The northeast of England has the highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions in England, a report has found.

In 2009/10, there were 2,406 admissions in the northeast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) region per 100,000 population, figures from the NHS Inform-ation Centre showed.

This compares to an average of 1,743 admissions per 100,000 across England.

The northwest SHA area came second on the table with 2,295 per 100,000, while the lowest rate was in the South Central SHA region – which recorded 1,223 admissions per 100,000 popul-ation.

Across England, the figures revealed a total of 1,057,000 hospital visits in relation to alcohol in 2009/10, a 12 per cent rise of the previous year and more than double the amount recorded in 2002/03.

A breakdown of the figures showed that 63 per cent of the hospital admissions were for men and found that there were higher rates of alcohol-related admissions for older adult age groups than their younger counterparts.

The report also looked at prescriptions data, revealing that alcohol dependency cost the NHS £2.41 million in prescription items last year, an increase of 1.4 per cent on the amount spent in the previous year.

In the northeast SHA area, there was a total of 410 prescription items per 100,000 popul-ation, compared to England average of 290.

Tim Straughan, chief executive officer of the NHS Information Centre, said: “The report shows the number of people admitted to hospital each year for alcohol-related problems has topped one million for the first time. The report also highlights the increasing cost of alcohol dependency to the NHS as the number of prescription items dispensed continues to rise.

“This report provides health professionals and policy makers with a useful picture of the health issues relating to alcohol use and misuse.

“It also highlights the import-ance of policy makers and health professionals in recognising and tackling alcohol misuse which, in turn, could lead to savings for the NHS.”