Chand demands rethink on alcohol

LOCAL doctors’ leader Kailash Chand is calling for tough action to radically overhaul the nation’s alcohol policy.

The British Medical Association’s spokesman for Oldham GPs, pictured right, said Oldham had one of the worst records for alcohol abuse and alcohol-related illness in the country.

He said: “Oldham is above the national average — in some cases significantly — for almost all of the 23 ‘indicators’ including the number of alcohol-related admissions to hospital, which has increased every year for the past several years.”

And he criticised the people who “drank themselves into a stupor,” for putting extra pressure on front-line health workers already struggling to cope with a heavy workload.

Speaking in support of a new Health Committee for England report, he said alcohol abuse was a ticking time bomb, and alcohol-related illnesses were on the increase among younger people, with liver disease often striking people in their 20s and 30s.

He said: “The report echoes many of the concerns I have highlighted in the recent past, and I am pleased that the committee agrees that the drinks industry and supermarkets exert too much power over government alcohol policies.

“This cosy relationship needs to end and we need radical action to tackle alcohol misuse including minimum pricing, higher taxation, reduced availability, improved regulation and better treatment for patients who have alcohol addiction problems.”

The former GP, who is now the chairman of Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust, added: “At a time when the NHS is facing cuts, it is shocking that every year millions of pounds are spent treating patients for the illness and violence that goes hand in hand with alcohol misuse.

“A reduction in alcohol misuse would free these valuable resources for other life-prolonging treatments.”

He accused the Government of “keeping the drinks industry happy,” instead of taking action to bring in tough new legislation.