THE number of people in the North-East admitted to hospital because of their drinking has broken through the 600,000 barrier, according to new figures.

While the total number of alcohol-related NHS admissions hit 9.9m in England during 2012-13, the North-East accounted for 6.1 per cent of this total, accounting for an incredible 614,806 admissions.

The findings, taken from Alcohol Concern's new Alcohol Harm Map, show that while A&E admissions accounted for six in every ten alcohol-related hospital visits, inpatient admissions were responsible for almost two-thirds of the total cost .

It means that 23 per cent of the North-East’s population of 2.6m - nearly one in four – have had hospital treatment or attended a clinic because of an alcohol-related condition.

The new inter-active map also reveals for the first time the burden of a number of additional conditions in which alcohol is a significant contributory factor, demonstrating the wider health and financial impact unsafe drinking is having.

The map also shows that in the North-East 480,419 people (19 per cent) are drinking in excess of Government guidelines and alcohol-attributable admissions in the North-East cost the NHS £168m in total.

There was a £41.6m cost to the NHS for inpatient admissions caused by drink-related high blood pressure in the region and alcohol is attributable for almost half of all head and neck cancer inpatient admissions, at a cost to the NHS of £3.9m.

In total, more than 1,000 deaths were due to excess alcohol.

In Yorkshire and the Humber the proportion of people drinking too much was 19 per cent - the same as in the North-East.

The area with the lowest figures in most categories was the South-East, which only recorded 19,337 alcohol-related admissions and attendances compared to 51,234 in the North-East and 65,834 in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The South-East also had 32 alcohol-related deaths compared to 100 in the North-East and 148 in Yorkshire and the Humber.

But slightly more people in the South-East were drinking too much - 20 per cent compared with 19 per cent in the North-East and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Jackie Ballard said: “The NHS is now facing an intolerable strain from alcohol-related illnesses. We need to ensure appropriate services are put in place to ease this burden.

"However, we also urgently need action to prevent alcohol misuse; the first and most effective of which is for the government to implement a minimum unit price, which has the potential to save the economy millions, and save lives."

Colin Shevills, director of the North-East alcohol office, Balance, said alcohol-related hospital admissions in the region remained “a huge concern” and more needed to be done to reduce these figures.

He also backed calls for the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol.

The Alcohol Harm map is available at: www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/campaign/alcohol-harm-map.