Drug and alcohol treatment sees rise in deaths in England

There has been a 27% rise in people dying while in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction during the pandemic, an official report shows.

Changes to support and reduced access to healthcare during lockdowns are likely to have been factors, it says.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, 3,726 people died while in contact with drug and alcohol services - up from 2,929 the year before.

The figures, published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, for England, show a small 2% rise in the overall numbers of adults receiving help for drug and alcohol problems from 2020 to 2021.

Out of more than a quarter of a million people affected, more than half were in treatment for problems with opiates - medicines to treat pain - and a quarter with alcohol problems.

The proportion of deaths in treatment for alcohol addiction rose by 44% to 1,064 and for opiate addiction by 20% to 2,418.

UKAT, a group providing residential detox treatment, said a "concerning" number of services closed their doors to addicts during the pandemic.

"But drug and alcohol treatment is critical care intervention and cannot be simply put on pause," said Nuno Albuquerque, head of treatment for the group.

"It cannot be a coincidence that more people have subsequently lost their lives when they were in fact trying to save it."

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Source: BBC News, 25 November 2021