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| Britain on the booze: how a night of alcohol impacts the NHS | Britain on the booze: how a night of alcohol impacts the NHS |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.59pm GMT | |
| 22:59 | |
| Steven Morris | |
| Up and down the country there are units and voluntary organisations that aim to keep people out of A&E. | |
| The Alcohol Treatment Centre in Cardiff looks after around 1,000 people a year who are suffering the effects of alcohol or have sustained minor wounds. The idea is to keep them safe – and out of the A&E department at the University Hospital of Wales. | |
| There’s a senior nurse, sister and healthcare support worker here. A police officer and two ambulance crews are also based at the ATC. They’ve just started shift and will carry on to around 4am, though they can be stuck here until 7am. | |
| They are referred people not just from the city centre (via pub and club door staff, ambulance, street pastors and police) but from neighbouring villages and towns. They can treat people who have drunk too much with saline drips. They can also close wounds and treat fractures. | |
| Thirty nine people were treated here on New Year’s Eve – that’s 39 that kept out of A&E. | |
| Senior nurse Wayne Parsons said they had to deal with challenging – and often vulnerable – patients. “There are some who play up. But you can’t judge them. We are there to help.” | |
| One of the trickiest jobs is spotting patients who come in looking drunk – but end up being diabetic or having a hidden head injury. | |
| Parsons has just looked on his screen to check the number of people waiting in A&E up the road at the University Hospital – there are already 36 there, par for the course at this time of night. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.59pm GMT | |
| 10.53pm GMT | |
| 22:53 | |
| Josh Halliday | |
| Inspector Phil Spurgeon, the officer in charge of a team policing Manchester’s already-busy city centre, says almost all incidents his officers deal with on weekends are alcohol-related. The 24-hour drinking law, introduced 10 years ago, has not created a “continental drinking culture” as intended, he added. | |
| 10.49pm GMT | |
| 22:49 | |
| Lisa O'Carroll | |
| What concerns Tonia Donnelly, emergency medicine consultant who also has an interest in vulnerable children are young parents who get so inebriated they can’t cope with their children on a Saturday morning. | |
| “People don’t do this on purpose. People don’t set out to get drunk and end up in emergency departments. It’s about risk assessment. We want people to be safe and safeguard themselves against finding themselves in a vulnerable position collapsed on a street,” said Donnelly. | |
| I didn’t realise until Donnelly pointed it out that a bottle of wine, which many can easily consume of an evening, is 10 units of alcohol. That’s just four short of the amount advised for women in a full week. | |
| “One unit of wine is 125ml which is like a sherry glass full. A normal wine glass that you might buy in Sainsbury’s and you drink at home can be 250ml easily,” says Donnelly. | |
| 10.41pm GMT | |
| 22:41 | |
| Zoe Williams | |
| It’s kicking out time in the dry bar. | |
| “Time, ladies and gentlemen,” Ian’s yelling across the braying ferment. “I don’t care that you only just bought it, neck it.”The Frontline Church just left. “Come back and see the Community Spirit food bank next time,” Robbie, 27, calls on his way out. Emma, 41, is hoovering. All the chairs are on the tables except for mine. | |
| There will be no A&E traffic generated here. | |
| 10.26pm GMT | |
| 22:26 | |
| Mark Rice-Oxley | |
| And before we go back out to the nation at large, herewith a sneak preview of tomorrow’s front page, leading on the aforementioned article about how the booze industry cashes in on problem drinkers. With lots more from our #thisistheNHS series inside. Oh, and a story about Charlotte Rampling, too, by the looks of things. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.33pm GMT | |
| 10.14pm GMT | 10.14pm GMT |
| 22:14 | 22:14 |
| Mark Rice-Oxley | Mark Rice-Oxley |
| Here’s a nuggety little fact to throw into the debate about tax, alcohol, health, the treasury and the NHS: two thirds of the price of spirits goes straight to the government in tax. Too much? Not enough? | Here’s a nuggety little fact to throw into the debate about tax, alcohol, health, the treasury and the NHS: two thirds of the price of spirits goes straight to the government in tax. Too much? Not enough? |
| 10.00pm GMT | 10.00pm GMT |
| 22:00 | 22:00 |
| "We detox them for a week and they leave - and return to drinking" | "We detox them for a week and they leave - and return to drinking" |
| Jessica Elgot | Jessica Elgot |
| “I’m going to get political about this now,” laughs Dr Stephen Hitchin, surveying the majors section of A&E. The emergency doctor became a councillor at Chesterfield borough council, Tony Benn’s old seat, because of his frustration with how patients are driven into A&E by failing social care, including for alcoholics. He has already treated two inebriated patients, one vomiting blood, another with pancreatic damage. | “I’m going to get political about this now,” laughs Dr Stephen Hitchin, surveying the majors section of A&E. The emergency doctor became a councillor at Chesterfield borough council, Tony Benn’s old seat, because of his frustration with how patients are driven into A&E by failing social care, including for alcoholics. He has already treated two inebriated patients, one vomiting blood, another with pancreatic damage. |
| “I went into politics because I felt like I wanted to help people more. Which sounds silly because I’m a doctor. You see people coming back to A&E because of alcohol constantly and they are not getting proper care in the community. It costs three times as much to treat them here. | “I went into politics because I felt like I wanted to help people more. Which sounds silly because I’m a doctor. You see people coming back to A&E because of alcohol constantly and they are not getting proper care in the community. It costs three times as much to treat them here. |
| “They come here, we detox them for a week in hospital but the support isn’t there for them when they leave, there’s nothing to occupy them, no employment and they return to drinking, and the cycle goes on. It’s a huge strain on the NHS, and the whole system is being set up to fail because of these social care cuts. I think people need to know that.” | “They come here, we detox them for a week in hospital but the support isn’t there for them when they leave, there’s nothing to occupy them, no employment and they return to drinking, and the cycle goes on. It’s a huge strain on the NHS, and the whole system is being set up to fail because of these social care cuts. I think people need to know that.” |
| 9.52pm GMT | 9.52pm GMT |
| 21:52 | 21:52 |
| Lisa O'Carroll | Lisa O'Carroll |
| One hour into the night shift at University Hospital Southampton, and two of the 15 patients in the “majors” treatment area are here because of alcohol.The first, a man in his 30s, was found collapsed in the street. The second, another man in his 30s was “just drunk” says staff nurse Catherine Chipande, but appeared to be having an epileptic fit. She assessed him and thinks he was just pretending because she talked to him during his shaking episode and “he just sat up” and listened.She was the first to see them in the assessment area. They will be further assessed by a doctor because of the risk they may have a head injury. | One hour into the night shift at University Hospital Southampton, and two of the 15 patients in the “majors” treatment area are here because of alcohol.The first, a man in his 30s, was found collapsed in the street. The second, another man in his 30s was “just drunk” says staff nurse Catherine Chipande, but appeared to be having an epileptic fit. She assessed him and thinks he was just pretending because she talked to him during his shaking episode and “he just sat up” and listened.She was the first to see them in the assessment area. They will be further assessed by a doctor because of the risk they may have a head injury. |
| Consultant Diana Hulbert says there are four types of alcohol-related patients typically in A&E, says | Consultant Diana Hulbert says there are four types of alcohol-related patients typically in A&E, says |
| The first is the drunk who falls over on the street and a passer by calls 999. | The first is the drunk who falls over on the street and a passer by calls 999. |
| “It’s sensible because the worry is always a head injury and the symptoms can be the same – drowsiness.” | “It’s sensible because the worry is always a head injury and the symptoms can be the same – drowsiness.” |
| The second group are those that fall over and break an ankle or a wrist while the third is the worst, the boy racers who end up in a road traffic collision. | The second group are those that fall over and break an ankle or a wrist while the third is the worst, the boy racers who end up in a road traffic collision. |
| There’s lots of bravado fuelled by alcohol: “Quite often they are young men and a passenger may not have their seat belt on. They are a tricky group.” | There’s lots of bravado fuelled by alcohol: “Quite often they are young men and a passenger may not have their seat belt on. They are a tricky group.” |
| The last type presenting at A&E are those mixing drinks and drugs and overdosing. Some of these will be sadly familiar to hospital staff. | The last type presenting at A&E are those mixing drinks and drugs and overdosing. Some of these will be sadly familiar to hospital staff. |
| 9.43pm GMT | 9.43pm GMT |
| 21:43 | 21:43 |
| Jessica Elgot | Jessica Elgot |
| Staff nurse Clair Graham has learned exactly the right moment to duck when an aggressive drunk patient might swing. “You learn it over time, obviously you get trained as well. But they can’t help it, they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know if you’re trying to help them.” | Staff nurse Clair Graham has learned exactly the right moment to duck when an aggressive drunk patient might swing. “You learn it over time, obviously you get trained as well. But they can’t help it, they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know if you’re trying to help them.” |
| Drunks aren’t always aggressive. | Drunks aren’t always aggressive. |
| “We have giggles too, we have a laugh sometimes with the girls, I know I go like that,” she said. Weekends are still the busiest time, but drunks can now come in any time of the night or day, all week long, which never used to be the case, she said. “You can’t predict it, Friday and Saturday are still bad but it can happen any time.” | “We have giggles too, we have a laugh sometimes with the girls, I know I go like that,” she said. Weekends are still the busiest time, but drunks can now come in any time of the night or day, all week long, which never used to be the case, she said. “You can’t predict it, Friday and Saturday are still bad but it can happen any time.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.53pm GMT | at 9.53pm GMT |
| 9.40pm GMT | 9.40pm GMT |
| 21:40 | 21:40 |
| Zoe Williams | Zoe Williams |
| They’re playing The Drugs Don’t Work in The Brink, but the music doesn’t generally have a temperance theme. Sophie, 22, has been working here for three months, on a Work programme placement. “I love it here,” she says. “The people are really lovely. It’s not busy tonight, it’s really busy for football matches and that. Lots of guys in recovery who would have watched the game in the pub. You really get to know people.” She does over 30 hours a week as a volunteer, which is the condition of her receiving jobseekers allowance. I’ll just leave that there. Now isn’t the time for my thoughts on the Work Programme. | |
| Along a table on the back wall sit ten younglings; they could be the students that Ian Wilson described earlier: “It’s got quite trendy, not to drink. Freshers are much more likely to come in here than people in their 30s”. But these are no students. | Along a table on the back wall sit ten younglings; they could be the students that Ian Wilson described earlier: “It’s got quite trendy, not to drink. Freshers are much more likely to come in here than people in their 30s”. But these are no students. |
| “Why’re you here, then?” | “Why’re you here, then?” |
| “There’s no exciting reason, I’m afraid,” said Mark, 28. “There’s no recovering alcoholics.” | “There’s no exciting reason, I’m afraid,” said Mark, 28. “There’s no recovering alcoholics.” |
| “Mmm… but you’re in a bar, that doesn’t serve alcohol.” “I don’t know why we chose it,” Sam, 27, reiterates mildly, smiling. “Ruth, do you know?’ Finally, they put me out of my misery. They’re from the Frontline Church. “I think a lot of people drink because of isolation,” said Mark, “If you could build good communities, you wouldn’t need it.” “But there’s a lot of judgment, people saying ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ there has to be a ‘yes’ to go to”, Sam adds. “Whether it’s faith or meaning or just meeting another person’s need.” | “Mmm… but you’re in a bar, that doesn’t serve alcohol.” “I don’t know why we chose it,” Sam, 27, reiterates mildly, smiling. “Ruth, do you know?’ Finally, they put me out of my misery. They’re from the Frontline Church. “I think a lot of people drink because of isolation,” said Mark, “If you could build good communities, you wouldn’t need it.” “But there’s a lot of judgment, people saying ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ there has to be a ‘yes’ to go to”, Sam adds. “Whether it’s faith or meaning or just meeting another person’s need.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.32pm GMT | |
| 9.34pm GMT | 9.34pm GMT |
| 21:34 | 21:34 |
| The view from Manchester | The view from Manchester |
| Josh Halliday | Josh Halliday |
| Manchester paramedic Dan Smith has been talking to me about what a typical Friday night here looks like. The key surprise - it’s not all about closing time and pubs turning people out. The pressure on the emergency services goes on all night. | Manchester paramedic Dan Smith has been talking to me about what a typical Friday night here looks like. The key surprise - it’s not all about closing time and pubs turning people out. The pressure on the emergency services goes on all night. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.59pm GMT | at 9.59pm GMT |
| 9.26pm GMT | 9.26pm GMT |
| 21:26 | 21:26 |
| Mark Rice-Oxley | Mark Rice-Oxley |
| Interesting that some of our sources talk about young people and drink. It’s my impression that the younger generation DOESN’T drink as much as their forebears. Data bears that out: this may be the only UK alcohol graphic that actually goes down... | Interesting that some of our sources talk about young people and drink. It’s my impression that the younger generation DOESN’T drink as much as their forebears. Data bears that out: this may be the only UK alcohol graphic that actually goes down... |
| And in an attempt to keep things in perspective and deflect accusations below the line of being “sanctimonious” “self-righteous” and a bit of a party pooper, let’s set a bit of international context. Yes, the UK has a problem. But it is by no means as soaked as some of its continental peers. | And in an attempt to keep things in perspective and deflect accusations below the line of being “sanctimonious” “self-righteous” and a bit of a party pooper, let’s set a bit of international context. Yes, the UK has a problem. But it is by no means as soaked as some of its continental peers. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.41pm GMT | at 9.41pm GMT |
| 9.15pm GMT | 9.15pm GMT |
| 21:15 | 21:15 |
| Jessica Elgot | Jessica Elgot |
| Dr Anthony Taylor was born in the Royal Stoke. As a medical student, he worked with the consultant who delivered him. “He didn’t like me reminding him of that,” he laughed. | Dr Anthony Taylor was born in the Royal Stoke. As a medical student, he worked with the consultant who delivered him. “He didn’t like me reminding him of that,” he laughed. |
| Now he’s the senior doctor overseeing the accident and emergency department at Royal Stoke. Stoke A&E is already busy tonight - 113 people in, and possibly the same number again expected by midnight. The department currently has a fairly large overflow - which means beds in corridors - of around 14 people. Many of the patients are also waiting in the ambulatory medicine queue - people who need attention but don’t need to lie in a bed. | Now he’s the senior doctor overseeing the accident and emergency department at Royal Stoke. Stoke A&E is already busy tonight - 113 people in, and possibly the same number again expected by midnight. The department currently has a fairly large overflow - which means beds in corridors - of around 14 people. Many of the patients are also waiting in the ambulatory medicine queue - people who need attention but don’t need to lie in a bed. |
| Alcohol just makes everything worse, says Taylor. | |
| “If someone is whacked on the head and passing in and out of consciousness, that could be because of alcohol or the head injury,” he says. “And then you have to assume it’s the injury and then we may have to over treat the injury.” | “If someone is whacked on the head and passing in and out of consciousness, that could be because of alcohol or the head injury,” he says. “And then you have to assume it’s the injury and then we may have to over treat the injury.” |
| The department had what it calls frequent flyers, one of the patients in the ambulance queues is on his 155th visit to the A&E and he is only 39 years old. “He’s not the most frequent by any means. The guidelines state that 200mg of alcohol in your blood leaves you unconscious, 300mg should be fatal. We’ve had patients with 500mg in their blood.” | The department had what it calls frequent flyers, one of the patients in the ambulance queues is on his 155th visit to the A&E and he is only 39 years old. “He’s not the most frequent by any means. The guidelines state that 200mg of alcohol in your blood leaves you unconscious, 300mg should be fatal. We’ve had patients with 500mg in their blood.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.31pm GMT | |
| 9.09pm GMT | 9.09pm GMT |
| 21:09 | 21:09 |
| Lisa O'Carroll | Lisa O'Carroll |
| The emergency department at University Hospital Southampton already has a busy air with nurses, paramedics, consultants and a few police busy around the “majors” treatment area during handover between shifts. | |
| Emergency consultant Diana Hulbert, who is in charge tonight, explains that not all alcohol-related attendances happen after a night on the town. | |
| “A classic one is people waking up the next day and finding their wrist turned the wrong way,” says Hulbert. So people are just as likely to present on the morning after. | “A classic one is people waking up the next day and finding their wrist turned the wrong way,” says Hulbert. So people are just as likely to present on the morning after. |
| She doesn’t judge people who turn up in the department because of alcohol-related injuries or accidents, but says over the past 20 years she had noticed changes that are concerning. | She doesn’t judge people who turn up in the department because of alcohol-related injuries or accidents, but says over the past 20 years she had noticed changes that are concerning. |
| “People drink differently. Spirits is more a young person’s drink and they can make people profoundly drunk very quickly. A beer is two units and you can’t drink that many, maybe 10 pints. But if you’re drinking shots, you can down five in five minutes. That’s what young people do.” | “People drink differently. Spirits is more a young person’s drink and they can make people profoundly drunk very quickly. A beer is two units and you can’t drink that many, maybe 10 pints. But if you’re drinking shots, you can down five in five minutes. That’s what young people do.” |
| Updated | |
| at 10.31pm GMT | |
| 9.05pm GMT | 9.05pm GMT |
| 21:05 | 21:05 |
| "I like the drunks..." | "I like the drunks..." |
| Kate Lyons | Kate Lyons |
| Tonight I’m out on the streets of Leicester with Jane Squires of the East Midlands ambulance service. Squires has been with the service for 16 years, the last nine as a paramedic. Tonight her shift will be divided into two halves, for the first half, Squires will be responding to 999 calls around the city. At 10pm, she will be joined by a police officer and her ambulance will become the Polamb, a police-ambulance combo, that specifically responds to alcohol-related incidents in the city centre. They will be based in the city centre and aim to treat people on the scene as incidents arise, the police officer is there to offer protection to Squires, who will be treating people who are quite drunk and occasionally violent.The Polamb has been running in Leicester for the last four years as a way of reducing the number of alcohol-related cases presenting to the hospital, which Squires says tonight is “absolutely heaving”.“I like the drunks. Some people don’t like doing Polamb, because they don’t like the drunks. But I do, because they’re vulnerable and they’re someone’s daughter, someone’s son,” says Squires. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.31pm GMT | |
| 8.50pm GMT | 8.50pm GMT |
| 20:50 | 20:50 |
| Zoe Williams | Zoe Williams |
| On a train, all the physical rules of the drinker’s universe - the time of the yardarm, what mixes with what, critically, how much you should drink before you stop - are suspended. At 7:21pm, the train pulled into Liverpool Lime Street. A man with his trousers at rapper-height but his pants dragged somewhere invisible punched the door opener button determinedly, on the wrong side of the train. Only the miracle of modern engineering saved him from tumbling onto the tracks. Maybe rules exist for a reason. Five minutes from the station is the Brink, the most successful dry bar in the country, owned by Action on Addiction (patron: the Duchess of Cambridge, and there is a pretty wee portrait of her, perched above the coffee machine and the juice ingredients). “Some people have been in to have a look from Scotland,” said Ian Wilson, 53, the supervisor, “but they’ve never made a success of it. He started working here when it first opened five years ago. “It was fate, really. I’d just been through treatment [for alcoholism], and I had that dilemma. All I knew was the bar and catering industry. But I couldn’t have done it.” David, 42, works in construction as was having a coffee and a fizzy water on his way back to the West of Ireland, gamely ploughing through an article about an antique restoration business. “I’m a recovering alcoholic, ten years. For me, it doesn’t make any difference being around alcohol or not. To be very honest, there’s a big difference between being around drink and being around drunk people. It was only years after my recovery that I went to a wedding and realised that only one person at the whole thing was drunk. Whereas before that, I thought that everybody was.” “I don’t think this place is like a pub,” he continued. “Not at all. I think it’s a good facility for people who want to meet people. You talk to younger people in recovery, and they say that in a drinking culture, it’s very difficult to meet someone.” | On a train, all the physical rules of the drinker’s universe - the time of the yardarm, what mixes with what, critically, how much you should drink before you stop - are suspended. At 7:21pm, the train pulled into Liverpool Lime Street. A man with his trousers at rapper-height but his pants dragged somewhere invisible punched the door opener button determinedly, on the wrong side of the train. Only the miracle of modern engineering saved him from tumbling onto the tracks. Maybe rules exist for a reason. Five minutes from the station is the Brink, the most successful dry bar in the country, owned by Action on Addiction (patron: the Duchess of Cambridge, and there is a pretty wee portrait of her, perched above the coffee machine and the juice ingredients). “Some people have been in to have a look from Scotland,” said Ian Wilson, 53, the supervisor, “but they’ve never made a success of it. He started working here when it first opened five years ago. “It was fate, really. I’d just been through treatment [for alcoholism], and I had that dilemma. All I knew was the bar and catering industry. But I couldn’t have done it.” David, 42, works in construction as was having a coffee and a fizzy water on his way back to the West of Ireland, gamely ploughing through an article about an antique restoration business. “I’m a recovering alcoholic, ten years. For me, it doesn’t make any difference being around alcohol or not. To be very honest, there’s a big difference between being around drink and being around drunk people. It was only years after my recovery that I went to a wedding and realised that only one person at the whole thing was drunk. Whereas before that, I thought that everybody was.” “I don’t think this place is like a pub,” he continued. “Not at all. I think it’s a good facility for people who want to meet people. You talk to younger people in recovery, and they say that in a drinking culture, it’s very difficult to meet someone.” |
| At a table across the room, Sarah, 38, and Felix, are holding hands; it could plausibly be a beautiful, dry romance. “No, we didn’t know. We just walked in. We were quite disappointed, actually.” They are visiting from Berlin, where the classic English drinker has a terrible reputation, “especially the young guys, they don’t have the best behaviour and they don’t know their limits.” “There’s nothing wrong with drink,” David said. “If there was a problem with drink, everyone would be a drunk. The problem is humans. I felt the emptiness before I drank, and when I drank, I didn’t feel it.” | At a table across the room, Sarah, 38, and Felix, are holding hands; it could plausibly be a beautiful, dry romance. “No, we didn’t know. We just walked in. We were quite disappointed, actually.” They are visiting from Berlin, where the classic English drinker has a terrible reputation, “especially the young guys, they don’t have the best behaviour and they don’t know their limits.” “There’s nothing wrong with drink,” David said. “If there was a problem with drink, everyone would be a drunk. The problem is humans. I felt the emptiness before I drank, and when I drank, I didn’t feel it.” |
| 8.40pm GMT | 8.40pm GMT |
| 20:40 | 20:40 |
| Libby Brooks | Libby Brooks |
| On Friday nights, bouncers at the Cat House and the Garage – two of Glasgow’s longest-established and most popular nightclubs – use the community safety radio band to keep in touch with the nearest police control centre, to warn officers about brewing incidents or individuals they have concerns about on the street. | On Friday nights, bouncers at the Cat House and the Garage – two of Glasgow’s longest-established and most popular nightclubs – use the community safety radio band to keep in touch with the nearest police control centre, to warn officers about brewing incidents or individuals they have concerns about on the street. |
| Club owner Brian Fulton explains how involvement in Glasgow Community Safety’s Best Bar None scheme has produced a best practice guide that is now “recognised across the trade and has really benefited the whole of the city centre”. This ranges from offering easy access to drinking water in bars and clubs to improved CCTV coverage outside them. | Club owner Brian Fulton explains how involvement in Glasgow Community Safety’s Best Bar None scheme has produced a best practice guide that is now “recognised across the trade and has really benefited the whole of the city centre”. This ranges from offering easy access to drinking water in bars and clubs to improved CCTV coverage outside them. |
| “For our managers, it’s a competition now: what can they do to make things better?” So tonight, for example, door stewards will be particularly scrupulous if a woman is leaving on her own, ensuring she’s sober enough to get home safely, and letting her use the in-house phone to call a taxi if necessary. Likewise, if a woman who seems the worse for wear is leaving in a couple, stewards will check that she knows her partners and is comfortable leaving with her. | “For our managers, it’s a competition now: what can they do to make things better?” So tonight, for example, door stewards will be particularly scrupulous if a woman is leaving on her own, ensuring she’s sober enough to get home safely, and letting her use the in-house phone to call a taxi if necessary. Likewise, if a woman who seems the worse for wear is leaving in a couple, stewards will check that she knows her partners and is comfortable leaving with her. |
| It may demand a level of interpersonal skill absent from the bouncers of my Glasgow youth, but it’s evidence of a change in attitude to women’s drinking safety right across the city. | It may demand a level of interpersonal skill absent from the bouncers of my Glasgow youth, but it’s evidence of a change in attitude to women’s drinking safety right across the city. |
| Elsewhere, the Allison Arms is perhaps not – landlady Babs Steele is first to admit – the truest representation of Friday night drinking in Glasgow. Then again, much of this is down to Steele herself – landlady here for nearly three years and a three times gold award winner in the Best Bar None Scotland, which rewards contributions to reducing binge drinking and antisocial behaviour. | Elsewhere, the Allison Arms is perhaps not – landlady Babs Steele is first to admit – the truest representation of Friday night drinking in Glasgow. Then again, much of this is down to Steele herself – landlady here for nearly three years and a three times gold award winner in the Best Bar None Scotland, which rewards contributions to reducing binge drinking and antisocial behaviour. |
| Various corners of the Allison Arms double up as ‘stay safe zones’, offering complimentary bottles of water as well as condom packs: this is also the only pub in Glasgow registered as a NHS free condom distributor. On boards above the bar, drinkers are encouraged to downloads taxi apps to ensure a safe ride home, while behind the bar personal alarms and alcohol breath test kits are sold on a not for profit basis. | Various corners of the Allison Arms double up as ‘stay safe zones’, offering complimentary bottles of water as well as condom packs: this is also the only pub in Glasgow registered as a NHS free condom distributor. On boards above the bar, drinkers are encouraged to downloads taxi apps to ensure a safe ride home, while behind the bar personal alarms and alcohol breath test kits are sold on a not for profit basis. |
| “I also drum it into my staff that we have a responsibility to look after vulnerable people,” says Steele. “You get people in here who don’t know if it’s New Year or New York”. | “I also drum it into my staff that we have a responsibility to look after vulnerable people,” says Steele. “You get people in here who don’t know if it’s New Year or New York”. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.46pm GMT | at 8.46pm GMT |
| 8.30pm GMT | 8.30pm GMT |
| 20:30 | 20:30 |
| And here’s what Cardiff police will be contending with tonight | And here’s what Cardiff police will be contending with tonight |
| 8.20pm GMT | 8.20pm GMT |
| 20:20 | 20:20 |
| Anyone up for a prink? | Anyone up for a prink? |
| Steven Morris | Steven Morris |
| The pressure on hospitals in Wales caused by alcohol is huge. According to the devolved government, almost 1,200 people are admitted to hospital with alcohol-related conditions in Wales every week. Approximately 1,500 deaths are attributable to alcohol each year (1 in 20 of all deaths). | The pressure on hospitals in Wales caused by alcohol is huge. According to the devolved government, almost 1,200 people are admitted to hospital with alcohol-related conditions in Wales every week. Approximately 1,500 deaths are attributable to alcohol each year (1 in 20 of all deaths). |
| At the busiest times, as many as 70% of attendances at some A&E departments are as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. | |
| The potential for problem drinking in Cardiff city centre in particularly acute. More than 3m come into the centre of the Welsh capital in a typical month. The majority of the partying takes place within a square mile and there is no shortage of choice of watering hole – there are 300 licensed premises. | The potential for problem drinking in Cardiff city centre in particularly acute. More than 3m come into the centre of the Welsh capital in a typical month. The majority of the partying takes place within a square mile and there is no shortage of choice of watering hole – there are 300 licensed premises. |
| “Pre-loading” - drinking at home or at a friend’s before hitting the streets late in the evening – is seen as a particular problem for the emergency services. | “Pre-loading” - drinking at home or at a friend’s before hitting the streets late in the evening – is seen as a particular problem for the emergency services. |
| Little wonder health chiefs and other emergency services have taken innovative measures to tackle problem drinking. One such project is the Cardiff ATC – alcohol treatment centre, a collaboration between Cardiff and Vale University health board, local councils, South Wales police, the Welsh ambulance service and Cardiff Street Pastors. | |
| Right now, the police are preparing for the evening with a “Cardiff After Dark” meeting in the Welsh capital’s main police station. | Right now, the police are preparing for the evening with a “Cardiff After Dark” meeting in the Welsh capital’s main police station. |
| Sgt Gavin Howard briefs his team on what they’re doing tonight, with a slideshow with some interesting facts and figures. Last month, there were 145 people treated at the ATC – the alcohol treatment centre run by the local health board and others, which is designed to ease pressure on hospital A&E staff by treating people with minor injuries and people suffering from too much drink. | |
| Owen reminds officers to look out for revellers who “pre-load” - drink heavily and cheaply at home before heading into the city centre (the groovy alternative word the kids are using is “prink” - pre-drink. | Owen reminds officers to look out for revellers who “pre-load” - drink heavily and cheaply at home before heading into the city centre (the groovy alternative word the kids are using is “prink” - pre-drink. |
| The emphasis here is that this is very much a team effort – police, NHS staff, volunteer street pastors, council workers operating together. “We’re Team Cardiff,” says Howard. The “Cardiff model” is being looked at by cities not just in the UK but across the world. | The emphasis here is that this is very much a team effort – police, NHS staff, volunteer street pastors, council workers operating together. “We’re Team Cardiff,” says Howard. The “Cardiff model” is being looked at by cities not just in the UK but across the world. |
| All important meal-break times and overtime are also discussed. | All important meal-break times and overtime are also discussed. |
| Then it all goes a bit Hill Street Blues (you may have to be a certain age – anyone remember the “Let’s be careful out there” warning before cops were sent on to the streets of a never-named US city. Here’s a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmg86CRBBtw | Then it all goes a bit Hill Street Blues (you may have to be a certain age – anyone remember the “Let’s be careful out there” warning before cops were sent on to the streets of a never-named US city. Here’s a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmg86CRBBtw |
| Sgt Howard’s version is: “Everyone have a safe night, kit up and get out there.” | Sgt Howard’s version is: “Everyone have a safe night, kit up and get out there.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.29pm GMT | |
| 8.20pm GMT | 8.20pm GMT |
| 20:20 | 20:20 |
| We’ll head out to hear from some of our correspondents in just two minutes, but before we do, it’s been pointed out that we’re a bit absent in the north-east tonight. Apologies. Not everything works out in this business. But to make up for it, Sarah Boseley has been finding out more about the impact on hospitals in the region. | |
| The headline figure is this: as many as two in seven visits to A&E in north-east England are alcohol related. Read that in conjunction with this piece which reveals rising numbers of patients being turned away from A&E. | |
| Of course, it’s not just the north-east. Every two minutes, someone somewhere goes to A&E because of something they’ve drunk. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.30pm GMT | |
| 8.03pm GMT | 8.03pm GMT |
| 20:03 | 20:03 |
| Now part of the drink problem is of course down to the industry, which sells about £45bn worth of alcohol in Britain every year. Sarah Boseley has an exclusive story tonight which establishes that problem drinkers make up the lion’s share of the market for drinks companies, a controversial point given that the industry insists it supports responsible drinking. | Now part of the drink problem is of course down to the industry, which sells about £45bn worth of alcohol in Britain every year. Sarah Boseley has an exclusive story tonight which establishes that problem drinkers make up the lion’s share of the market for drinks companies, a controversial point given that the industry insists it supports responsible drinking. |
| What this graphic shows is that the 20% of people considered harmful or risky drinkers account for almost two-thirds of the booze market. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.28pm GMT | |
| 7.47pm GMT | 7.47pm GMT |
| 19:47 | 19:47 |
| Now if there’s not much on television, watch this instead: a really compelling short film about alcohol and us. Two things really stand out here: that nine million of us drink more than we should (according to government guidelines)... | Now if there’s not much on television, watch this instead: a really compelling short film about alcohol and us. Two things really stand out here: that nine million of us drink more than we should (according to government guidelines)... |
| ....and that it is not just problem drinkers who damage their health. As one of the contributors says, if alcohol was a new drug seeking approval today, it would not get a look in. | ....and that it is not just problem drinkers who damage their health. As one of the contributors says, if alcohol was a new drug seeking approval today, it would not get a look in. |
| 7.36pm GMT | 7.36pm GMT |
| 19:36 | 19:36 |
| As I said earlier, our team is in half a dozen cities up and down the country. This map shows where they are. Twitter accounts are as follows: Scotland @libby_brooks; Liverpool @zoesqwilliams; Manchester @joshhalliday; Stoke @jessicaelgot; Leicester @mskatelyons; Cardiff @stevenmorris20; Southampton @lisaocarroll. And I’m @markriceoxley69 in London. | As I said earlier, our team is in half a dozen cities up and down the country. This map shows where they are. Twitter accounts are as follows: Scotland @libby_brooks; Liverpool @zoesqwilliams; Manchester @joshhalliday; Stoke @jessicaelgot; Leicester @mskatelyons; Cardiff @stevenmorris20; Southampton @lisaocarroll. And I’m @markriceoxley69 in London. |
| If you are out and about and have any tips on incidents, do get in touch in the comments below. | If you are out and about and have any tips on incidents, do get in touch in the comments below. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.48pm GMT | at 7.48pm GMT |
| 7.33pm GMT | 7.33pm GMT |
| 19:33 | 19:33 |
| Friday night live | Friday night live |
| Mark Rice-Oxley | Mark Rice-Oxley |
| Good evening. Welcome to a rather experimental attempt to cover an entire nation’s Friday night out. I’m here for the next six hours with a team of seven Guardian reporters who have fanned out across the UK to find out how Britons like to let their hair down - and the damage they can cause when they do. | Good evening. Welcome to a rather experimental attempt to cover an entire nation’s Friday night out. I’m here for the next six hours with a team of seven Guardian reporters who have fanned out across the UK to find out how Britons like to let their hair down - and the damage they can cause when they do. |
| The Guardian is currently embarking on a major piece of reporting about the state of the NHS, its pressures and successes and the people who work in it. You can read more about it here http://www.theguardian.com/society/series/this-is-the-nhs. In the first week we’ve been in hospitals, GPs surgeries, maternity wards and out with the paramedics. Today we’ve been looking at A&E and in the conversations we’ve had our reporters heard time and again the impact that alcohol has on admissions. | The Guardian is currently embarking on a major piece of reporting about the state of the NHS, its pressures and successes and the people who work in it. You can read more about it here http://www.theguardian.com/society/series/this-is-the-nhs. In the first week we’ve been in hospitals, GPs surgeries, maternity wards and out with the paramedics. Today we’ve been looking at A&E and in the conversations we’ve had our reporters heard time and again the impact that alcohol has on admissions. |
| Every year more than a million people end up in hospital because of booze. That means that up and down the country tonight several hundred people will turn up in A and E the worse for wear. Perhaps that’s not surprising when one considers that by my calculations as many as 5 million pints will be drunk this evening. Other alarming facts about Britain and booze are poured into this single article by my colleagues George Arnett and Delphine Robineau. Sobering stuff. | Every year more than a million people end up in hospital because of booze. That means that up and down the country tonight several hundred people will turn up in A and E the worse for wear. Perhaps that’s not surprising when one considers that by my calculations as many as 5 million pints will be drunk this evening. Other alarming facts about Britain and booze are poured into this single article by my colleagues George Arnett and Delphine Robineau. Sobering stuff. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 7.41pm GMT | at 7.41pm GMT |