Thousands fall to the demon drink: 378,000 go to hospital in single year

And almost a quarter of a million of those had to go to A&E because of alcohol-related problems.

Latest figures show that in one year, 399 people died of causes related to the demon drink in Staffordshire, 161 in Sandwell, 142 in Dudley, 119 in Walsall and 115 in Wolverhampton.

The wider West Midlands saw around one million people end up requiring some form of health care because of drink – 10 per cent of all the cases in England, according to charity Alcohol Concern.

Across the four Black Country boroughs and Staffordshire, there were 378,608 attendances at hospital, either as inpatients, outpatients or at A&E, with 243,035 of those needing emergency treatment.

In Staffordshire alone there were 160,374 admissions, including 100,115 who had to go to A&E.

In Sandwell, where it costs £74 per adult to cover alcohol-related healthcare, there were 41,598 cases of people going to A&E out of 61,620 attendances at hospital – the highest in the Black Country.

Wolverhampton had 54,459 people in one year who required treatment for a drink-related condition, including 38,305 who had to go to A&E, and taxpayers forked out £69 on average for every single case.

Walsall had 48,467 attendances, 31,662 of them in A&E, with an average cost of £65 per person, while Dudley had 53,688 hospital attendances, 31,355 in A&E and an average cost of £65.

In major cities like Birmingham it was even worse, with 196,890 cases of people needing hospital treatment, including 134,806 at A&E and 413 deaths from alcohol-related problems.

Six in every 10 alcohol-related hospital visits were to accident and emergency at a time when departments are under pressure to meet targets. Almost two thirds of patients who sought help because of alcohol-related matters ended up being admitted to hospital.

Alcohol Concern revealed today that:

l 973,265 people are classified as either 'increasing' or 'high-risk' drinkers in the West Midlands.

l Alcohol-related admissions cost the NHS in the West Midlands £288.3 million, including £106.6m in the Black Country and Staffordshire.

l It cost the NHS £75.1m for blood pressure inpatient admissions attributable to alcohol consumption alone.

l Booze is blamed for almost half of all head and neck cancer inpatient cases in the West Midlands at a cost to the NHS of £7.7m.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Jackie Ballard said: "The NHS is now facing an intolerable strain from alcohol-related illnesses. This is not just from readily-identifiable causes such as A&E visits and admissions for liver disease, but from a significant number of other conditions in which alcohol plays a major, but often under-appreciated part.

"We need to ensure adequate alcohol care pathways are prioritised and appropriate services are put in place to ease this burden.

"However, we also urgently need action to prevent alcohol misuse; the first and most effective of which is for the Government to implement a minimum unit price, which has the potential to save the economy millions, and most importantly save lives." Councillor Sandra Samuels, Wolverhampton City Council's cabinet member for health, said: "Alcohol abuse can take a terrible toll on families and individuals and we are determined to do all we can to help people struggling with the issue.

"Too many people drink too much on a regular basis, and while the number of people dying from alcohol-related diseases in our city is thankfully falling, the number of people being admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol related conditions is increasing.

"This, in itself, may promote earlier identification and effective treatment of those suffering from alcohol-related illness."