People with alcohol problem 'struggling to access treatment quickly'
Almost half of all drinkers do so in a hazardous and harmful way.
Huge numbers of people with an alcohol problem cannot get access to quick treatment, according to a new report.
Service providers say there are serious unmet mental health needs among many of those seeking help.
The report, entitled is published on Thursday by Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI).
It recommends changes to how services are provided, including that a national strategy setting revised standards and promoting best practice should be developed.
The report is based on a survey of representatives from 11 treatment providers – eight residential services from across the country (about half of all residential treatment services) and three community-based services.
The treatment providers surveyed worked with about 2,000 people in 2019.
AAI said getting the views of service users was, unfortunately, not possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the report, almost half of all drinkers do so in a hazardous and harmful way – there are an estimated 250,000 people with alcohol dependency problems, yet the latest data shows only 3,500 new cases gain access to some form of treatment programme.
The report states: "Each of the service providers surveyed spoke about the unmet mental health needs they see in people coming to their services, including anxiety, depression, and other serious mental health problems.
"All of the services also recognised trauma in the client population though there were differing views on how best to address this."
The respondents also noted a shortage of detox facilities and that 50% of those in treatment are fathers or mothers, which can lead to an intergenerational cycle of dependency and trauma.
In 2019, there were 5,060 children who had a parent in residential treatment: 23% under five years, and 77% between five and seven.
