Alcohol treatment cheaper than cure

Daily Mail ~ 09/09/05 ~ Health news section

Treatment programmes for alcohol abuse save society five times as much as they cost to run, researchers have said.

A major trial of the effectiveness of specialist alcohol treatment found that for every £1 spent on treating those with alcohol problems, £5 was saved in spending on the consequences of drinking.

The research, published in the British Medical Journal, came as concern continued to grow about the UK's binge-drinking culture and the effects of pubs being allowed to extend their opening hours. The public costs of heavy drinking in England and Wales are estimated to be around £18 billion a year.

The UK Alcohol Treatment Trial (UKATT) involved more than 600 people with alcohol problems in and around Birmingham, Cardiff and Leeds.

The researchers compared two treatments - social behaviour and network therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy - which allow people to continue with their daily lives rather than staying in residential accommodation.

The team, including researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of York and Leeds Addiction Unit, interviewed those taking part in treatment at the start of the study after three months and again after 12 months.

They found that both sets of treatments resulted in much-reduced levels of alcohol consumption and dependency on alcohol. The number of alcohol-abstaining days increased by almost 50% after three months of treatment and the number of drinks consumed per day fell by around a third.

The researchers said that even after 12 months, those having treatment reported drinking less. They also reported improvements in their mental health and general well-being.

The researchers also conducted a cost analysis study to see whether the treatment provided value for money. They took into account factors such as the cost of training and paying therapists and the impact of alcohol abuse on public sector resources before treatment, such as the use of social services, court appearances and hospital visits.

They concluded that both therapies led to substantial savings across health and social services - saving the public purse fives times as much per client as the amount spent on their treatmen