Binge drinking puts other lives at risk

A Wiltshire paramedic has warned that binge drinking is putting the health of others at risk.

Steve Blackmore, divisional officer covering Swindon and Marlborough for the Great Western Ambulance Service, said the number of calls for ambulances to deal with drunks was putting a strain on the service and assaults on his staff were increasing.

Mr Blackmore was speaking as part of Wiltshire Police's OP XS campaign to target excessive drinking.

He said: "The health of the nation is deteriorating. People are drinking at a younger and younger age and it is commonplace for teenagers to be drinking alcohol.

"While our ambulances are tied up dealing with drunks there are lots of other people who are waiting for an ambulance. People with heart attacks may be downgraded so we can attend someone who has been assaulted in a fight.

"One of the appalling things is the risk that my staff are in and the psychological effect that assaults and threats are having on them.

"Staff are experiencing assaults or verbal abuse on almost a weekly basis."

He said a member of staff had just returned from three months off sick after being assaulted by a drunken patient.

He added that in a recent incident a crew member was slapped across the face by a drunken friend of a patient who had fallen down the stairs after drinking.

He said the patient did not need an ambulance.

"There are areas of Swindon, Trowbridge and Salisbury where the crews will consider calling the police to back them up."

Dr Peter Crouch, a GP at Taw Hill in Swindon and Wiltshire police's principal police surgeon, said on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights eight out of ten attendances at accident and emergency departments were alcohol related.

Mr Blackmore warned: "Just a couple of drinks can impair your judgement when you are driving.

"My advice is you should not have anything in your blood stream that affects your judgement."

This Is Wiltshire