The burden of ambulance call-outs for alcohol-related emergencies is three times higher than previously thought, according to a new study.
Research revealed ambulances were dispatched 86,780 times in 2019 - an average of more than 230 call-outs per day, one in six ambulance callouts (16.2%), overall costing an estimated £31.5m.
Figures are more than three times higher than previously reported and are the result of a new, highly accurate algorithm that searched paramedic notes for references to alcohol.
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This allowed researchers to identify alcohol-related call-outs, accurately measuring the burden on the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).
Lead-author Prof Niamh Fitzgerald, from the University of Stirling, said: “As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we all want to protect NHS services for when they are most needed.
“It is timely therefore to consider whether it is acceptable that over 230 ambulance callouts every day are linked to alcohol when we have policy solutions that can reduce this burden.
“We are also conducting further research to understand what types of callouts and drinking locations give rise to these figures and how they are experienced by paramedics.”
Callouts were particularly frequent at weekends, involving younger people and in areas with high levels of socio-economic deprivation.
Experts say the data can be used to monitor trends over time and inform alcohol policy decision-making, while the algorithm can be applied to other factors potentially burdening the ambulance service.
The algorithm was found to perform very well (99% accuracy) in identifying callouts from notes when compared to the professional judgement of an experienced paramedic who reviewed complete patient records.
This method also has the advantage over previous methods of being easy for SAS to apply routinely to monitor alcohol-related callouts over time.
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Dr Jim Ward, medical director at SAS, said: “This study is very welcome as it gives SAS the ability to better understand the impact alcohol has on the demand for ambulance response.
“Our frontline staff consistently see the serious effects unsafe levels of alcohol have on people’s lives and we would urge the public to drink responsibly.”
The work was part of a study led by the University of Stirling together with the University of Glasgow, and was also co-authored by colleagues at the University of Sheffield and the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).
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