New study highlights dangers of alcohol in Longford

Longford had the highest hospital admission rate for mental and behaviour disorders as a result of alcohol consumption in 2017, a new study has found.

A HSE document, dubbed the 'Longford alcohol-related harm profile 2019' underlined how alcohol still remains the main problem drug in Ireland resulting in the highest number of deaths.

It found the county was considerably ahead (270.8 per 100,000, national 83.74) of the national average for hospital admissions but below average when it came to alcoholic liver disease rates.

Longford remained on par with the remainder of the country for both psychiatric in-patient rates per 100,000 for alcohol disorders concerning first time admissions (9.8 per 100,000 population, national 9.2) and above average for all admissions (39.1 per 100,000, national 24.1).

In terms of crime, the rate for alcohol related offences in Roscommon/Longford was above average for drink driving at 181.3 per 100,000 population.

However, the county nonetheless faired better for disorderly conduct with its 352.2 per 100,000 remaining below the national average.

The study was officially unveiled by the North East Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force in the Education Centre, St Brigid’s Hospital, Ardee, County Louth earlier this month.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid said the research and its contents would go a long way towards underpinning the dangers which are posed to excessive alcohol intake.

“I’m honoured to launch the County Alcohol Profile Project,” he said.

“Alcohol harm and addiction impacts hundreds of thousands of families across Ireland every day, the scale of the problem cannot be underestimated.

“This project is a leap forward in having timely, accurate and local information to help shape health policy around alcohol and implement targeted support services in our communities.

“It is hard to quantify in words the value this project will deliver across the healthcare system for many decades to come.”

Having initiated the project as a collaboration with the HSE back in 2017, Paula Leonard from the Alcohol Forum, said she hoped the findings would inform and drive policy across many organisations and agencies working at a county level.

“These profiles provide solid evidence that harms from alcohol are having a significant impact on all of our communities.

“The fact that all this information will be available in one place and updated on an ongoing basis to give a picture of change over time, means that it will be a very useful resource for planners and policy makers.”

Longford Leader columnist Mattie Fox: Those who never experienced addiction don't know it's true power