Published by the Mental Health Information Systems Unit of the Health Research Board, the Annual report on the activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals 20201 shows that the rate of new admissions to inpatient care for alcohol disorders has increased.

In 2020, some 958 cases were admitted to psychiatric facilities with an alcohol disorder, of whom 382 were treated for the first time. Figure 1 presents the rates of first admission between 2000 and 2020 for cases with a diagnosis of an alcohol disorder. The admission rate in 2020 was higher than the previous year, although trends over time indicate an overall decline in first admissions. Approximately one-third (33.3%) of cases hospitalised for an alcohol disorder in 2020 stayed just under 1 week, while 32.7% of cases were hospitalised for between 1 and 3 months, similar to previous years.

In 2020, some 973 cases were also admitted to psychiatric facilities with a drug disorder. Of these cases, 434 were treated for the first time. Figure 2 presents the rates of first admission between 2000 and 2020 of cases with a diagnosis of a drug disorder. The admission rate in 2020 was similar to the previous year, although trends over time indicate an overall increase in the rate of first admission with a drug disorder since 2011. It should be noted that the report does not present data on drug use and psychiatric comorbidity; it is therefore not possible to determine whether or not these admissions were appropriate.

• Other notable statistics on admissions for a drug disorder in 2020 include the following:
• Over one-half of cases hospitalised for a drug disorder stayed under 1 week (52.3%), while 99% were discharged within 3 months. It should be noted that admissions and discharges represent episodes or events and not persons.
• 16.4% of first-time admissions were involuntary.
• Similar to previous years, the rate of first-time admissions was higher for men (13.5 per 100,000 population) than for women (4.8 per 100,000 population).

Source: Daly and Craig (2021)

Figure 1: Rates of psychiatric first admission of cases with a diagnosis of an alcohol disorder per 100,000 of population in Ireland, 2000-2020

Source: Daly and Craig (2021)

Figure 2: Rates of psychiatric first admission of cases with a diagnosis of a drug disorder per 100,000 of population in Ireland, 2000-2020
 

1 Daly A and Craig S (2021) Annual report on the activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals 2020. HRB StatLink Series 5. Dublin: Health Research Board. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/34575/