Friday December 16 was the so-called Mad Friday – one of the worst days of the year for alcohol-related accidents, thanks to festive celebrations and office parties.
The average number of ambulance call-outs in London on a Friday night is 4000. But thanks to Mad Friday, that number rocketed to 5143 this weekend.
Many blame supermarket promotions on booze that allow revellers to “load up” on drinks before hitting the town.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: “It means people are getting loaded up before they even get out of the house and that has to be a factor in what we are seeing.”
But Sarah Cordey of the British Retail Consortium insisted that “retailers are not to blame”, pointing to a “minority” of problem drinkers instead.
Athar Khan, operations manager of the London Ambulance Service, seemed to suggest that the issue is not just isolated to Christmas.
“On average our staff now deal with 188 drunk patients every single day and that takes resources away from people who really need our help,” Khan said.
“We need to be able to take care of patients in life-threatening emergencies, for example people suffering a cardiac arrest or those with serious injuries.
“If our staff are dealing with patients who are simply drunk, they won’t be able to do that.”
Picture: Getty
