people, but large numbers of people of all ages are simply drinking too much.

"High levels of excessive drinking are contributing to significant ill-health, which has immediate consequences for individuals and also puts pressure on the NHS, the police and the courts."

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, called the figures 'very worrying', particularly the fact that the problem has grown steadily year-on-year rise since 2001 in each region.

He called for significant increases in drink prices and a review of availability and rules governing promotions, adding: "These data show that we have a serious alcohol problem in this country and measures to date haven't had any discernible effect."

Last month the Mail revealed that late-night serious violence around pubs and clubs had risen almost 130 per cent in once year since licensing laws were relaxed.

The figures - originally omitted from Home Office crime bulletins - cover the most serious types of crimes including murder and manslaughter.

But this week's hospital statistics point to a much broader problem.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "This is yet more evidence of our broken society.

"As well as the real harm alcohol abuse does to young people, it is a major cause of crime.

"Yet Labour are in denial about these problems. When it comes to mending our broken society, they are part of the problem, not the solution."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said almost two million people were now drinking at levels known to be harmful.

She said: "Reducing the harm caused by alcohol misuse is a top Government priority.

"We are working hard to help people take personal responsibility for their drinking and its impact on their health."