Alcohol-related calls now make up six per
cent of our total workload. In 2010/11 we received 68,792 emergency
calls because somebody had too much to drink - that
is 188 patients every single day.
Alcohol misuse is a major cause of illness, injury and death. As
well as short-term damage, like sprains, cuts and a hangover,
alcohol can also cause long-term problems like liver and heart
disease and dementia.
In the West End we have a fleet of 'booze
buses' that respond to patients who have had too much to
drink.
Watch this short film looking at the work of the 'booze bus'
to see a snapshot of the problem in the run-up to the
Christmas
party season.
We have prepared a text transcript for the video for site visitors
who are visually or hearing impaired. (This video can also be
viewed on our YouTube channel, at www.youtube.com/londonambulance)
As well as people who become ill through
drinking too much, we have to help those who have been injured
because they are under the influence of alcohol.
We are not against people having a good time,
but they should be responsible, drink sensibly and enjoy alcohol
safely.
How you can have a safe night out*
- Eat before drinking: food soaks up alcohol,
slowing it down on its way into the bloodstream. It will provide
more energy, and lessen the effects the next day.
- Drink lighter beers: stronger continental
beers are popular, but make for a messy night and a bigger
hangover. The difference between a pint of 5% lager, and a 3.5% or
4% one is one unit.
- Set a drinks limit: plan what to drink in an
evening and stick to it.
- Have a strategic soft drink: this keeps the
body hydrated, and will lessen the effects the next day.
- Avoid drinking in rounds: this can often mean
drinking at a faster pace set by another one of the
group.
- Be your own person: nobody should feel as
though they should have to drink something if they don’t want to,
and real friends should respect each others' wishes.
- Keep track of what you’ve had: it is hard to
say ‘That’s my limit tonight’ if you don’t know how much you’ve
had.
- Use more mixers: diluting a drink with another
mixer will make it last longer, and lessen the effects.
- Drink smaller drinks: A large glass of wine in
most bars is equivalent to a third of a bottle!
- Plan your journey home: Don’t leave it to
chance—think about how you’re going to get home, and who with,
before you go out. Make arrangements before you start drinking, and
make sure you don’t get left to walk home alone.
*Source: Department of Health and Home Office: ‘Know your
limits’ campaign
How many alcohol-related calls do we receive?
We are now responding to 40 per cent more
alcohol-related calls than we did in 2004/5, before new licensing
laws were introduced.
Last year (2010/11) staff dealt with 68,792 patients who’d had
too much to drink – an increase of 7.9 per cent since the year
before.
That’s six per cent of our total workload.
Although during some hours of Friday and Saturday nights more than
one in five 999 calls is down to alcohol.
The boroughs with the highest proportion
of these calls are Westminster and Camden, although many areas
of London continue to see increases each year.
Our figures are based on information given at
the time the 999 call is received in our control room, or
where alcohol is recorded by our frontline staff as being the main
reason for us being needed to treat a patient.
What this means is that the figures don’t take
into account other incidents, such as assaults, minor falls and
other injuries, that may have happened because someone had been
drinking.
View the 2010-11 statistics for alcohol-related
calls.
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How are we dealing with alcohol-related calls?
We have developed a number of initiatives to
ease the pressure of alcohol-related calls on our service,
particularly at times of high demand in the summer and Christmas
and the New Year.
The ‘booze bus’
We use alternative transport vehicles, known
as ‘booze buses’, to respond to patients in the West End of
London.
The brainchild of Paramedic Brian Hayes, a ‘booze bus’ can carry
more patients than a normal ambulance, meaning that up to five
people can be taken to hospital at any one time. This helps to free
up frontline ambulances to attend other potentially more
life-threatening calls.
The ' booze bus' crews can typically help
more than 20 patients during each shift, and currently
operate every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in central
London.
Treat and tweet
In December Paramedic Brian Hayes tweeted from
the booze bus to give an insight into a typical night. Read our
treat and tweet session.
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