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I thought this was going to be a run-down of the 'Top One Million Alcohol-Related Hospital Admissions'.
Imagine my disappointment when I founod out otherwise.
I was looking forward to seeing what the best ones were and was ready to praise whoever had compiled the list for their tenacity.
To be honest, no-one actually knows what the level of alcohol related admissions to A&E is. It is all based on the coding of the notes that we make. After seeing every patient the docs have to do some sort of coding to say what was wrong with the patient and what treatment they received (it's how the department gets paid). If the doc puts that the attendance was related to alcohol then this goes down as an alcohol related attendance.
However, doctors are notoriously bad at coding (they either can't be arsed or forget or are too busy) and thus the number of alcohol related attendances is probably underestimated.
However, we are a bout to start another alcohol related study at my department (bit of a theme here). We are planning to breathalise every patient that comes through the door at random times of the day and night. We should therefore be able to get a true reflection of the number of alcohol related attendances. (Although what you class as related to the alcohol consumed and what is people who would have turned up anyway but just happen to have had a couple of rinks is an entire other argument.)
Dr D - who will the person be who's actually breathalysing people. I wouldn't fancy that job in A&E on a Saturday night 😯
So if you don't fancy getting breathalysed do you get kicked out?
Surely a better idea, given the restrictions on NHS funding, would be to put a bar in the waiting for A&E to raise a few funds. You'd need to go easy on the BOGOF deals on WKD obviously.
i broke my ankle falling over in the street on the way to the pub, that got marked down as alcohol related !!
What DrD said. Ambulance crews do the same re recording and it is very hit or miss as to the accuracy of the figures.
The % of direct alcohol involvement is huge at certain times.
To give an example, last Saturday night shift I did 7, out of the 9 patients had alcohol as a major factor in either falling over or fight related injuries. The person injured in the fight may also not be recorded as alcohol related even the the person who caused the injury had been, so the figures can be skewed in that direction too.
life can be very difficult for people. It is getting more difficult for people. people are escaping with booze.You don't get the ordinary pisshead/crackhead/prostitute opinion on life on this forum, nonetheless their opinion is just as valid. I don't think this forum is skewed to a caring opinion about the "lesser" people in our society, and you won't see that in the paper/internet.
On a similar but different note to the intended post, I have no idea how they get these statistics easily, as in pretty much every A&E I've worked in, although you may write "in drink" in the notes, there isn't a code* for alcohol induced.
DrP
*coding is the way hospitals get paid, and states what it is you came in with, and what you had done. It's also a way of auditing the presentations to ed.....
Having been in hospital* in a ward full of men in their forties with seriously ****ed one more drink may cause total liver failure and kill you problems I've been very wary if drinking to excess.
* in my case not for liver problems
DrP - Ours used to have alcohol related as a code, but our new shiney electronic system doesn't.
And as for those that refuse the breathalyser, it is to be decided by the senior nurse and doc on shift whether they have been drinking or not.
"Why are humans apparently so desparate to ingest a drug to the point they need medical treatment for the consequences?'
Answers here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rise-Fall-Third-Chimpanzee/dp/0099913801
People just enjoy getting high. Its always been the way. Alcohol is a nice drug in moderation with enjoyable rituals surrounding it. It has the potential for addiction and can ruin lives. Someone who never drinks alcohol is a rare thing in our society
Might be big news to you, but there's a lot more in a fag than nicotine.
Yup, flavourings mostly, and stuff that make's them 'smoke'. At uni we did a project on additives in various consumer products (everything from condoms to shampoo, cigarets, and toothpaste). They all have an anti loby who will tell you that the ingredients are going to kill you, especialy toothpaste!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/features/health/tobaccotrial/inacigarette.htm
I'm not goignt o argue that smoking is good, or that tobaco companies are virtuous. But I do think an unhealthy level of blame is heaped on them rather than the consumer.
it's interesting to me that alcohol related admissions should be so centred around a&e. a wander round the medical wards where i work, far less the GI wards, would reveal a goodly number of inpatients, many of whom are frequent flyers all accompanied by the usual quota of ascites, drains, alba and encephalopathies. not only that the hdu is getting to the point where we might as well just have a designated alcohol and its many problems bed.
someone who never drinks alcohol wopuld be rare? er, that would be me but, given the above, i've got reason
I don't 'get' it. Have I been drinking responsibly all my life?!
I've been hammered soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many times.
Yet I've NEVER ended up in A&E as a consequence.