A&E attendance for binge drinking doubles, Nuffield Trust report says

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 22 December, 2015

Binge drinking is placing increasing stress on hospital and A&E services in the UK, according to a new report from healthcare charity The Nuffield Trust.

In the six years from 2008-9 to 2013-14, A&E attendance rates likely to be due to alcohol poisoning increased by 104.6%.

In the last year of the survey, 2013-14, half of such attendances occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with visits peaking between midnight and 2am each night.

The highest volume of attendance in the early hours were from those in the 15-24 age group, and in particular young women aged 15 to 19.

The figures for emergency admissions tell a different story, however.

In 2013/14, the highest rates of emergency admission were found in the 45 to 64 age group for both men and women.

Those living in the 20% most deprived areas were four times more likely to be admitted as an alcohol-related emergency than than those living in the 20% least deprived areas.

This was particularly true in the North of England.

Emergency admissions specific to alcohol were consistently higher in men than in women across all age groups.

Joint author of the report Claire Currie said: "With the Christmas party season in full swing, it's worth considering the full burden over-indulgence in alcohol is placing on our NHS, as well as the obvious human cost.

"Our research has uncovered a picture of rising and avoidable activity in hospitals, representing a stark challenge for the Health Service at a time when it's already great pressure.

"Hospitals alone cannot tackle this issue - the government must consider measures such as minimum unit pricing, restricting availability and limiting marketing and advertising."

Fellow author Dr Alisha Davies, senior research analyst at the Nuffield Trust, added:

"With one in four hospitals already without some form of alcohol team, we're worried that cuts to NHS and local authority budgets could put services for a particularly vulnerable group of people at risk."

However, the report also reveals that in 2013-14, A&E attendances likely to be for alcohol poisoning accounted for just 0.5% of the total attendances, adding up to 65,882 of the 14.2 million visits made that year.

That equates to an average of 471 attendances at each the UK's 140 A&E departments across the year, or 1.3 visits per day.

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