PROBLEM drinking is taking an increasing toll on the district's busy hospitals, new official figures show.

The number of people being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related conditions rose faster in Bradford than across the rest of the country.

There were more than 12,000 separate admissions in 2013/14, a rise of nearly seven per cent on the year before.

It means the city has the second highest rate of alcohol-related admissions in Yorkshire and the Humber, after Leeds.

Now health bosses have said tackling the issue is a "high priority" for them.

Hilary McMullen, substance misuse commissioning manager for Bradford Council said services to help people with alcohol problems were being reviewed to see where improvements could be made.

She said: "A review of the Bradford district’s alcohol and drug misuse services, in conjunction with the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), is currently being undertaken which aims to improve the system used to treat alcohol and drug misuse in the local area.

"Individual services have developed significantly over the past ten years. However, the review seeks to establish whether the overall system for providing support and treatment to those affected by alcohol and drug issues can be even more effective, whilst offering greater value for money."

Ms McMullen also said the rise in the admissions figures could partly be due to improvements in the way such patients were identified.

She said: "Patients admitted to hospital with an alcohol related health problem are now being identified earlier on in their admission and referred to the Alcohol Care Team to receive the help and advice they require in order to address their alcohol use.

"In addition there are specialist alcohol workers in A&E departments supporting A&E staff to identify patients who attend with alcohol-related health problems and provide patients with support, advice and where appropriate referral to more specialist services."

No-one from either Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust or Airedale NHS Trust were available for comment yesterday.

The new figures were released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

They also showed that across England, the number of alcohol-related deaths increased by ten per cent in a decade, from 2003 to 2013.

Health bosses said anyone concerned about their alcohol consumption should contact their GP.

Alternatively, people can contact the Piccadilly Project in Bradford on 01274 735775 or Project 6 in Airedale on 01535 610180 for confidential help and support.