Inside an NHS alcohol detox service

The NHS could save £27m a year by changing the way it deals with alcoholic patients, new research seen by the Victoria Derbyshire programme suggests.

Alcohol abuse costs the NHS £3.8bn a year, £145 for each household in the UK - one in three of all A&E admissions are alcohol related, which can rise to 70% on a weekend.

But patients who attend the emergency department or inpatient ward at a Manchester hospital with issues related to alcohol abuse can now be sent to a specialist unit where they are treated for their addiction for a week.

Some 75% of the people who come through the unit do not go back to hospital for at least the next three months.

Independent analysis from John Moore's University found the unit saved the NHS £1.3m a year. If the same approach was taken across the country the researchers say it could save the NHS £27.5 m in England alone.

Victoria Derbyshire reporter Jim Reed takes a tour of the unit.

Watch Victoria Derbyshire weekdays from 09:15-11:00 BST on BBC Two and the BBC News channel, for original stories, in-depth interviews and the issues at the heart of public debate. Follow the programme on Facebook, external and Twitter, external, and find all our content online.