Here’s what the chairman of the police federation in England said in 2012:
‘To recommend locking people up in so-called ‘drunk tanks’ to resolve the issue of binge drinking is dangerous. People who are very drunk can be vulnerable and often require medical attention, so locking them in a confined space is not an effective solution.’
This view was echoed in the Independent:
‘However, hospital representatives said these cases often had other serious injuries that needed assessment and no policy should be introduced without an evaluation of the evidence base.’
Having investigated drunk tanks in 2009 and identified the above risks, there are no such tanks in Scotland and the government has said they have no plans to introduce them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42506706
Further, there is little evidence that drunks have been responsible for major spikes in attendance. According to the Scotsman:
‘A&E waiting times hit by surge in fall injuries after icy weather.’
So, it was ice on the paths not ‘on the rocks’ that caused increased attendance in December, by as much as 48%, in Inverness and the BMJ has identified, at most, 15% of A&E attendances being down to acute alcohol intoxication.
Finally, in another dubious response to increased demand from the elderly, some NHS England areas are planning to make non-specialist nurses and GPs answer 999 calls, ahead of paramedics, to deal with cases such as patients who have fallen in their own homes or residential homes. However, in the Independent, the risks in morphine administration in these contexts are highlighted:
‘Doctors’ groups warn that other parts of the NHS are also at maximum capacity and say suggestion GPs could offer morphine is ‘unsafe’ without proper facilities.’
‘Not all nurses are routinely trained to the levels that paramedics are, but even where nurses are trained experts have warned that morphine should only be administered where there are facilities for ‘continuous observation and respiratory support should it be required’. Because this is unlikely to be available at peoples’ homes, some say safer alternatives should be considered.’
I can find no sign that NHS Scotland plans any such action. Indeed, the Scottish Ambulance Service seems calm, ready and merely tweeting advice. It won’t be icy tonight so it will be very interesting to see how the A&E figures are compared to the icy week earlier in December.
Talking-up Scotland 
Joined up thinking in Scotland and “elastoplast” response from England.
Wonder if ENHS would welcome being incorporated into Scotland?
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Joined up thinking in Scotland indeed BTP so much so that I’m just about to do 1st responder training along with several other volunteers in my area.
Far more preferable than the elastoplast solution favoured by England.
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Have a good one tonight and thereafter. Maybe I need a first responder training too.Problem is, it would be in French.
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Bonne année, mon ami!
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Á toi et votre famille, aussi
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I was at my GP last week for a routine matter – incidentally, the practice does not use any appointments system, we just turn up and wait – and he said that the demand because of this winter’s various ‘bugs’ had been abnormally high. This is confirmed by the report that NHS24 has had its highest ever number of calls over a four day period. As the health journalist Pennie Taylor pointed out, this is actually a good thing, because it shows that the public has bought into the message of not overwhelming A&E with matters which are manifestly not emergencies. I have not seen any data, but I think more of us are using MIUs for things for which we need treatment, but which are not emergency. I used one myself when I cut my hand while digging and, since it was more than 10 years since my last anti-tetanus injection, I went along to the loca MIU and was seen and treated in under an hour. I was sent on my wa with the reassuring message, “At your age, you probably won’t need another ant-tetanus!”
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Bit cheeky? Don’t you have another African safari planned?
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