Alcohol-related problems costing €2.65bn a year

ALCOHOL-RELATED problems are costing the State €2.65 billion a year but the true extent of the country’s binge drinking problems will only become apparent in 10 years’ time, an Accident and Emergency specialist has warned.

A&E consultant Eamonn Brazil believes alcohol abuse is continuing unabated.

“The problem is much the same this Christmas and, if anything, is probably slightly up on last year. It is pretty bad all the time to be honest,” he said.

Dr Brazil, who is based at Dublin’s Mater Hospital, is co-author of a recently published report that found alcohol is responsible for almost a third of all injuries treated in A&E departments.

The study focused on 2,500 patients who had their injuries treated in six major acute hospitals throughout the country. It found that of those with alcohol-related injuries, men had consumed an average of 15 drinks, while the average for women was 11.

Dr Brazil described the amount of alcohol being consumed by those who end up in A&E as frightening.

“If the volume of alcohol consumption that we are seeing in A&E departments continues unabated we are going to have big problems in 10 to 20 years’ time,” he warned.

“All we are seeing are the acute injuries. We are not seeing the liver disease, the stomach problems from bleeding and the psychiatric illnesses associated with heavy drinking.”

A Health Research Board (HRB) report on the activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals found 3,217 people were treated for alcoholic disorders last year and 952 were new admissions.

HRB principal investigator Dr Dermot Walsh pointed out that alcohol disorders accounted for 14% of all admissions.

The Mater shoulders the greatest burden of the drink problem, with alcohol accounting for around a third of admissions and it is blamed for more than half of the injuries treated.

“The only advice we would give to someone intent on binge drinking is to go somewhere they know. And, if you are out with friends, try to stay with them because at least you can look after each other,” he advised.

“I do not want to be a killjoy and say that people should not be out drinking but I would much prefer if they did not end up in an A&E department. And from the studies we have done, if you do end up in an A&E department and it is related to alcohol, our figures suggest that you are drinking way too much.”

Special adviser to GPs on alcohol abuse, Rolande Anderson, said he had not noticed any change in people’s drinking habits this Christmas, particularly among young people who were developing more alcohol-related problems.

The solution to the problem would have to be multi-faceted, long-term and involve a lot of effort to be effective, he said.

But, he said, at the end of the day someone at Cabinet level would have to show leadership and courage on the issue and he did not see any evidence of that at the moment.