The only centrally available data on treatment for alcohol-related health problems report on the number of admissions to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems. An individual may account for more than one admission.
While it is possible to analyse the admissions data to determine the number of individuals admitted to hospital for alcohol and alcohol-related health problems, this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The following table shows the number of admissions by primary care trust in Essex for the period covering 2002-03 to 2006-07.
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Males Females Total Males Females Total Males Females Total South East Essex 2,032 1,339 3,370 2,097 1,387 3,484 2,652 1,790 4,443 West Essex 1,283 849 2,133 1,502 995 2,498 1,745 1,143 2,888 North East Essex 1,404 902 2,305 1,586 986 2,572 1,714 1,024 2,738 Mid Essex 1,532 992 2,523 1,898 1,319 3,217 2,250 1,442 3,692 South West Essex 1,891 1,141 3,032 1,994 1,280 3,274 2,295 1,367 3,662
Males Females Total Males Females Total South East Essex 2,982 1,969 4,951 3,235 2,122 5,357 West Essex 1,949 1,216 3,165 2,253 1,373 3,626 North East Essex 2,227 1,401 3,629 2,365 1,477 3,843 Mid Essex 2,446 1,597 4,043 2,363 1,509 3,872 South West Essex 2,719 1,679 4,398 2,926 1,834 4,760 Notes: Includes activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under 16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol - that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (I42.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Secondary diagnoses As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. Data Quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care