To think drunks waste a lot of NHS money during the weekends

[Dindipoop]

I know I'm being unreasonable, and know that every person deserves treatment no matter what, but I had to go to A&E yesterday after a tooth infection left me vomiting, with cold shivers and dizziness. I thought it was the beginning of sepsis, which turned out to be right.

Last night, whilst I waited with a drip attached to my arm, and feeling really shit, 3 different people, drunk, and one of them came along with 3 family members with a spar bag full of goodies and snacks. They were sat talking, making crude and racist jokes and burping. I managed to give them a death stare and they stopped, but still carried on with the eating and burping and taking advantage of the hospital's free coffee and tea.

One of the drunks, was constantly walking about and talking incoherently even though he couldn't balance. At point he fell right in my feet and almost pulled the canula out of my arm. After this he was taken to a cubicle and made to stay there.

The third, was a woman with vomit all down her leg, she'd been seen by the doctor and just sat there and then exclaimed she was free to go home but carried on sitting there because buses didn't start until 5am. It was 3am by then and the waiting area was getting busier with only a few seats available.

It was absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe how a&e was being treated like a playground and family day out by them.

[Littleballerina]

Relative of mine was recently in a and e after a suicide attempt. He used alcohol as a tool.
Probably cost the NHS lots of money. Obviously he should have been charged. Selfish bugger.

[BCGRMDP]

i ended up in a&e 'drunk' well actually i was found unconcious after half a glass of wine and had obviously been drugged! very thankful that i was even found

[SilverdaleGlen]

Aren't A&Es a nightmare on a Sunday too with people like me who fell off my horse? And the 40 something year olds that are convinced they can still go hard at rugby and not break? Technically sports injuries are self inflicted as we know there is a risk and the older we get the more we don't bounce. Where is the cut off as weekend sports create the same kind of "bulge" days.

I don't think we should charge. I DO think there should be more drunk tanks. Where they are locked up with a bed and a bucket and 1 HCP able to take judgements to watch them. Right outside A&E so they can be frogmarched over by security. Less comfy, no sympathetic treatment.

Then a huge drive by government to try and change the culture.

[yellow6]

the answer isnt taxing people more why should people who live a healthy lifestyle be taxed so much when they want a bottle of cider a month the answer is an insuarance based system (the nhs has failed we have some of the worst survival rates in the world)

[SunnySideDownUp]

I agree that a&e does seem full of drunks, and amazingly at all times of day. I was in with my baby on Saturday, and there was continuously various police around with drunk 'customers'. There were several (vocal) fights in the waiting area. It's crazy that they're kept waiting and then treated I the same space as vulnerable patients.

And it must impact on service delivery for everyone else. We were waiting an hour for an urgent ambulance (3mo baby with breathing difficulty and a history of heart problems, so genuine emergency).

[Prawnofthepatriarchy]

When I was a journalist I interviewed a hospital doctor who told me that one of the patient groups that most annoyed him were people who went in for dangerous charity stunts to raise money for the hospital. The number of serious injuries meant that the hospital lost a considerable sum patching up unlucky parachutists and the like, while the people who did the jumps got loads of kudos and to try an extreme sport they might otherwise not have. He felt the stunts were great for ostentatious givers, not so great for the hospital.

Personally I don't think it's reasonable to charge drinkers when there are so many other behaviours that can end up in A&E. I've spent more than my fair share of time there and my impression is that sports injuries take up a lot of time which, given that people do sports at least in part because they're healthy, is ironic.

[ImFuckingSpartacus]

What about smokers, over weight people, self harmers, people driving dangerously, people on other drugs, people who have had stupid household accidents which are their own fault?

Smokers, overweight people, drivers etc etc don't tend to piss and shit and vomit, abuse staff, piss off other patients, AND they don't just sober up and leave because often they didn't need to be there in the first place.

It's not comparable.

[milliemolliemou]

My vote for the drunk tanks with EMPs trained to make sure they don't die in their own vomit. I think there should be a post facto charge for this but it does cost to collect money. Local town also has volunteer padres and church assistants who try to keep drunks safe.

Problem is with someone seriously ill if there's an upfront charge - friends might decide they can't afford it and risk death. Photos and charging for abuse/piss/shit/sick should be used to get drunks to pony up once they've been treated.

And why did Tony Blair's government relax the licensing hours? Yes it was bad when people "drank up" at 11pm but it didn't mean A&E would have a whole night of mayhem and towns, cities and villages became appalling for anyone out after midnight.

[Wando1986]

Alcohol induced medical issues should be billable treatment from the NHS.

Have to be picked up by an ambulance, after hurting yourself when rotten drunk? Here's your bill.

Have to have your stomach pumped and take up a bed in a&e because you're a muppet who went on a bender? Here's your bill.

[Aeroflotgirl]

I totally agree, time wasters. They shod made to pay for service.

[splendide]

I do think we should breathalyse suspected drunks and automatically discharge all people over a certain blood alcohol level (higher than drink drive limit) unless injury is life threatening. If they are stroppy it should be to a police cell.

So I have 2 glasses of wine with dinner fall and break my leg, I should be sent home?

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

I think it's so fucking wrong, people having to wait, tune and resources being spent on people because they choose to be pissheads.
I had to wait hours for an ambulance once early hours sat night/Sunday morn for a serious situation, no other way of getting to the hospital as couldn't leave kids etc, they had to send one out of area due to the amount of selfish pissheads they had to deal with. They should prioritise.
I've also seen on one of those documentaries on th how people have died because the ambulance had had to go to some drunk twat.

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

Oh and meek you are ridiculous.

[splendide]

They do prioritise though Lola.

[PausingFlatly]

Scotland's tried half of a solution, with minimum unit pricing.

Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012

But it's still being challenged by alcohol companies. And it fails to appropriate the extra money for the NHS - the increase in price stays with the retailer.

Scottish minimum alcohol pricing passed by parliament

Taking the levy at the point of sale of the alcohol is a helluva lot more efficient than auditing every A&E attendance and making claims and counter-claims about relevance of alcohol. Which would anyway fail to cover those who pickle themselves slowly over a life time.

And as for supposed argument trotted out that, "what about the non-problem drinkers?" If you're not drinking very much, then a small increase on each drink is hardly going to break the bank.

[user1471521456]

Tooth decay is also heavily influenced by lifestyle. Perhaps you shouldn't have been treated by A&E?

[PausingFlatly]

Should say, Scotland's trying half a solution.

Because it keeps being blocked it hasn't yet been put into practice. So we don't yet have the data from seeing it in action.

[LagunaBubbles]

If they charged even £20 up front for admittance to A&E they would soon sort the men from the boys

Healthcare in this country should never be based on financial means. What ever the solution should be this isnt it. But since the Tories will be determined to privatise the health service you never know.

[MommaGee]

splendid perhaps you cab cone back tomorrow when you're sober? You know, once the bone has started to set incorrectly and you'll need alot more work done

Its a bit like pushchairs and buses. Some people are arseholes bit instead odd dealing with them people suggest banning anyone from a bus with a pushchairs.
Some people who ate drunk in a&e are arseholes so lets punish anyone who comes in having had a drink.
If there abusive call the security or police. If they damage property etc charge them.
Sick, well my son vomited on the hospital floor yesterday after an x-ray. I didn't get charged, just asked to guard iit whilst the man got some tissue to clean it up. Wee and boo fair enough.
And drunk tanks are a great idea

[MommaGee]

Can come

[Sallystyle]

They should prioritise.

Erm, they actually do!

[Factorysettings]

I wonder how much is spent on drunks in a&e on the weekend compared to the have-a-go-heroes.

If the number of times the air ambulance is called out for numpties playing dare devils in remote places is included then it must be close.