Admissions to mental wards for drugs and alcohol up a third

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show. By Kate Devlin Medical Correspondent More than 47,000 patients were admitted in 2006, 10,000 more than in 2003, due to the effects of drink or drugs. The rise come despite a drop in the overall number of patients in psychiatric units, from a high of 214,000 in 1998 to just over 180,000 in 2006. Opposition parties said that the increases were "worrying" and accused the Government of failing to get to grips with a growing drugs problem. Official figures released earlier this year show that one in three British adults admits to having tried illegal drugs. More than three million adults were estimated to have taken at least one banned substance last year, according to the... [read full story]