A&E treats '1m drinkers a year'

One third of people admitted to A&E have been drinking

One million people a year are treated in accident and emergency units at weekends after boozing, a study says.

Researchers from St George's Hospital Medical School in London found four in 10 admissions were alcohol-related, rising to seven in 10 after midnight.

And lead researcher Professor Colin Drummond has warned the introduction of 24-hour drinking would make the situation worse.

The changes are due next year as part of an overhaul of licensing laws.

Professor Drummond's study, which was commissioned by the government and fed into last year's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, is expected to be published in a medical journal in the near future.

It is a situation which is all too familiar and I think it is getting worse Martin Shalley

His team monitored 34 A&E departments from 9am on Saturday to 9pm on Sunday in 2003. Many of the alcohol-related admissions involved violence.

Professor Drummond, a consultant psychiatrist, said: "The problem is being created because alcohol is more available and affordable than it was 20 years ago.

"And if the licensing laws are relaxed I fear it will get worse and A&E departments can ill afford that when they are trying to meet waiting time targets, and dealing with heart attack patients and people who have been involved in road accidents.

"Countries such as Australia, Iceland and Ireland which have relaxed drinking regulations have seen increases in A&E admissions.

Drinking

"And it is worth remembering the study only looked at weekends but Wednesdays and Thursdays are now days where people regularly go drinking."

Martin Shalley, president of the British Association of Emergency Medicine, said he was not surprised by the findings.

"It is a situation which is all too familiar and I think it is getting worse."

And Mr Shalley agreed 24-hour drinking would increase the number of alcohol-related admissions.

"Unlike other places on the continent, the UK does not have a cafe culture, it is more of a pub culture.

"People go out intent on binge drinking and until that is addressed, 24-hour drinking will not help."

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Blair's government needs to get a grip on the binge drinking situation but they are sending out mixed messages.

"How do they plan to tackle alcohol fuelled abuses at the same time as relaxing licensing laws?"

But a spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the government was hoping the relaxtion would reduce the burden on A&E departments.

"The intention of the changes is to reduce binge drinking and the potential flashpoints created when everyone leaves pubs at the same time."