Treatment and Care
Despite the ongoing alcohol emergency, levels of access to alcohol treatment are at the lowest level for 10 years, with a 40% decline in the number of people commencing specialist alcohol treatment across Scotland.
Scotland must urgently respond to the alcohol emergency by renewing its efforts to implement evidence-based alcohol policies as well improving treatment and recovery support. While the overarching principles of our two existing alcohol strategies (the Alcohol Framework and Rights, Respect and Recovery, both published in 2018) remain relevant, action at national and local level is not proportionate to the scale of the problems we now face.
As part of our Urgent Action call, AFS, along with more than 70 other organisations, are calling for:
- Establishment of nurse-led Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in hospitals to ensure patients with severe alcohol problems or dependence are identified and provided with safe, specialised support to address their alcohol problem and access community-based support after they leave hospital.
- Improved access to alcohol detoxification services by introducing a range of detox support options including within hospitals, residential rehabilitation services and in the community.
- Increased funding for recovery, treatment and support services, generated through re-introducing a levy on alcohol retailers.
Alcohol death reviews
In October 2025, AFS published updated practical guidance for ADPs and public health teams on conducting alcohol deaths reviews. The guidance distilled insight and learning from colleagues across Scotland with experience of alcohol death reviews, providing practical advice to inform and support alcohol death prevention and reduce inequalities. Reviews or audits of alcohol-specific deaths offer insight and learning which can inform improvements in treatment and care. This intelligence is particularly valuable given the impact of the pandemic on drinking behaviours, the significant increase in alcohol-specific deaths since 2020 and the ten-year decline in people accessing specialist alcohol treatment, all of which is driving the alcohol emergency.
AFS continues to support local ADPs and public health teams to conduct alcohol death reviews and keeps the guidance under review to capture learning from each new review completed.
You can read more about our work on treatment and care in our Strategy for 2024-27.
