Highly Commended
Putting alcohol on the local authority map
Summary of work
Alcohol misuse is a significant public health challenge; it affects thousands of individuals, families and communities across the country and costs the NHS an estimated £3.17bn each year. The abiding images of ‘Booze Britain’ have however distracted Government and stakeholders from the imperative to treat alcohol misuse as a health problem. The Health and Social Care Act made provision for local authorities to take on responsibility for commissioning alcohol services. Key to the development of local services are Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Health and Wellbeing Strategies undertaken by local authorities. This campaign aimed to highlight the health needs of alcohol misuse at a local and national health policy level.
Judges’ comments
A hugely creative, well-executed and compelling campaign in a subject area that is hard to address as coverage is often sensationalist. It made a demonstrable difference to policy in practice and delivered impressive outcomes against objectives that were both measurable and stretching. The alcohol check had a profound impact.
