The number of patients in Telford & Wrekin being admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol abuse has fallen five per cent, say new figures.

Health bosses say they are delighted with the reduction and are confident that a variety of initiatives will continue to drive down admission rates. The latest available data presented to NHS Telford and Wrekin, the borough’s primary care trust, reveals that for 2008/09 there were 1,471 admissions against a target of 1,784 per 100,000 population.

This was a five per cent reduction on the previous year.

A report to the trust board said that money committed to tackling alcohol-related admissions had been “utilised to good effect”.

Claire Old, director of commissioning, said today that the reduction was very encouraging.

She said that community based teams had been enhanced and were taking a proactive approach, helping to educate young people and preventing them from becoming part of the binge drinking culture.

GP practices were involved in work to help and identify patients suffering from alcohol problems, and special liaison nurses were working in the A&E department at the Princess Royal.

Mrs Old said the trust was working closely with partners such as the council, police and ambulance service.

“Tackling alcohol-related harm is not something that the health service can do on its own,” she added. Trust chairman, Brian Taylor, described the five per cent reduction as a “fantastic result”.

Dr Catherine Woodward, director of public health, published a report in 2006 which set out in great detail the extent of alcohol-related problems in Telford & Wrekin and the impact this was having admission rates and health service costs.

Dr Woodward revealed that “significant” numbers of children, young people, and adults were misusing alcohol , and nearly a quarter of men were exceeding safe weekly drinking limits.

Alcohol was a “very significant factor” in violent crime and hospital admission rates for alcohol-related conditions were among the highest in the West Midlands.

She said that inpatient admissions for alcohol-related disease was costing the trust £840,000 annually. Both male and female admission rates for alcohol-related accidents were also significantly higher than the national average.