This retrospective pilot inquiry has been commissioned by NHS North into the circumstances surrounding local alcohol related deaths across Lancashire County between 2008 and 2010 as reported by the Preston, Central and West Lancashire coroner. Cases included in the investigation have been aligned with the inquiry’s period of focus and assessed for inclusion according to the specified alcohol related death criteria:
“Deaths where the underlying cause is poisoning, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence and where determination of alcohol absorption is forensically tested and its presence confirmed as being contributory to the cause of death.” [As per ‘Schedule 1’ of the contractual papers].
The Confidential Inquiry model offers a structured approach to investigating the circumstances surrounding alcohol related deaths for selected locations across Lancashire. We are still losing people to substance-related fatalities, so it is essential that we continue in our efforts to reduce these instances by improving our attempts to save lives and to increase not just the ‘life chances’ but the ‘chance of a life’.