The Scottish Ambulance Service responded to more than 230 alcohol related call outs every day - with a quarter of all weekend calls linked to booze, according to research.

Some 86,780 ambulance callouts were identified as alcohol-related in 2019, using a new method based on the notes taken by paramedics at the scene.

This figure is more than three times higher than previously reported, according to researchers.

Using data from SAS, the team of researchers were able to build an algorithm that searched paramedic notes in patient records for references to alcohol.

They found in 2019 one in six ambulance callouts (16.2 per cent) was alcohol-related, which rose to over one in four (28.2 per cent) at weekend nighttimes (6pm to 6am).

Alcohol was related to approximately a quarter of callouts for those aged under 40 years old, but less than seven per cent in those aged 70 years old and above.

Glasgow Times:

For callouts to addresses in the most deprived areas, 20 per cent were deemed to be alcohol-related, while the least deprived areas it was just 10 per cent.

The research was led by Francesco Manca and Professor Jim Lewsey at the University of Glasgow and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Prof Lewsey, Professor of medical statistics, of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing, said: “We have shown that there is a high burden of alcohol on ambulance callouts in Scotland.

“This is particularly true at weekends, for callouts involving younger people and for callouts to addresses in areas with high levels of socio-economic deprivation.

“These data can be used to monitor trends over time and inform alcohol policy decision making both at local and national levels.

“Further, our methodological approach can be applied to other contexts for determining the burden of other factors to the ambulance service.”

Based on the average cost of an ambulance callout in 2019, researchers estimate the total cost of alcohol-related callouts at approximately £31.5 million.

But they said the exact figure would depend on the complexity of alcohol-related call outs, compared with non-alcohol-related call outs.

The analysis did not examine how many alcohol-related callouts arose from drinking in homes or licensed premises.

Boffins said this method of monitoring alcohol-related callouts over time is easier for the ambulance service to apply than previous ones.

Prior methods resulted in either large underestimates or used reports from staff surveys which could not be tested for accuracy or routinely carried out.

The work was part of a study led by Professor Niamh Fitzgerald at the University of Stirling, and was also co-authored by colleagues at the University of Sheffield and the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

Prof Niamh Fitzgerald 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.”

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.”