News In Depth
- 15 February 2012, 12:32
Paramedic: Binge drinkers a hazard
A paramedic working on the NHS frontline has told how dealing with binge drinkers was a hazard of his job.
He described how drinkers were such a problem they stopped vulnerable patients getting the urgent care they needed.
"Instead of saving lives, you're just scooping up drunks," team leader paramedic for the North East Ambulance Service Richard Ilderton said.
He told Balance, the North East of England's Alcohol Office: "You join the job to help people; it's more of a vocation than an actual job.
"Picking people up who you know have drunk themselves into a stupor when you know there is some elderly person out there who will have fallen and broken their hip - you could be there dealing with their pain, helping them get treatment and there you are mopping your vehicle out after someone who should know better has vomited in the back of your ambulance.
"You can pick someone up on a Friday night or Saturday night and it may be you have Doris who is in her 70s or 80s and you know you are going to be wheeling her into a waiting room full of young and old drunken people who are lolling around on a chair or who have fallen on the floor and are lying there, are vomiting, are covered in their own bodily fluids, are swearing, are being abusive, are trying to start fights; I think that is massively unfair that we are having to do that because these people just do not know when to stop drinking or take responsibility for their own lifestyle."
what do you think?
gypsy56
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hamish kay
pathetic just an excuse to raise taxes and try to balance the books. the drugs problem is far worse in the uk. i worked in clubs and pubs. drink is expensive, raise taxes and thus prices and ppl will distill their own or get smashed on drugs which are cheaper more and do more harm. most probs in the uk are drug related and not alcohol to be honest as drugs affects brain more. or it is the mix of drink and drugs that affects ppl. london cocaine capital of eu... that is partly why we have probs. most drinkers are social and not a prob.
El Bubsio
Actually, over 10 times as many people die alcohol related deaths as all illegal drugs combined each year, and that's a low estimate. It could be as high as 30 times or more(1). I too have worked in pubs and clubs, and tbh, i'd much rather be around people using illegal drugs than people who are drunk. You say that drugs do more harm than alcohol, but fail to provide any evidence of this. How have you obtained this 'fact'? Whilst you are correct that most drinkers are social drinkers and don't have or cause problems, the problems caused by alcohol abuse are far more costly than the problems caused by illegal drugs. Illegal drugs cost the UK around 16 billion a year (a figure which could be reduced to under 6 by implementing more sensible measures) (2), whereas alcohol abuse related costs are over Ģ20 billion a year (3) (1) - <a href="http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/faqs/faqpages/how-many-people-die-from-drugs" rel='nofollow'>http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/faqs/faqpages/how-many-people-die-from-drugs</a> (2) - <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5115189/Illegal-drugs-cost-the-country-16bn-a-year-says-charity-Transform.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5115189/Illegal-drugs-cost-the-country-16bn-a-year-says-charity-Transform.html</a> (3) - <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-196793/Heavy-cost-binge-drinking.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-196793/Heavy-cost-binge-drinking.html</a>
Joan Holmes
It does not seem fair to the responsible members of the populations so rather than keep putting the prices up why donīt they charge people for their treatment and care as a result of bingeing and drunkeness. As to the comment that people are resorting to drink because of the rather depressing times we ae going through at the moment, I think those who went through WW1 would find that laughable.
Name witheld
12:46pm on 15/2/2012
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