As the Government acknowledged in its Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England (Strategy
Unit, 2004), ‘no information is collected [centrally] on:
z
The numbers of people ente
ring treatment each year
z
The proportion of successful outcomes
z
The length of waiting times
z
The extent to which the treatments offered meet the in
dividual’s need for treatment, aftercare and other
support
z
How many times individuals pass through the system
z
How levels of provision meet need locally as well as nationally
z
The involvement of families in treatment
z
Whether some groups find access to services particularly difficult’
The Strategy proposed carrying out a national au
dit of the demand for and provision of alcohol
treatment services. This took place in 2004/05 but re
sults were not yet published at time of writing.