Drunk patients 'health emergency'

Study shows one in 8 cases in hospital EDs at peak periods in NZ and Australia are alcohol-related. Photo / Sarah Ivey .

Study shows one in 8 cases in hospital EDs at peak periods in NZ and Australia are alcohol-related

Results from a ground-breaking study into the rate of alcohol-related harm in New Zealand and Australian emergency departments point to a "public health emergency".

The research by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) found that at peak times one-in-eight ED presentations across the two countries were alcohol-related.

It also discovered one in 12, or 8.3 per cent, of all patient presentations across all time periods were alcohol-related.

Dr Scott Boyes, an emergency physician at Hawkes Bay Hospital and an expert adviser for the ACEM on alcohol-related harm, was a principal investigator in the study, labelling the findings a "public health emergency ... And something we are needing to be a bit more active in - creating safer communities."

The study was the largest of its kind - more than 9600 patients were surveyed across eight EDs over a week last December.

Hawkes Bay Hospital and Wellington Hospital were the two EDs covered in New Zealand.

Dr Boyes, also the deputy chair of the New Zealand Faculty for Emergency Medicine and a senior lecturer at Otago University, said it was also the first study to examine the innocent third parties affected.

"We found that there was an increased number of people that needed immediate attention - so those category one patients that we see - and also increased rates of police and security involvement."

Dr Boyes said this had a huge impact on the way an ED functioned and its ability to provide care for other patients. It also affected the welfare of ED staff.

He said another study last year surveyed 2000 emergency staff and found 98 per cent had been verbally abused by alcohol-affected patients, about 93 per cent had been physically threatened, and around 90 per cent felt the care they gave other patients was negatively affected by alcohol-impaired patients.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton said the figures equated to more than half a million alcohol-related patients attending EDs every year across Australia and New Zealand , or 100,000 presentations in New Zealand EDs.

"It confirms that alcohol is having a huge impact on our emergency departments," she said.

The study also found alcohol-affected patients were more likely to require urgent resuscitation and arrive by ambulance and with police.

"One drunk person can disrupt an entire ED," she said. "They are often violent and aggressive, make staff feel unsafe and impact negatively on the care of other patients."

ACEM is calling on both Governments to introduce firmer measures to limit the availability of alcohol in a bid to reduce harm. "Policymakers have the power to reduce the tide of human tragedy from alcohol harm," said Dr Egerton-Warburton.

Dr Boyes said the zero tolerance and "enough is enough" campaigns were both good statements for New Zealand to make. "It's all about changing the culture around drinking, what is acceptable drinking."

Dr Paul Gee of the Canterbury District Health Board said international evidence was "unequivocal" in showing that controlling minimum price and limiting availability were the keys to reducing community harm from alcohol.

At peak times like Friday and Saturday nights the proportion of patients affected by alcohol or with alcohol-related injuries could approach 30 to 40 per cent in an ED.