Cuts to addiction services since 2012 have caused almost 11,000 excess deaths

LONDON - Nov. 14, 2022 - PRLog -- In the decade since the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 there has been a dramatic increase in drug use and drug-related death rates across England and Wales. Now, rehabilitation support provider rehabsuk.com is calling for the government to do more.

In a new report, "The Impact of 10 Years of Cuts to Addiction Services", Rehabs UK notes that:

• The number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales rose 87.1% between 2012 and 2021
• The decade spanning 2012-2021 saw 39.5% more drug-related deaths overall than the previous ten years amounting to at least 10,800 excess deaths
• Class A drug use among 16-25 year-olds rose 81% between 2013 and 2020, while overall drug use in this age group rose 23%

"This government, and those before it, fail to see the damage they cause. Not to mention the strain these cuts place on those of us who are left to pick up the pieces. We and other rehab services do what we can, but the government must do more. The figures speak for themselves, the cuts have destroyed lives." Says Lester Morse, Director of Rehabs UK.

In December 2021, the government introduced its new 10-year drug strategy, pledging £780 million to "rebuild the drug treatment system" within this.

• For 2022 to 2023, only £101.2 million has been allocated in additional grants for treatment and recovery services, beyond what was already in place.
• Before the Health and Social Care Act, the annual budget spent by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse was £467 million. When adjusted for inflation, £467 million in 2012 is the equivalent of over £598.7 million today.
• Even if the full £780 million on drug treatment is to be spent over 3 years, that's a decrease of -44.3% on previous annual spending, or -56.6% in real terms when accounting for inflation

"The government's drug strategy is a farce." Morse goes on to say. "For all their talk about how this is a record amount of spending on the drug treatment services, it is insufficient and barely gets us back to where services were before 2012.

"Money alone is not going to fix this. In my opinion, society needs to change its mind on how it treats addiction or we will forever be pouring money into a bottomless pit.

"The majority of funding is used to reduce the harmful effects of addiction, which creates a revolving door, parking people in treatment services until they die. We need to treat the cause of addiction before real change can happen - as we know recovery is possible!"

Read the full report, The Impact of 10 Years of Cuts to Addiction Services, here: https://rehabsuk.com/blog/the-impact-of-10-years-of-cuts-...