Title – Ambulance calls are up 12% since 24-hour drinking
Source – London Lite
Date – 22nd November 2007
There are growing concerns as alcohol related emergency calls are on the rise across the country. Much is attributed to binge drinkers needing or requesting hospital treatment and calling for an ambulance.
Certainly those working within the licensed retail sector or as door supervisors have a responsibility to look after their customers wellbeing and no ambulance crew will discriminate against someone who genuinely needs their help, but this is a service that is stretched at the best of times and they need to be able to respond quickly when they are really needed. This capability is radically reduced if they are continuously called to help people who have drunk too much and more importantly who have been allowed to drink too much, to the point where they require medical assistance.
Nobody wants to get to the point where staff are afraid to call for help when they actually need it for fear of a venue getting a bad reputation and nobody wants to reopen the discussions on 'paid policing' or in the case of the ambulance service 'a paid response', but it is a real possibility if the escalation in emergency call-outs continues.
Before this occurs the licensed retail sector needs to get its house in order and realise that the greed that sometimes creeps into businesses, where people serve that one last drink to someone who is already intoxicated needs to be addressed. Anyone works in the sector knows that the tiny profit this action generates is far outweighed, in the long run, by additional cost in security and loss of trade from those sensible drinkers and customers who simply don’t want to be bumped into, disturbed and harassed by drunks.
Source – London Lite
Date – 22nd November 2007
There are growing concerns as alcohol related emergency calls are on the rise across the country. Much is attributed to binge drinkers needing or requesting hospital treatment and calling for an ambulance.
Certainly those working within the licensed retail sector or as door supervisors have a responsibility to look after their customers wellbeing and no ambulance crew will discriminate against someone who genuinely needs their help, but this is a service that is stretched at the best of times and they need to be able to respond quickly when they are really needed. This capability is radically reduced if they are continuously called to help people who have drunk too much and more importantly who have been allowed to drink too much, to the point where they require medical assistance.
Nobody wants to get to the point where staff are afraid to call for help when they actually need it for fear of a venue getting a bad reputation and nobody wants to reopen the discussions on 'paid policing' or in the case of the ambulance service 'a paid response', but it is a real possibility if the escalation in emergency call-outs continues.
Before this occurs the licensed retail sector needs to get its house in order and realise that the greed that sometimes creeps into businesses, where people serve that one last drink to someone who is already intoxicated needs to be addressed. Anyone works in the sector knows that the tiny profit this action generates is far outweighed, in the long run, by additional cost in security and loss of trade from those sensible drinkers and customers who simply don’t want to be bumped into, disturbed and harassed by drunks.
The key to resolving these problems is that the licensed retail sector acts more responsibly. To achieve this the staff within a premises need to work more closely together, managers need to stop asserting pressure on staff to sell to anyone without consideration and need to start training staff regarding their responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003. Training for all staff needs to be effective and comprehensive, in order for the licensed retail trade to play an active part in reducing emergency calls and ultimately your staff costs through reduction of conflict and first aid situations.
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