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Vital Signs
Added on
16/10/2008
Updated on
24/11/2010
VSC 26
The Vital Signs Indicator (VSC 26) for the NHS from April 2008 will measure change in the rate of alcohol admissions. This will encourage the NHS to identify at an earlier stage those patients who might be drinking too much, so they can get the help they need.
This indicator will demonstrate levels of alcohol misuse and related ill-health for conditions with a significant association with alcohol. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data are considered to be sensitive to prevention interventions and will form the basis for measuring the impact of local actions. Improved prevention and treatment interventions will have a direct impact on the rate of alcohol admissions.
Previously, published HES data showed that the top three reasons for alcohol admissions were alcoholic liver disease, alcohol poisoning and mental and behavioral disorders. There were 207,000 admissions for these reasons in 2006/7, rising at around 20,000 admissions a year.
Based on robust international research, VSC 26 has been expanded to include a number of conditions that are fully or partially attributable to alcohol consumption. The total number of alcohol admissions in 2006/7 using these attributable fractions is 811,000 and is currently rising by around 80,000 admissions a year.
Although the use of all attributable fractions will appear to represent a significant increase in current alcohol related admission estimates (from approximately 200k to 800k p.a.), This is not a real increase in the overall hospital admission rates. Instead, the percentage of all NHS admissions attributed to alcohol is revised from approximately 1.5% to approximately 6%.
If rising at the trend rate, alcohol related hospital admissions are projected to increase by 25% over the VSC period, or roughly 80,000 per year. Based on existing PCT plans, where these include this indicator, plus an assessment of the impact of central Government decisions, this predicted 25% increase is currently expected to become an 11% increase by 2010-11, meaning delivery of a 14% reduction over three years against the current trend.
This would translate into a total of 140,000 admissions avoided over the VSC period, with the overall rate rising at only 40,000 per year at the end of the period rather than the 80,000 forecast.