Alcohol-related calls now make up more than six per
cent of our workload, which is an average of 60,000 incidents
a year. And this puts us under unnecessary pressure.
To give a snapshot of the problem in the
run-up to the Christmas office-party season, we have made a short
film looking at the work of the central London 'booze bus'.
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.
When we’re dealing with these patients, we are
not available to go to people who are in a life-threatening
condition and who really need our help.
We are not against people having a good time,
but they need to take responsibility for how much they are
drinking, and enjoy alcohol safely.
How many alcohol-related calls do we receive?
We are now responding to 28 per cent more
alcohol-related calls than we did in November 2005, when new
licensing laws were introduced.
They now make up over six per cent of our
total workload, although this increases to more than 15 per cent
during some hours of Friday and Saturday nights.
The boroughs with the highest percentage are
Westminster and Camden, although all areas of London have seen an
increase.
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.
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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 an alternative transport vehicle,
known as the ‘booze bus’, to respond to patients in the West End of
London.
The brainchild of one of our paramedics, Brian
Hayes, it 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 other ambulances to attend other potentially
more life-threatening calls.
The 'bus' can typically attend up to 20
patients during each shift, and currently operates every
Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
A similar scheme has also ben trialled in the
Camden area. The Camden Alcohol Response Team (CART) ran in
partnership with the local council and Primary Care Trust (PCT) in
December 2008 and is due to be evaluated in late 2009.
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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
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