Shocking rise in number of drunk children admitted to A&E

Nearly 300 children aged 11 or under were admitted to A&E last year after drinking too much – a third more than the year before.

UnderageDrinkers

by Abi Hooper |
Published on

'The typical patient may be found in a field, they often need to hide away from adults. > >

They are unable to defend themselves even from assault'

The new figures also show that a total of 6,500 under-18s were admitted in 2012-13.

A&E consultant Morten Draegebo, spoke of his ‘typical patient.’

He said: ‘The typical patient may be found in a field. They often need to hide away from any sort of adults in the area so they're picked up by the ambulance service.

‘They have difficulty locating where they are because the description comes through from a distressed half-drunk teenager potentially saying that they're under a tree somewhere in a large park.

Dr Draegebo added: ‘They have vomited. The vomit may go down the wrong way into the lungs. They are unable to defend themselves even from assault.’

The numbers also show that among teens, more girls than boys are being admitted - a reversal of the past trend.

Dr Draegebo said: ‘We have had many cases where teenage, young teenage females have come in saying that they may have been sexually assaulted and they're that intoxicated and are distressed and say, “I may have been”, but they don't even know if they have been or not.

‘On a humane level that is very distressing. I'm a parent, I would hate for that to happen to my daughter.’

'Parents need to be aware of the dangers of drinking, particularly with younger children'

Elaine Hindal of charity Drinkaware, said that alcohol is often supplied by parents.

‘It's really unlikely that children are buying alcohol. When children talk to us in our research, they tell us they get alcohol from home, primarily from their parents and from friends,’ she said.

‘But parents need to simply be aware of the dangers of drinking, particularly with younger children. Their bodies can't take it, they're more at risk of alcoholic poisoning, they are more likely to be a victim of alcohol-related violence.’

Experts say fewer children are drinking now than several years ago, but the amount being consumed by underage drinkers has stayed the same - suggesting those who do drink are consuming more.

According to Public Health England, one in four underage drinkers consumes more than 15 units a week: the equivalent of seven pints of lager.

The statistics were released from 125 of the 189 UK NHS organisations following Freedom of Information requests by a radio show.

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