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NW3’s binge booze crisis
Royal Free takes on specialist staff to deal with rate of abuse
HAMPSTEAD and Belsize Park has the highest amount of boozy binge drinkers in Camden, a report has revealed.
People living in those wards have been identified as more likely to suffer from the affects of alcohol abuse than other parts of the borough.
The findings, in the Camden Primary Care Trusts annual public health report, paint a worrying picture of booze-fuelled nights out for residents of NW3 that has pushed Camden into the fourth highest London borough for alcohol related deaths.
Pockets of binge drinking can also be found in Fortune Green, West Hampstead and the Cantelowes ward, Kentish Town.
The report found the number of times people call an ambulance for an alcohol related accidents or illness in Camden is “much higher” than the rest of London, with 2,820, calls over a two year period.
This works out at almost four calls a day, or 380 calls per 100,000 people, compared to a London average of 179 calls per 100,000 people.
Director of Public Health Dr Anthony Kessel said the Whitehall backed lifestyle and well-being health survey, which took two years to collate, identified the north of the borough as a boozing hot spot.
He said: “These results were part of a huge piece of research into peoples lifestyle.
“Binge drinking, unlike chronic alcoholism, tends to affect people in their 20s and 30s, and there is a correlation between binge drinking and people who are comparatively well-off, people with disposable income. Our findings show binge drinking is highest in the richest part of the borough, while alcohol dependency is more associated with poorer areas.” He added that it was too early to see whether new licensing laws, allowing pubs to stay open longer, had affected levels of alcohol abuse.
To help beat chronic drinking, the PCT has, with the Town Hall, put aside funding for specialist medical staff at Hampstead’s Royal Free hospitals accident and emergency department. It is one of just two such services in London.
Any one who comes in to the department is asked about their drinking habits to see if they need further help.
Dr Kerrie Whitwell has worked at the Royal Free Hospital as a consultant in emergency medicine since 2003 and co-ordinates the alcohol screening service.
Dr Whitwell said: “Drink related problems take up a lot of time. Pretty much every night we see a lot of people coming in suffering from the effects of binge drinking, and it is significantly worse at the weekends.
“We did an audit of people in A&E. We found high numbers of people coming in had problems with alcohol abuse.
“We were able to get some funding because we had proven the need that it needed to exist. It is only temporary but we want to secure full time funding to make the post permanent.”
Publicans in Hampstead say they have not seen binge drinking in their pubs.
Mary Wooderson, who has run New End’s Duke of Hamilton pub for 17 years, said: “Hampstead is still a destination for people outside the area to come and drink because there are nice pubs here. But I only have to ask people to calm down who are binge drinking about twice a year.”
And her views were backed by Hampstead Town Conservative Councillor Mike Greene.
He said: “I’m surprised. It is not something I have noticed in Hampstead pubs myself. Maybe people who live here and drink are going to pubs elsewhere.”
Chief Inspector Simon Turner of Camden police said: “We monitor all licensed premises and frequently visit those give rise to concern. However, at the present time none of these premises are in the Belsize or Hampstead wards.”
THE PRIMARY care Trust’s report, called Collective Action, lays out what can affect how healthy you are – and how the body responsible for health services in Camden plan to improve peoples well-being.
With Camden sitting as the 19th most deprived borough out 354 local authorities in Britain, Dr Kessel’s report underlines the link between poverty and poor health. The report finds that life expectancy is still much lower in the south of the borough. In St Pancras and Somers Town, the average man lives between 69 and 72 years, while in the north of the borough it is 81 years.
The report also highlights how bad homes affects health. Dr Kessel writes: “It has been estimated that 78 per cent of local authority owned dwellings in Camden fall below the government’s decent homes standard.”
See next week for more details. |
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