Local alcohol-related deaths nearly double inside a year in parts of Tyrone

IN the Omagh and Strabane area, deaths directly related to alcohol misuse almost doubled from 2019 to 2020, increasing from a total of 17 to 30.

This is the grim reality which has been exposed by the most recent statistics.

In fact, the number of direct deaths from alcohol in the Western Health Trust area, which also includes Fermanagh and parts of Derry, is at its highest in a decade and is the second highest of all trusts in the North.

The report by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) also broke down the figures by council area, revealing that Fermanagh and Omagh experienced a steep increase in the number of these deaths between 2019 and 2020, jumping from 15.1 per 100,000 to 26.5 per 100,000; while Derry and Strabane recorded the third highest rate with 22.8.

Since 2015, Derry and Strabane have never dropped below 21. For a sense of proportion, in 2020, Mid-Ulster recorded the lowest figure with 8.7 per 100,000.

According to the figures published by NISRA, a total of 351 people across the North died directly from drinking in 2020 which accounted for two per-cent of all deaths registered, meaning alcohol killed at least one in 50 that year.

Sudden Spike

ASCERT is one of the North’s largest organisations dedicated to helping those affected by drug and alcohol abuse. The Ulster Herald spoke with their chief executive, Gary McMichael, to help explain the sudden spike in alcohol deaths in the Western Trust.

He began, “Almost 80 per-cent of adults in Northern Ireland drink alcohol, with nearly one in five drinking above the recommended weekly limits. We have a large population of people who are drinking at levels that could be harmful.

“But I am not sure of the reason for local variations and these do fluctuate, and we absolutely should be doing whatever we can to reduce the numbers of deaths which are sadly indicative of the increasing levels of harm from alcohol across our community as a whole,” said Mr McMichael.

With offices in Omagh, ASCERT provide community-based services for adults and young people across the Western Trust.

High Demand

“Our Omagh office operates on an outreach basis right across the Western Trust,” said Mr McMichael. “The demand for our support is high and we have seen a rise in the number of people coming to us with increasingly complex issues including mental health issues.”

But in spite of the best efforts of organisations like ASCERT, they do not have sufficient resources to provide help to the large numbers of people seeking it.

“Additional resources are urgently needed to support people who are dependent on alcohol,” said Mr McMichael, “and, crucially, to reach people at an earlier stage to prevent them becoming dependent.”

Despite the dangers posed by other drugs, and the social acceptability of drinking, Mr McMichael said alcohol is by far the most common substance that brings people in contact with addiction services, generally whenever they have reached the point where it is causing serious harm to their lives.

And alcohol dependency and its many consequences have only been worsened by the pandemic.

‘Additional Pressure’

“Higher numbers of people experiencing greater alcohol use, and mental health problems are adding additional pressure on already-stretched services.

“The pandemic has increased the levels of alcohol consumption with unregulated home drinking during lockdowns and people using alcohol as a coping mechanism for anxiety, stress and isolation.

“Alcohol sales rocketed in 2020 and during the lockdowns about a third of our service users reported using more alcohol than usual. The majority were also experiencing poor mental health.”

“Currently there are many more people that are drinking at levels that are causing them harm, or are at risk of becoming alcohol dependent who are not ready or willing to change their drinking,” said Mr McMichael.

“We really need to encourage them to change their drinking behaviour to help avoid greater harm or addiction.”