Paramedic UK » alcohol

Think before dialling 999

Editor — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:07:40 +0000

A drink-related injury could lead to a serious incident not getting an ambulance fast enough, a paramedic says.

Alcohol-related falls and minor injuries are one of the most common reasons for paramedics to be called out at weekends – and sometimes an ambulance is not needed.

Alnwick ambulance station team leader Lee Collins said that most weekends his team is called out to an alcohol-related incident.

He added that in some cases an ambulance is not needed and could potentially be taken away from a more serious injury, especially as only one ambulance is based at the Alnwick station.

via Northumberland Today.

Paramedic assault man told he could be jailed

Editor — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:53:49 +0000

A drunken man who assaulted a paramedic as he tried to help him has been warned he faces a possible prison sentence.

Passers-by were so concerned when they saw Barry James Jones, 60, of Fowler Road in Blacon, Chester, asleep on a grass verge that they tried to wake him up and then called an ambulance.

Read full article: Chester Evening Leader .

Under-age drinking ‘on the rise’

Editor — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:34:09 +0000

An investigation by the London Authority found alcohol-related hospital admissions have almost doubled in recent years and calls to the London Ambulance Service relating to young people drinking have increased 27% in four years.

Young people’s drinking is having serious repercussions on their health and on public services The report said young women aged 11-15 have drinking habits similar to those of their male peers.

Hospital admissions for these females are almost double those for men of the same age because of their lower tolerance of alcohol.

Read full article: BBC NEWS

Jail for 999 attack thugs

Editor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:09:15 +0000

Two thugs were today behind bars after launching sickening attacks on 999 workers in Blackpool.

Teen yob Jordan Hampson punched a policeman – breaking his nose – before turning his rage on a hospital security guard.

James Gould, 63, attacked an ambulance technician who was trying to help him – battering him with his walking stick. Both attackers have now been locked up.

Hampson struck after a booze fuelled night in Blackpool.

Read full article: Blackpool Today.

Drink-drive medic struck off

Editor — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:13:20 +0000

A paramedic drove an emergency response car through Plymouth while he was twice the alcohol limit, it has emerged.

Jonathan Knight, of Truro, was on call when he was stopped by police last August attempting an illegal U-turn, the Health Professions Council said.

Read full article: Teletext West and West Country News.

Street paramedic plan to treat binge-drinkers

Editor — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:58:18 +0000

Binge-drinkers who get into fights or fall over and hurt themselves will soon have their own street paramedic to tend their injuries.

North-East NHS officials are planning to use Government funds to pay for an ambulance paramedic to be based in Darlington town centre.

The idea is that the paramedic will be on hand to deal with casualties who have either injured themselves or been hurt in scuffles.

Read full article: Northern Echo

A night of drunken shame on Scotland’s emergency frontline

Editor — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:34:12 +0000

Alcohol related incidents are estimated to cost the Scottish Ambulance service £31.5 million a year, but this may well be an underestimate. The statistic is sobering – but the hard reality is even stronger.

A night with Scotland’s paramedics runs from the nice housing “estates” to the “schemes”, all to deal with over-imbibers. In the debate on how to address Scotland’s battle with booze, the ambulance service, the frontline in that battle, is too often overlooked.

We hear reports of drunks kicking off in police cells and A&E departments and assaulting police officers and nursing staff, but what about the ambulance staff who are often first on the scene?

Read full article: Edinburgh Evening News.

A quarter of Britons are hazardous drinkers

Editor — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:29:43 +0000

Almost a quarter of Britons are “hazardous drinkers” and hundreds of thousands more of them are being admitted to hospital for alcohol-related reasons than five years ago, according to official figures.

The statistics showed that 33 percent of men and 16 percent of women drank potentially dangerous amounts, the National Health Service (NHS) Information Center said.

Read full article: Reuters

Paramedic tells of abuse terror

Editor — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:55:30 +0000

Terrified paramedic Daryen Lemmon has told how he had to use a chair to fend off an abusive patient.

Alcoholic Ian Hewitt faces jail after verbally attacking Sunderland ambulance staff who were trying to treat him.

Read full article: Sunderland Echo.

‘Don’t treat violent drunks’

Editor — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:53:06 +0000

“It is unacceptable that paramedics have to put up with this and offenders should feel the full force of the law.

“We should have zero tolerance for those under the influence of alcohol.

“At the hospital drunks are thrown out if they misbehave and it should be the same for paramedics —they don’t treat abusive people unless their condition is life-threatening.”

Read full article: This Is Lancashire