HOSPITAL admissions for poisoning by illicit drugs have risen in York.

There were 346 admissions for poisoning due to drug taking in the city in 2014-15 – amounting to 172 admissions per 100,000 of the population.

The figure is up from 149 on the previous year and above the national average of 136 admissions per 100,000 of the population.

However, the local council’s executive member for health, Cllr Carol Runciman, said drug-related problems in York were not as significant as some of the city’s neighbours.

“We have got a very strong drug and alcohol team that are working very hard to make sure people don’t get as far as being admitted to hospital,” she said. “I know the drug problem in York is not quite as bad as other places and tends to be softer drugs rather than harder.”

In York, many more men were admitted to hospital than women, with 224 male admissions per 100,000 of the population, compared to 121 female admissions.

Nationally, hospital admissions for poisoning by illicit drugs have risen by more than 50 per cent in a decade

There were 142,802 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of poisoning by illicit drugs in 2014/15 – a rise of 57 per cent since 2004-05.

The figures, released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, show that 45 per cent of the admissions were between 16 and 34.