Drugs, alcohol listed in 20,000 hospital discharges

THERE were almost 20,000 acute hospital discharges last year — 14,000 of which were for men and 145 of which were under 15 — where a mental or behavioural disorder after taking alcohol or psychoactive substances was part of the final diagnosis.

The figures were published as part of the ERSI’s annual Activity in Acute Public Hospitals in Ireland report, which reveals there were 50,000 discharges of people who had a mental illness listed in their diagnoses, though this may not have been the primary reason why they were in hospital.

The report distinguishes between first-listed (initial) diagnoses, and all-listed (any other condition discovered during the hospital stay) diagnoses.