Hospitals see a 14pc rise in drink victims

Hospital admissions for drink problems soared 14 per cent after Labour relaxed the licensing laws in November 2005.

There were 187,640 alcohol-related hospital admissions in England during 2005-2006, compared with 164,787 the previous year.

The number of deaths climbed from 4,037 in 2004 to 6,570 in 2005, according to figures from the Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

They also show a doubling of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the past decade, up from 89,000 in the mid-1990s.

The figures include adults needing to be admitted for hospital treatment for intoxication, mental and behavioural problems, but do not include physical injury and accidents linked to alcohol.

Most worryingly, the number of children needing hospital treatment has risen by a third in a decade as binge drinking by teenagers continues to climb.

Almost one in three children are regular binge drinkers - knocking back at least five drinks in a session - with half admitting they have been violent while drunk, according to a poll of 12,000 schoolchildren.

Despite fears from doctors and public order campaigners that 24-hour licensing would exacerbate Britain's yob culture and increase binge drinking, the Government pressed ahead.

Tessa Jowell, the minister in charge of the Bill put forward in 2002, claimed it would encourage a more civilised atmosphere in pubs, bars and restaurants and increase choice for consumers.

She said: 'Existing laws have neither encouraged the emergence of the civilised cafe society nor have they prevented the growth in drink-related antisocial behaviour. It's time to fulfil our commitment to change the rules.'

But doctors are concerned that the new figures reveal a deteriorating situation. Dr Martin Shalley, immediate past president of the British Association of Emergency Medicine, said yesterday: 'This was always the worry with the change in licensing laws. We were being assured there wasn't an increase in health problems, but these figures seem to suggest otherwise.

'They probably underestimate the extent of the harm because more people with physical injuries involving alcohol abuse get admitted where the alcohol isn't documented, while accident and emergency care for drink problems may not lead to admission.

Daily Mail