DOCTORS in Edinburgh are being forced to deal with increasing numbers of schoolchildren being admitted to hospital after getting dangerously drunk.
New figures show the number of times teenagers had to stay overnight due to alcohol rose by a third last year, with the biggest increase in the 13-14 age group as 20 boys and 28 girls were admitted.
Overall, the number of under-18s ending up staying in hospital because of alcohol soared to more than three a week.
It comes at a time when hospital admissions due to drugs fell among under-18s and experts hope that success can be repeated when dealing with drink.
Tom Wood, chairman of the Action on Alcohol and Drugs Edinburgh team, said: "Alcohol is 20 times the problem that drugs is and these figures do not surprise me.
"It is an example of the difficulty we are in.
"The latest information we are getting is that it is starting to take a downturn – more 15-16-year-olds are making better decisions about alcohol and drugs, but we've got a long way to go."
NHS Lothian stressed that the figures related to the number of times a youngster was admitted because of alcohol, not the number of actual youngsters, and some could have been admitted on more than one occasion.
A new four-hour maximum waiting rule in accident and emergency departments also means that youngsters who previously might have been kept there under observation for several hours are now admitted to the main hospital.
Dr Dermot Gorman, NHS Lothian deputy director of public health, said: "It is always a matter of concern when a young person is admitted to hospital with a diagnosis that includes drug or alcohol consumption.
"While the numbers admitted to hospital are relatively small they indicate a wider underlying problem in society.
"Our staff are all too aware of the consequences that drug and alcohol misuse can have on the health of individuals and on the community.
"For young people this can mean being prone to assaults or accidents and longer-term health problems such as liver disease and addiction.
"NHS Lothian also works with a number of partner organisations to provide education to young people to try to prevent misuse of alcohol and drugs.
"Health problems related to alcohol are a major public health concern in Scotland and have increased significantly over recent years.
"We would encourage any young person who has difficulties with drugs and alcohol to come forward.
"It is much easier to tackle these problems when they are at an early stage."
Dr Gorman added that NHS Lothian now provided a specialist alcohol and drug service in hospitals.
The Evening News revealed last week that a 12-year-old boy was found by police slumped in a shopping trolley during a crackdown on underage drinking in the Lothians.
He was one of three youths who had to be helped home to their parents during the recent operation in Muirpark, Tranent.
That was the latest in a series of operations across the Lothians targeting underage drinking, which have previously uncovered 13-year-old girls so drunk that they are putting themselves in "mortal danger".
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www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk•
www.actionalcoholdrugsedinburgh.org The full article contains 551 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
