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| Blackpool: the heart of England's drinking culture | Blackpool: the heart of England's drinking culture |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Kimberley Sweeney works with young homeless people, but tonight she is not working. Claiming to have drunk 25 vodka and oranges earlier, she tumbles down Queen Street in Blackpool with her friends. | Kimberley Sweeney works with young homeless people, but tonight she is not working. Claiming to have drunk 25 vodka and oranges earlier, she tumbles down Queen Street in Blackpool with her friends. |
| "I do it as many times as I can every week. I've been drinking from when I was in the womb." Really? "Well, since I was about 14." | "I do it as many times as I can every week. I've been drinking from when I was in the womb." Really? "Well, since I was about 14." |
| Beside her, Sarah Swales, 27, is made up with a black-tipped nose and matching whiskers. "I can drink all the way through from a Friday night until Sunday," she says. "And I've been on that Channel 4 programme, 999: What's Your Emergency? Twice." | Beside her, Sarah Swales, 27, is made up with a black-tipped nose and matching whiskers. "I can drink all the way through from a Friday night until Sunday," she says. "And I've been on that Channel 4 programme, 999: What's Your Emergency? Twice." |
| For Sweeney it's just a fun night out, rehab is still just a song, and she doubts that in a decade she will wake up and think she has been drinking too much. | For Sweeney it's just a fun night out, rehab is still just a song, and she doubts that in a decade she will wake up and think she has been drinking too much. |
| "Never, never," she laughs. "It's not as if I'm an alcoholic. I don't always get this pissed, but when I go out I go out to have fun. What's wrong with that?" | "Never, never," she laughs. "It's not as if I'm an alcoholic. I don't always get this pissed, but when I go out I go out to have fun. What's wrong with that?" |
| For others the drinking culture has more serious consequences. Blackpool has the highest alcohol-specific mortality rate for men in Britain, and the second highest for women. It's also top in England for liver deaths. The list goes on: heart disease, a variety of cancers, and overdoses, all a much higher risk among those dependent on alcohol. | For others the drinking culture has more serious consequences. Blackpool has the highest alcohol-specific mortality rate for men in Britain, and the second highest for women. It's also top in England for liver deaths. The list goes on: heart disease, a variety of cancers, and overdoses, all a much higher risk among those dependent on alcohol. |
| Health workers say many of the resort's problems with booze can be traced to urban deprivation and the decline in tourism. In its Victorian heyday families would go to Blackpool for a fortnight. Now most visitors come for one night or weekends, often for stag and hen parties. | Health workers say many of the resort's problems with booze can be traced to urban deprivation and the decline in tourism. In its Victorian heyday families would go to Blackpool for a fortnight. Now most visitors come for one night or weekends, often for stag and hen parties. |
| Fifteen per cent of all crime in the town is alcohol-related, rising to 40% in acts of violence against the person, 47% in cases of domestic violence and 48% in cases of rape. | Fifteen per cent of all crime in the town is alcohol-related, rising to 40% in acts of violence against the person, 47% in cases of domestic violence and 48% in cases of rape. |
| "It seems to be a prerequisite of a good night out to get totally drunk," says Insp Tim Newton. "I'm a big lad, I can sort myself out. But on a Friday or Saturday night, and increasingly back to Thursdays or on to Mondays, you'll see these streets thronged with hundreds and hundreds of people – all of them hammered. | "It seems to be a prerequisite of a good night out to get totally drunk," says Insp Tim Newton. "I'm a big lad, I can sort myself out. But on a Friday or Saturday night, and increasingly back to Thursdays or on to Mondays, you'll see these streets thronged with hundreds and hundreds of people – all of them hammered. |
| "It's scary. A lot of the lads have lost respect for anything they see as authority, and they don't seem to have a problem with having a fight. They will take anyone on when they're full of drink." | "It's scary. A lot of the lads have lost respect for anything they see as authority, and they don't seem to have a problem with having a fight. They will take anyone on when they're full of drink." |
| At the Blackpool Victoria attacks on staff mean they are two light in the emergency department, and a further two down among the ambulance crews. One of the latter is awaiting test results after being bitten by a drunk with hepatitis C. | At the Blackpool Victoria attacks on staff mean they are two light in the emergency department, and a further two down among the ambulance crews. One of the latter is awaiting test results after being bitten by a drunk with hepatitis C. |
| Those still on duty in the emergency department carry a list of their top 100 "frequent fliers" – all of them patients with alcohol-related conditions. | Those still on duty in the emergency department carry a list of their top 100 "frequent fliers" – all of them patients with alcohol-related conditions. |
| For a while the most frequent flyer was a man who had notched up 50 visits in six months. | For a while the most frequent flyer was a man who had notched up 50 visits in six months. |
| "He used to come in every Thursday – pay day," says John Quinn, directorate manager of emergency and acute medicine. I don't think he's still with us.. | "He used to come in every Thursday – pay day," says John Quinn, directorate manager of emergency and acute medicine. I don't think he's still with us.. |
| "The problem for someone who has not seen them before is that they might think: 'She looks awful, we'll admit her.' But a doctor who's seen that patient perhaps dozens of times before will think: 'Hang on, she looks a lot better than last time she was in.'" | "The problem for someone who has not seen them before is that they might think: 'She looks awful, we'll admit her.' But a doctor who's seen that patient perhaps dozens of times before will think: 'Hang on, she looks a lot better than last time she was in.'" |
| Many such cases are passed on to support services. Others are tracked back to see where else they have bumped into the NHS machine – whether at GP surgeries, walk-in centres, or elsewhere on the Fylde coast. | Many such cases are passed on to support services. Others are tracked back to see where else they have bumped into the NHS machine – whether at GP surgeries, walk-in centres, or elsewhere on the Fylde coast. |
| There is no air of judgment in Quinn's department. "They're treated with the same respect as every other patient. Ultimately they have to make a choice. It's up to them to decide whether they're happy to look at rehab," says Quinn. | There is no air of judgment in Quinn's department. "They're treated with the same respect as every other patient. Ultimately they have to make a choice. It's up to them to decide whether they're happy to look at rehab," says Quinn. |
| "Everyone has a great laugh about it until, all of a sudden, that individual isn't just going out and handling it. They're not going out with their mates. They need that drink, so they go out on their own. | "Everyone has a great laugh about it until, all of a sudden, that individual isn't just going out and handling it. They're not going out with their mates. They need that drink, so they go out on their own. |
| "All of a sudden they have got a dependency on alcohol and we all wonder why. Yet it's us, the rest of us, who have allowed them to get to that stage." | "All of a sudden they have got a dependency on alcohol and we all wonder why. Yet it's us, the rest of us, who have allowed them to get to that stage." |
| Quinn reflects on the fact that while the NHS can scrape together money for occasional poster campaigns and the part-funding of polycarbonate beer and wine glasses in bars, this is no match for the advertising budgets of big drinks companies. | Quinn reflects on the fact that while the NHS can scrape together money for occasional poster campaigns and the part-funding of polycarbonate beer and wine glasses in bars, this is no match for the advertising budgets of big drinks companies. |
| Locally, supermarket chains continue to sell alcohol as a loss leader, and the resort's 190 or so off-licences – a concentration more than 50% higher than the national average — fight to stay open the longest. | Locally, supermarket chains continue to sell alcohol as a loss leader, and the resort's 190 or so off-licences – a concentration more than 50% higher than the national average — fight to stay open the longest. |
| There are over 30 off-licences in the deprived Bloomfield ward alone – one for every 250 people. | There are over 30 off-licences in the deprived Bloomfield ward alone – one for every 250 people. |
| • This article was amended on 1 March 2013. The original said "Kimberley Sweeney is a social worker for young homeless people". Several readers contacted us to point out that (a) the term "social worker" is protected by law, and should only be used to describe someone who is registered as such with the Health and Care Professions Council, and (b) Sweeney is not registered with the HCPC, whose register is available online. | • This article was amended on 1 March 2013. The original said "Kimberley Sweeney is a social worker for young homeless people". Several readers contacted us to point out that (a) the term "social worker" is protected by law, and should only be used to describe someone who is registered as such with the Health and Care Professions Council, and (b) Sweeney is not registered with the HCPC, whose register is available online. |
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