New figures reveal number of alcohol-specific deaths in Shropshire reach record breaking high

Latest figures for deaths registered in 2023 show that 65 people living in Shropshire lost their lives as a direct cause of alcohol. 

This figure is up by 20 per cent from the previous year (54 deaths) and is the highest figure recorded since records began in 2006. 

Most worryingly to national alcohol addiction treatment experts at The UKAT Group is the rise in alcohol-specific deaths in the area since the Covid crisis. 

The UKAT Group’s analysis of the figures shows that in 2019, the year before the pandemic hit, just 42 people living in Shropshire lost their lives to alcohol. 

This has risen by a staggering 55 per cent in just a few years as the fall-out of the multiple lockdowns and increased isolation shows just how impactful they were on people’s drinking habits. 

These figures represent the number of people living in Shropshire whose death was wholly caused by alcohol consumption. 

The Government states that alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to hospital admissions and deaths from a diverse range of conditions. Alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the NHS about £3.5 billion per year and society as a whole £21 billion annually.

The Government has said that everyone has a role to play in reducing the harmful use of alcohol - yet it does not have a standalone National Alcohol Strategy in place to support and tackle the worsening alcohol related harms landscape across the UK.

Lee Fernandes, Lead Therapist at The UKAT Group comments: “These figures are incredibly sad, because they represent members of the Shropshire community who have lost their lives as a direct result of their consumption of alcohol. 

“Alcohol is a legal substance, and one that is unfortunately not perceived to be as dangerous as other substances but is in fact, extremely addictive and in some cases, can be fatal. 

“Whilst drinking alcohol can be fun for some, for others, especially since the pandemic, it could have very quickly become unhealthy and problematic. We know first hand that the pandemic had a huge impact on people’s relationships with alcohol; a lot of people turned to drinking alcohol as a coping mechanism and in some cases, the drinking never stopped. And we’re now seeing alcohol-specific mortality rates rising to record breaking highs than ever before.

“We’d urge anyone who thinks they might have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol to seek professional help; and the sooner the better. 

“And to the Government…now is the time to act; how many more people must die before this country gets a standalone National Alcohol Strategy to tackle and prevent alcohol-related harms across the country?”