World Cup set alcohol poisoning record

ENGLAND’S unexpected progression to the football World Cup semi-final led to a record-high number of people being treated in hospital for alcohol poisoning, according to NHS England.

More than 700 people showed up at hospital due to overindulgence on July 7 – the day England beat Sweden in the quarter-final to reach the last four for the first time since Italia 90.

This compares with the average 386 attendances displaying symptoms of alcohol poisoning that doctors might expect to be dealing with on a regular Saturday. An NHS England spokesman said it would appear that the sharp in- crease in alcohol-related hospital attendances may be linked to the Three Lions win.

Sundays are the worst days of the week for alcohol poisoning, with hospitals dealing with an average of 388 cases. On Fridays, the average is 302.

The figures come as the health service gears up for what is usually one of the busiest times of the year for alcohol-related incidents as revellers prepare to celebrate the New Year.

The festive period often means a jump in the number of people needing emergency healthcare after excessive drinking – and the problem got worse last year, according to NHS England.

It said there were between 208 and 235 people who ended up in hospital with alcohol poisoning on Fridays in 2016 compared with 293 to 465 last year. More than 10 per cent of all admissions at A & E departments in the UK are related to drunkenness in some way, with seven in 10 patients attending because of drink on some Friday and Saturday nights, NHS England said. Dr Clifford Mann, NHS England clinical lead for A & E, said: “As we prepare to see in the New Year, I would urge everyone to have a great time but not to overdo it – the NHS is not the National Hangover Service.”

Patients admitted to hospital for excess drinking are monitored until the alcohol has left the system.