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Drink issues of child, 11
Pamela Welsh28/ 2/2008
SHOCKING new figures have revealed children as young as 11 are being treated for alcohol-related problems in the city.
The figures come from Salford’s dedicated alcohol advisory service for young people and show that an 11-year-old child was seen by the service this financial year.
Smart, the city’s substance misuse and alcohol referral team, treat around 200 young people every year with alcohol related conditions.
The service focuses on people between the ages of 10 and 22, but says that its average service user is around 16. The service is run in partnership with Salford City Council and the Primary Care Trust.
Councillor John Warmisham, lead member for children and young people, said: "It's obviously very worrying when we see somebody of that age being treated for alcohol problems.
"We are doing everything we can to look at prevention. We do a lot of work with young people - we go into schools and work with the youth service to try and combat these things. Intervention is the crux of this issue."
Matthew Benham, team leader at Smart, said: "There has been a commitment in Salford to look after people with alcohol or drugs problems for a long time.
We have offered support to children as young as 11, and a lot of our work is preventative."
Young people are referred to the scheme in a number of ways, including through A&E.
When a young person receives treatment in hospital for alcohol, they are automatically referred to the service.
Matthew said: "There are a number of different ways people can be referred to us, but one of the most useful is through A&E. This allows us to look at the person’s individual circumstances and try to prevent it happening in future."
Matthew admitted that some of the problems stemmed from alcohol being so readily available.
He said: "There are a number of factors involved in young people using alcohol. Some of it comes from family situations, and it does not help that alcohol is quite cheap on the streets."
Cut price alcohol was one of the reasons why residents objected to the opening of a One Stop Shop on Cholmondelely Road in Claremont
John Mills, who has lived on the street for 38 years, said: "Cheap alcohol is a major problem for youngsters.
"Each shop tries to outdo the other - it's a cut-throat world out there. In some of the shops a can of beer is almost as cheap as a can of pop.
"They need to stop that before they can help the youngsters."
Anyone who has alcohol concerns should contact the Smart team on: 0161 743 0167
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