Over two thirds of all ambulance call-outs in Scotland are alcohol related

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 13:28

THE AMBULANCE Service released figures last week showing that 68 percent of ambulance call-outs during weekends in Scotland are alcohol-related. The news came during what Lothians NHS has christened ‘Alcohol Awareness Week’, which took place from 4 to 10 October.


The figures from the Scottish Ambulance Service were based on records kept by ambulance crews beginning in April of this year. Data was collected Fridays, Saturdays and in the early hours of Sunday morning.


The Scottish Ambulance Service has said that these alcohol-related calls, which typically stem from injuries from alcohol-related violence or accidents, are impairing the Service’s ability to attend to other emergencies.


Statistics about the number of alcohol-related ambulance call-outs in Edinburgh were not available from Lothians NHS.


However figures released in September by the Scottish Government show that people in central Edinburgh are twice as likely to die of alcohol consumption than the rest of the country. Alcohol-related deaths in central Edinburgh are 226 per cent above the average for the whole of the UK and more than a third of people admitted to hospital in the Lothians with alcohol-related illnesses are repeat admissions.


Anne McLaughlin, an MSP for Glasgow, recently joined an ambulance crew on a Saturday night.


“Spending the night working with Glasgow’s paramedics showed me how much of their time is spent dealing with the impact of alcohol,” she told the BBC, “I want our emergency services to be dealing with people who really need them, not having to spend all their time mopping up the damage caused by alcohol.”


McLaughlin’s concern is echoed by Lothian NHS, which has just finished hosting its third annual Alcohol Awareness Week.


According to the NHS, Alcohol Awareness Week is “an initiative that brings together Scottish Government, the alcohol industry, health professionals and the voluntary sector to promote a joined-up message about drinking alcohol responsibly.”


The campaign aims to encourage the Scottish public to drink less and to drink less often by making small lifestyle changes, including eating before drinking and using ‘spacers’, soft drinks or glasses of water consumed between alcoholic drinks, to help curb instances of overconsumption.

The theme for this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week was ‘Get More Out Of Life’, which encouraged Scots to get more out of their time, relationships, work and activities by managing the amount of alcohol they consume.

Published: Tuesday 13th October

Juraj Filip