Tonight:
5°c
Drunks can sleep it off at field hospital
Kiran Randhawa, Evening Standard14 Mar 2008
Suburban binge drinkers are to be treated at a field hospital to ease the pressure on casualty departments.
Revellers suffering the after-effects of heavy drinking will be directed to the triage centre rather than A&E.
The pilot scheme, which starts tonight in Kingston town centre, is the latest in a series of initiatives across the country to help free up NHS beds. Staffed by a casualty nurse and a team of assistants from St John Ambulance, the centre, called A Safe Place, will also offer beds for drinkers to rest and sober up.
Drinkers will be directed to the centre by police and nightclub doormen. The five-week scheme will run from 11pm to 3am on Friday and Saturday nights in the foyer of Market House.
Reader views (3)
What's new here, please? A "sobering ward" has existed in Warsaw and other major Polish cities since late 50s. The "patients" brought in by the Police or the Ambulance Service first undergo a check-up by a physician, then they are treated to a cold shower, a clean bed linens and pay a hefty bill in the morning.
- Mariusz, London, 17/03/2008 11:40
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With a 'field hospital' in every large town centre (and many not so large) each one with its complement of comatose drunks, will the government wake up and realise that there's something wrong here. Tough on binge drinking, tough on the causes of binge drinking, one might hope.
- Peter Haldane, London, 14/03/2008 14:25
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And who's footing the bill for this? No wonder why the NHS budget is out of control! Anyone who needs any form of emergency assistance due to (self inflicted) excess alcohol consumption should be charged for the resources they use as a result of their actions. A simple scale of charges could be introduced; e.g £150 for an ambulance ride, £100 for police attendance, £100 per night's stay in hospital, £50 cleaning charge each time they soil the police car/ambulance/hospital bed, etc. This would negate the need for an increase of the duty on alcohol and have real deterrent value. I don't see why I should have to pay for other's selfishness & lack of self control.
- Chris Wood, Welling, London, 14/03/2008 13:37
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