Garda drunk tanks ‘would ease A&Es’

Third of weekend emergencies drink linked: Senator

THERE should be drunk tanks in city Garda stations to reduce the pressure on hospital Accident and Emergency departments, a leading politician urged yesterday.

Hospitals across the country are seeing ‘unacceptable’ numbers of people attending due to high levels of intoxication, said Fine Gael senator Jerry Buttimer.

‘Many have no ailment other than being severely drunk, but are clogging up the system for genuinely ill people who find themselves waiting for hours on end to be treated. This cannot continue,’ the former chairman of the Oireachtas Health Committee said.

‘Mobile or permanent drunk tanks have been used in many other EU member states to good effect,’ he said. ‘Swedish police stations contain units for people ‘Unacceptable’: Jerry Buttimer who are a danger to themselves or others, to sober up, get basic fluids and care. In the UK, mobile drunk tanks are regularly observed at large-scale events such as concerts and festivals.

‘I suggest that similar facilities here could be funded through the small fines issued against people found drinking on the streets or intoxicated in public places.’

In December, the head of Britain’s National Health Service said that drunk tanks may become the norm in UK towns to deal with ‘selfish’ revellers.

Simon Stevens said that there were 16 NHS mobile units, also known as booze buses, to deal with drunks.

He estimated that 15% of attendances in Britain’s A&Es are due to alcohol consumption and said this soared to 70% on Friday and Saturday nights.

In May, a major study here found that nearly a third of all attendances at Irish hospital emergency departments on Saturday nights are alcohol related.

During the remainder of the week, alcohol was a factor in 5.9% of attendances.

In the first study of its kind, which included all 29 emergency departments across Ireland, staff examined the notes of every per- son coming into hospital and found that on Saturday night and Sunday morning, 29% of cases were alcohol-related.

Those in A&E due to alcohol consumption were most likely to be male, to arrive by ambulance and to leave against medical advice without being seen by a doctor, according to the study by Galway University Hospital Emergency Department, the HSE Public Health Department in Galway and NUI Galway.

Co-author Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan, HSE West director of public health, said at the time that over-consumption of alcohol was a major burden on the emergency services.

In 2012, Polish police publicised their use of drunk tanks in time for the Euro 2012 football championships. They warned that those causing a drunken nuisance would be hosed naked at the police station, reclothed and then fined €80.

However, the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation said that Poland’s drunk tanks are not safe and would be phased out.

‘Clogging up the system’