Our research has demonstrated the extent to which local alcohol treatment services are bearing the brunt of local authority budget cuts. Over two-thirds of local authorities have cut their funding in recent years, many by over 50%. There is a loss of capacity, skills and accessibility as services merge, staff are moved from one provider to another and local centres are closed down.
The risks of this are enormous: without an effective treatment system, hundreds of thousands of people will be left without the support they need. This not only comes with a human cost, but creates knock-on costs for hospitals, the ambulance service, the police and other social services. These costs far outweigh any short-term savings to local authority budgets. Worst of all, cuts tend to fall hardest on areas with the highest levels of deprivation and the greatest need for alcohol treatment, making health and social inequalities even worse.
Among those hardest hit by these cuts are people with the most complex needs, such as those with both alcohol problems and mental health problems. They can find it particularly hard to engage with services, with alcohol services ill-equipped to cope with mental health issues and mental health services not working with them until their drinking has been resolved. What people in this situation need are wraparound services that are able to work on both their mental health and alcohol problems – if not simultaneously, then at least as part of a coordinated plan.
Our Blue Light programme, like other multi-agency programmes that encourage assertive outreach, has shown clearly that such people can be helped and that doing so creates enormous savings to other services. Research has found that drinkers with complex needs are likely to become very frequent attenders at Accident and Emergency units, often because they have nowhere else to go in moments of crisis. Engaging such people in a treatment programme brings an estimated £3,400 in savings for every £1,000 spent, and most importantly can dramatically improve their lives.
Research has also shown that recovery has significant benefits for families affected by alcohol. When a dependent drinker gets help that works, family members feel less stressed and anxious, do better at work, and have improved relationships. Dedicated support services for the friends and family of people who drink too much have also been shown to be effective.
