‘Alcohol to blame for 28% of A&E admissions’

URGENT action to tackle drink-fuelled mayhem in A&E departments has been urged on the back of a new report that blames alcohol for almost one-in-three injuries treated.

The report, which found three out of four patients with an alcohol-related injury were still drunk when they arrived in casualty, says at-risk drinkers must be identified and advised, when sober, to cut down before leaving A&E.

The Health Promotion Unit-funded survey, based on interviews with 2,500 patients who had their injuries treated in six major acute hospitals around the country, also found that binge drinking was a big problem.

Of those presenting with alcohol-related injuries, men had consumed an average of 15 drinks, while the average for women was 11.

Almost 20% said their drinking had been cut short by having to come to hospital and 64% said their injury would not have happened had it not been for alcohol.

Of the 28% of injuries identified as alcohol-related, 35% had been caused by another person. Almost 60% were perpetrated by a stranger, 25% by a friend and 8% by a spouse or partner.

The study was conducted in the A&E departments of the Mater Hospital and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, University College Hospital Galway, Sligo General Hospital, Letterkenny General Hospital and Waterford Regional Hospital.

The Mater shoulders the greatest burden of the drink problem, with alcohol to blame for more than half of the injuries treated. In Sligo and Letterkenny, alcohol was responsible for 28% of injuries while Waterford had the lowest incidence at 19%.

Just over 40% of the injuries were caused by falls or trips, 23% resulted from striking an object, while 14% were caused by a stab, cut or bite.

Concussion or head injury affected almost 6% of those with alcohol-related injuries.

The peak time for admissions relating to alcohol was between 3am and 4am on Saturdays and Sundays, with over 50% of such injuries occurring out on the streets, 23% in a pub or hotel and 17% in the home.