By Steph Johnson

Last updated 11:46, Thursday, 31 July 2008

ALMOST 40 Cumbrian hospital beds are permanently taken up by drinkers.

And on average the length of stay in the 37 beds is eight days.

The worrying statistics were revealed by north Cumbria’s associate director of public health at a meeting last night.

Jane Muller said the region is one of the worst in the country for drinking problems.

Over a five-year period there were 6,500 admissions for alcohol-related illnesses.

Carlisle has the county’s highest rate for male admissions with 217 a year, while Eden has the lowest with 58.

Carlisle also has more people claiming incapacity benefits due to alcoholism, with 90 people of working age signing on because they cannot stop drinking.

All the Cumbrian local authorities record a higher estimate of binge drinking than the national average.

Copeland is the worst with approximately 24 per cent of its population admitting to going on ‘benders’.

The figure for England as a whole is 18 per cent.

Almost one in five Cumbrians are deemed hazardous drinkers in that they go over the daily recommended level of units.

In Carlisle 22 per cent of 16-year-olds are said to be binge drinkers.

A recent NHS survey of Cumbrian youngsters stated that 18 per cent of primary school children had had at least one alcoholic drink the week before they were questioned. The figure for secondary school pupils was 39 per cent.

Ms Muller told the Carlisle Community Liaison Forum that early intervention was key to solving the problem.

She said the difficulty was in finding the balance between allocating funds to treat people who were already ill and making sure money was available to help them avoid getting to the stage where they needed medical treatment.

A number of projects are underway, including several aimed at children.

Alcohol is not just causing problems for the health service.

At the same forum, Carlisle and North Cumbria area commander Chief Supt Andy Davidson said it was a main cause of crime and antisocial behaviour.

From the beginning of this year to June there were 782 offences related to booze in north Cumbria, including 352 assaults.

Police are working with bars to promote sensible drinking.

Officers are also making the most of new powers to temporarily bar people from certain areas if they believe they are likely to cause trouble.

Chairman of Cumbria Police Authority Reg Watson was also at the meeting, which was held at the Victory Hall in Dalston.

He thinks there are two ways to stop drinkers draining the NHS and committing crime.

He wants to see increased tax on stronger alcohol and a fixed national minimum price for drink on sale in supermarkets and off licences.

Mr Watson told the meeting: “I think taxation is a smashing way to do things. It works very well.”

Members of the public disagreed and questioned why the majority should be financially punished for the sins of the minority.

The discussion was part of the Big Drink Debate.

A survey to find out Cumbrian drinking habits is underway.

Health bosses hope the results will help them target resources where they are most needed.

SJohnson@cngroup.co.uk