Government to pump in £3.2 million to fight binge drinking
The UK Government has decided to direct more funds to alcohol treatment programmes after it was found that there is a dearth of funds required to help alcoholics and binge drinkers kick the habit.
Public Health Minister Caroline Flint announced a package of measures directed against the same at an Alcohol Concern conference. The government has decided to allocate £3.2 million to help identify and intervene early in cases where alcohol consumption is severe enough to affect health. "The projects that we are investing in today will encourage health professionals to intervene at the earliest possible stage to help people who may be causing harm to themselves or others through alcohol misuse," said Flint in an address to conference.
"The tools being developed for health organizations will provide practical information to improve treatment services." She added that getting even 10 per cent of 'dependent drinkers' off alcohol would save the government a massive £156 million a year. Announcing a slew of new initiatives, Ms Flint said that they would help the administration evolve concrete strategies to fight alcoholism, "This will help GPs identify patients with alcohol problems and allow them to get the
support and advice that they need," she said.
These initiatives were announced even as a government sponsored report found that over 1.1 million people in England could be classified as alcoholics. The report says that GPs are failing to identify young binge drinkers and hence are unable to send them to get the required treatment. Charity Alcohol Concern said that more money should be channeled in the effort to help drinkers quit their deadly habit.
Vip News ~ Tue, 01 Nov 2005 ~ By : Anne Philips
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