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Specialist alcohol treatment services fail to meet need in Scotland

BMJ 2009; 339 doi: 10.1136/bmj.b3259 (Published 10 August 2009)
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3259

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  1. Bryan Christie
  1. 1Edinburgh

    One in four adults in Scotland (27.9%) is drinking alcohol at potentially harmful levels, and specialist treatment services are inadequate to meet the demand for help. These are the stark conclusions of a report from the Institute of Psychiatry, which recommends the expansion of treatment services throughout the country.

    The report concludes that 206 000 (4.9%) of Scots are alcohol dependent, but only one in 12 of this group (17 000) have access to specialist treatment. Every area of Scotland has a low level of access, as measured by North American standards. The …

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