30th Nov 09
Tent hospital for drunks opens early
by Sally Davies
Paramedics have opened their Christmas field hospital to deal with the increasing number of binge-drinkers.
The hospital, run by the London Ambulance Service inside a heated marquee inside Liverpool Street Station, opened on Friday night, a week earlier than last year.
This year will also be the first time that the makeshift hospital will be on Christmas Eve as emergency workers brace themselves for a rise in the number of drunk people needing help.
The aim of the hospital is to take the pressure off A&E departments and release ambulances for non-alcohol related emergencies. The number of people treated at the field hospital has more than doubled over the past two years and is anticipated to rise again.
Two ambulances usually used to transport patients to hospital during the day, would be drafted in to work at night, transporting people from the streets of the City and Shoreditch to the tent, and three booze buses would also be treating people in the West End.
The field hospital would be open from 3pm until 3am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until Christmas Eve.
About 65 ambulance staff will be prepared as they expect to treat 00 patients. Around 65 St John Ambulance workers will also be on hand. Last year, the treatment centre was open for 10 nights, treating 141 patients, compared with 52 over six nights in 2007
About 75 per cent of patients treated did not need to be taken to hospital.
Duty station officer for City and Hackney, Nick Lessar, said they wanted people to enjoy themselves, but the 999 system should only be used for emergencies. The ambulance service is not a taxi service for those who are drunk and cannot get themselves home.
Throughout the past two years, paramedics in the tent have dealt with people who are too drunk to travel home. They are placed on a stretcher and checked every 15 minutes, and also treated for minor drunken injuries, such as those who have fallen down Tube escalators or been in fights.
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