The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that a new scheme to support children and families with alcohol-dependent parents has helped improve wellbeing and life satisfaction.
Dr Emily Finch, Chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Addictions Faculty, said:
“It is excellent to see how these examples of collaborative care have improved support for children and families affected by parental alcohol use and conflict. Addiction psychiatrists are a crucial part of these collaborations.
“In 2020, however, we found a 58% fall in the number of higher trainee places for addiction psychiatry. This is why the government must urgently publish their workforce plan with a specific focus on investing in under-resourced specialties and subspecialties, including addiction psychiatry.
“Parental alcohol misuse can impact all aspects of a child’s life, from their development in utero to experiencing attachment-related mental illnesses in later life as the report says. It is vital that they are able to access specialist mental health assessments and treatment when needed.”
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