The rate of alcohol-related hospital stays in the first year of the Covid pandemic in UK was down 10% compared to the previous 12 months, figures show. However, Public Health Scotland said the fall in numbers between April 2020 to the end of March 2021 could have been affected by Covid measures. Admission to hospital was tightly restricted during many months.
Official stats on alcohol deaths, released last year, showed 2020 had the highest number in a decade.
The National Records of Scotland statistics showed there were 1,190 alcohol-specific deaths registered in Scotland in 2020, 170 more than the previous year.
The latest PHS figures on alcohol-related hospital admissions showed a rate of 614 per 100,000 of the population in 2020/21, down 10% on the 681 the previous year. The rate of alcohol-related hospital admission peaked at 855 per 100,000 population in 2007/8. PHS said there had been a longer term downward trend.
The report said there were 35,124 alcohol-related hospital stays in Scotland in 2020/21. The majority were treated in acute hospitals but 6% were in psychiatric hospitals. The hospital stays related to 21,480 patients and about half were admitted for the first time.
Men were 2.3 times more likely than women to be admitted for alcohol-related conditions. People in the most deprived areas were seven times more likely to be admitted than those in the least deprived areas.
