200 hospital beds occupied daily due to alcohol and drug misuse in Northern Ireland
More than 200 hospital beds were occupied every day in 2019 due to alcohol and drug misuse in Northern Ireland, a watchdog has said.
Abuse of drink alone costs as much as £900 million a year, with some £250 million of this falling on the already-stretched health and social care sector, Comptroller and Auditor General Kieran Donnelly said.
The number of people seeking treatment for substance misuse has grown significantly, doubling from 2,107 in 2007 to 4,183 last year.
Mr Donnelly said: "This is an increasingly unsustainable burden."
His report on addiction services highlights the cost to the public purse.
It warned that substance misuse causes significant harm to individuals, families and wider society, with impacts on physical and mental health, unemployment, homelessness and criminal activity.
Mr Donnelly added that they are complex problems and do not occur in isolation