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Alcohol Focus Scotland response to Audit Scotland report on alcohol and other drug services

Audit Scotland has today (31^st October) published a new report on Alcohol and Drug Services in Scotland.

Echoing previous statements from Alcohol Focus Scotland, the report highlights how efforts to reduce alcohol harm have been over-shadowed by a greater focus on drug harms, despite alcohol deaths reaching a 15 year high of 1,277 last year, a figure higher than for all other drugs combined.

The report hails some progress made on increasing residential rehabilitation capacity and implementing treatment standards, but criticised slow progress on key national strategies, including a workforce development plan and implementation of alcohol marketing restrictions.

The report highlights the fact that funding for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships is falling in real terms due to inflation and that most funding is consumed by NHS services for people who are at crisis point, with little left for preventative efforts to prevent people from reaching crisis in the first place.

 Commenting on the report, Laura Mahon, Deputy CEO of Alcohol Focus Scotland said:

“This report from Audit Scotland echoes many of the concerns Alcohol Focus Scotland has been highlighting in recent times, not least that although the Scottish Government has declared alcohol a public health emergency, there has been little in the way of an emergency response.

“While we recognise the devastating impact of drugs deaths in Scotland and support the need to devote focus and investment to tackle that problem, it can’t be at the expense of efforts to prevent and reduce alcohol harm. Alcohol specific deaths have reached a 15 year high, and simply tacking alcohol onto the National Mission for Drugs is totally insufficient for the scale of the problem.

“Alcohol presents a uniquely different challenge to other drugs, with around one million Scots currently drinking at levels which are potentially harmful to their health and increasing their risk of dying from alcoholic liver disease or alcohol related cancers. It is crucial to recognise that a large proportion of alcohol specific deaths are not in dependent drinkers – but come as a consequence of lifetime of heavy alcohol use.

“We need to see leadership from the Scottish Government, and a recommitment to preventing alcohol harm before people reach crisis point. The recent uprating of MUP can be viewed as a welcome step, but it is imperative that the government move at pace to introduce promised alcohol marketing restrictions and address the 40% decline in people accessing alcohol treatment services that we have seen over the past decade.

“Introducing an alcohol harm prevention levy in the upcoming Scottish budget would also go some way to recouping profits made from the sale of alcohol back into the public purse. This could be invested in initiatives which support the earlier detection of liver disease and ensure that those who are experiencing problems now can access the support they need.”