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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think if you have to call an ambulance because you have injured yourself drunk then ....

118 replies

stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:28

you should have to pay for it??

I may be being unreasonable but after an incident i witnessed this weekend it suddenly dawned on me that some people get so blind drunk ,fall over ,bang their head or whatever they may do and then an ambulance is called and they are taken to a&e all at the tax payers expense and more to the point taking paramedics away from someone who might be desperatly ill needing it?

OP posts:
tvoffnowplease · 25/04/2011 20:38

I don't agree. Everyone has a different idea of who is deserving. So there can't be any one group singled out.. as gwink lists above, there are a plethora of situations where people could be blamed for needing an ambulance.. just because you don't think that drunk people are worthy, doesnt mean you are right.

I pay heaps of tax. I get drunk probably once a month, if I fell and banged my head then had to pay for the ambulance I'd be furious.

Serenitysutton · 25/04/2011 20:38

YABU. What if they had no money? how would you force them to pay even if they did? what if they injured themselves whilst pissed rather than because they're pissed?

tvoffnowplease · 25/04/2011 20:39

and how drunk would you have to be? you could fall over after 3 glasses of wine through coinsidence, not through being drunk.

onepieceofcremeegg · 25/04/2011 20:40

What would happen if you were obese, drunk, high on skunk and drilling a hole in the wall all at the same time? Would you have to pay a quadruple rate? Grin

expatinscotland · 25/04/2011 20:41

Oh, and a cigarette smoker, onepiece! Don't forget that, too.

How about people who have sex without a condom and get an STI or fall pregnant? Feckless losers, no treatment for you unless you stump up!

Original poster
stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:41

notnowbernard i perhaps could be nieve ,perhaps sensible ..definatly not fick and of course this isnt going to happen it was just an obsevation made by myself in which i thought i had a valid point ...yes i know that most pay taxes and therefore in theory pay for it but i meant as a sort of fine to try and prevent people doing this ...the same for smokers,over eaters etc etc ....i of course wasnt suggesting anyone be refused treatment and i wasnt looking for an arguement it was just my opinion :)

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 25/04/2011 20:42

'yes i guess the nhs shouldnt discriminate and like i said accidents are accident so of course should not be billed ..'

So when a drunk person falls and hits their head, it's deliberate and not an accident?

onepieceofcremeegg · 25/04/2011 20:43

Yes expat, forgot that. cigarette and joint in one hand. Drill in the other. (and having unprotected sex at the same time, that would be slightly irresponsible imo)

Original poster
stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:44

Falling is an accident which they did through being drunk ....deliberatly drunk

OP posts:
onepieceofcremeegg · 25/04/2011 20:45

I am a nurse and I have to say that I am not aware of huge numbers of drunken adults deliberately falling over and injuring themselves.

It's not ideal, I accept. However other people make unwise choices too.

Interesting dilemma for me. In the course of my work I worked a day shift yesterday and then was out most of the night. (had 20 minutes sleep between 11pm and 6am) Whose fault is it if I injure myself through lack of sleep. It's the NHS's fault really. Should they pay me?!

Original poster
stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:46

I am reading everyone's replies and taking it all on ,some very valid points thank you :)

OP posts:
WinterOfOurDiscountTents · 25/04/2011 20:47

If you had to pay 110 quid to go to A&E (like we do), people wouldn't clog it up so much while pissed, or with splinters etc.

People in the UK don't appreciate the NHS, IMO, they take it for granted and have no concept of how much they get out of it (which is a lot more than most people put in)

SardineQueen · 25/04/2011 20:47

I think OP has decided she is in fact BU?

A MN first!!!!!

I was going to give an example of a homeless/derelict drinker out cold on the pavement. People wouldn't want to call the ambulance as they might have to pay? Or they would know there was no point as the person was unlikely to have the means to pay? So step over them and walk on? Not a society I would like thanks.

expatinscotland · 25/04/2011 20:49

'Falling is an accident which they did through being drunk ....deliberatly drunk'

Contracting an STI because you didn't deliberately wear a condom is an accident, too.

So is falling pregnant when contraception fails. You deliberately had sex when you didn't want a baby.

So, by that token, all those folks should have to pay for treatment, too.

onepieceofcremeegg · 25/04/2011 20:49

How about working parents on a low income with young children? The adult/parent has to make a decision re attending A&E. Would children be exempt? If so what about young teenagers who have been drinking/using drugs? This could lead to further neglect imo.

SardineQueen · 25/04/2011 20:49

If you had to pay £110 to go to A&E a lot of people would die of things that could have been prevented.

eg it is bad enough getting some elderly people to see a doc at the best of times (don't want to make a fuss), let alone if it's going to cost £££.

notnowbernard · 25/04/2011 20:49

Have just re-read my post and realise I come across a bit snippy

Sorry, OP, didn't mean to have a go at you as such, more that the idea you are pondreing is just utterly unworkable and (IMO anyway) just so unethical

Who should have the right to decide who is undeserving or not?

Original poster
stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:50

Yes perhaps i was being a little unresonable ...Not sure you need to be quite so sarcastic about it sardine i do think my op has some valid point but yes there are many other valid points which point to the fact that sometimes our nhs is over used and under appreciated

OP posts:
Original poster
stoppinchingthedummy · 25/04/2011 20:52

notnowbernard its ok :) Everyone who is giving other examples of "accidents" non accidents ...then yes absolutly who can decide who deserves "free" treatment and who doesnt. :)

OP posts:
discobeaver · 25/04/2011 20:53

Lots of tax paid on alcohol and cigarettes which helps. I do see where the op is coming from though, pissed up people fighting and getting abusive to nhs staff make me think they are undeserving nobs. But like everyone else has reasonably pointed out, it would be impossible to deny them treatment unless the nhs principles alter radically.

WinterOfOurDiscountTents · 25/04/2011 20:54

Elderly people and v poor people get medical cards. We're not totally barbaric. Smile

discobeaver · 25/04/2011 20:54

Not saying they should change, just that they would have to.

MCos · 25/04/2011 20:55

I think A&E shouldn't accept anybody drunk.

Let them come back when they are sober! With exception for those with life threatening (sp?) injuries/conditions.
Happened to friend of mine while on holiday in Spain.

Groovee · 25/04/2011 20:59

I was in A&E at 3am in the morning as I'd been very ill for a few days and NHS 24 sent me to the out of hours, who then referred me through to A&E. I was astounded on a Tuesday night that the same 2 drunks who had been there when I'd been blue lighted in 2 years previously were staggering round the department having got off their beds. I believe they just sleep it off and if that is the case then I feel they are wasting valuable resources as there weren't actually injured just looking for somewhere to sleep it off Confused

Some accidents do happen when you have a drink just the way that you do when completely sober. But if you are a regular visitor in A&E steaming drunk then maybe they need to refer you to some sort of counselling or support group regarding your drinking?

tvoffnowplease · 25/04/2011 21:00

I don't think people who don't drink or smoke should get free nhs treatment because they pay less tax through VAT than those who do...

(I don't actually think that but just making the point that we all have different opions on who is deserving and why and therefore OP's suggestion could never work)

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