| 120 people admitted a day with alcoholic liver disease |
22 May 2008 @16:55:00 |
New NHS statistics show alcohol-related liver disease continues to rise with numbers affected trebling in recent years, showing piecemeal action to tackle liver harm is not working, according to the British Liver Trust.
Hospital admissions due to alcoholic liver disease are increasing steeply, with a particular increase in the last year’s figures. Deaths from alcohol consumption have risen year-on-year since 2001.
Alison Rogers, Chief Executive of the British Liver Trusts says:
“Measures taken to curb this worrying trend just aren’t working so far, according to these statistics. This is set to hit England hard over the following years because liver disease can take up to 10 years to develop. We need action now to protect people’s health to stop health harm from alcohol spiralling out of control.
“We seem to be getting on top of cardiovascular disease and cancer, but liver disease is the only one out of the big five on the rise. Piecemeal action to tackle liver disease just isn’t working. We need a coherent government strategy to tackle liver disease that looks at the complex and inter-related factors behind it, from alcohol and viral hepatitis to obesity and treatment services.”
In 2006/07, there were 43,548 admissions where alcoholic liver disease was either the primary or secondary diagnosis. The total number of deaths linked to alcohol consumption has increased each year since 2001.
Ends
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For further information please contact:
Sarah Matthews, Press and PR Officer
British Liver Trust, 2 Southampton Road,
Ringwood, BH24 1HY
T: 01425 481320
Email: sarah.matthews@britishlivertrust.org.uk
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