We are pleased to publish our latest alcohol needs assessment which will act as the evidence base in the development of our new alcohol strategy.
Partners, service providers, service users and stakeholders came together with the aim of creating a shared understanding of how alcohol is impacting on the population of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We wanted to know how effective our response was to reducing alcohol harms- what was working well and where can we improve?
The alcohol needs assessment will act as a shared resource, enabling us to make evidence-based decisions to ensure the needs of individuals, families and the wider community are met through making the best use of our resources.
We explored a range of areas related to alcohol. These included: how we can support people to drink within recommend levels; the adverse impacts of alcohol on health, community safety, children and families; and how effective our alcohol treatment and recovery system is. Our Needs Assessment Expert Group made up of commissioners, partners and service providers met regularly to offer feedback and interpret findings. The alcohol needs assessment was based on:
- What do our people say? We ran focus groups, an online survey and workshops.
- What does local and national data reveal?
- What does national guidance, legislation and best practice say is most effective in reducing alcohol harms?