North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board acknowledge that:
- Alcohol is one of the greatest causes of premature death and morbidity in the North East and North Cumbria and places a considerable burden on the NHS and wider society
- Reducing alcohol harm significantly reduces costs to the NHS and other public services
- Alcohol is a driver of health inequalities, with lower income groups drinking less but experiencing the greatest alcohol harms
- The NHS has a key role in supporting evidence-based, government-led action to regulate the price, promotion and availability of alcohol, as the most effective option for tackling alcohol harm
- Local NHS response to alcohol-related harm is effective in reducing the burden of alcohol on the NHS and wider community and is also highly cost-effective
- The alcohol industry should have no role in the in the development of alcohol policy, strategy or education
We welcome the opportunity to act at a local level to reduce alcohol harm and health inequalities by:
- Influencing national government to take the most effective, evidence-based action to reduce alcohol harm, particularly via the introduction of greater regulations around the price, promotion and availability of alcohol
- Working in partnership to develop evidence-based strategies and plans with our local communities and partners including other NHS organisations, local authorities and the police
- Implementing evidenced based approaches to reducing alcohol related harm within our own organisation in line with NICE guidance
- Adopting staff policies that support the prevention of alcohol harm within our workforce
