Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

Worrying new figures show more than 30 children under the age of 14 were admitted to the region's hospitals in just 12 months after drinking too much.

Between 2005 and 2006 a total of 31 children were admitted to accident and emergency departments in Suffolk Norfolk and Cambridgeshire for specialist treatment.

The news comes on the back of national statistics showing youth drinking is becoming more prevalent, a situation a top medic in Ipswich said is mirrored in this town.

Dr David Hodgkinson, clinical director for emergency medicine at Ipswich Hospital, said there had been an increase in children admitted after drinking excessively.

He said “They tend to be slightly younger and more frequent.

“Alcohol intoxication can kill and does kill particularly in that young age group.

“It is concerning and we have got to educate children from a young age about the risks and dangers.”

Exact figures for how many children have been admitted to hospital in Ipswich as a result of drinking too much are not available.

Meanwhile it is also unclear how many, if any, children in the region have died as a result of drinking too much.

However Dr Hodgkinson said that based on the figure of 31 children being admitted across the region it is likely that one or two deaths resulted.

In March The Evening Star revealed that in a 12-month period, medics in Suffolk received calls to 160 instances of children in the county getting so drunk they needed medical attention.

Some were as young as 11 and 12 and had passed out in parks and playgrounds having drunk themselves unconscious.

Dr Amanda Jones, Suffolk PCT deputy director of public health, said: “There is a worrying increase in those under 16 who are drinking excessively.

“If youngsters drink, they are more likely to be injured, be involved in a crime, contract a sexually transmitted disease or have an unplanned pregnancy.

“People who become dependent on alcohol later on in life often start drinking before the age of 14 - so the consequences can be both immediate and long term.”

Simon Aalders, co-ordinator at Suffolk Drug and Alcohol, said his organisation has recently secured funding to work with young people on the issue.

Evening Star