The British Medical Association’s New Year message reflects the views of most people in this country when they call on the Government not to penalise the NHS in its bid to bail the country out of the current financial crisis.
I think that it is taken as read in all parties that health spending is a priority and needs to be protected as much as possible from inevitable public sector cuts. However, that does not prevent us from scrutinising how the billions of pounds that goes into the NHS is being spent.
In Wales, the NHS Directors of Finance have already said that at least a billion pounds of the NHS budget could be spent more efficiently, whilst we are wasting millions of pounds in retaining the services of bureaucrats whose job was abolished on reorganisation. It is vital that money is directed away from bureaucracy to the front line and that patients benefit to the maximum extent from the resources available to the health service.
The Western Mail also adds a postscript to its article with a message from Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the BMA, who has called for action on the growing alcohol abuse problem in Wales.
He is absolutely right that alcohol is having as big an impact as drugs and smoking on our general health and that action needs to be taken. He said: “We are not looking to restrict people from having a choice about consuming alcohol, we just want to encourage adults to drink in moderation, rather than drinking to get drunk. It is no surprise that young people are drawn to alcohol when it is cheaper than bottled water.”
Although I believe that more can be done to restrict the sale of alcohol to minors, improve education about its effects, use licensing laws to prevent clubs promoting offers that encourage binge drinking and try to undermine the macho culture that surrounds alcohol, somehow I do not think that price is the deciding factor in people’s decisions around alcohol.
Decades of high taxation on beer and spirits has proved that demand is largely inelastic whilst those who have a problem will always find a way to get their hands on booze. Sometimes the easiest sounding solution is not the best.
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he’s right the Welsh secretary of the BMA..alcohol is mch more damaging to individuals and culture than smoking or cannabis, it’s a difficult cycle to break when minors see young adults and older adults getting pissed. As for macho culture and alcohol , i’ve never seen a guy out on his legs with alcohol be able to fight very well or for very long, sober guy always wins and the drunk off to casualy smelling out the hospital
also hte promotion of free health activities at leisure centres could appease young peoples energies and hopelessness. Leisure centres are underused and lack imagination
Research was published in the Lancet in 2009 which stated that setting a minimun price of 50 pence per unit would increase the average weekly spend on alcohol of moderate drinkers by only 23 pence per week, but would decrease the consumption by underage and heavy drinkers by 7.3% and 10.3 per cent respectively. That’s the evidence base for the comments.
At a time when the NHS is facing cuts, it’s 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 those valuable resources for other life-prolonging treatments.
We need to wake up and realise that society has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and that this will not change until politicians refrain from bringing in tough new legislation but prefer to keep the drinks industry happy.