AMBULANCE officials and councillors have expressed concern over the sharp rise in the number of drink-related injuries in Barnet.

The number of incidents this year grew by 18 per cent – one of the highest increases in London. In 2010/11 the ambulance service was called to 1,995 incidents in which alcohol was deemed a “major contributing factor” – the highest in the past five years. A spokeswoman for the service said the vast majority of these call-outs were on a Friday or Saturday night.

“Such a sharp rise in alcohol-related incidents in the borough is a real concern,” said Barnet’s ambulance operations manager, Sean Brinicombe. He said the increased number of weekend call-outs was putting extra pressure on paramedics.

“People should go out and have a good time but think about the consequences of excessive drinking on your health, the ambulance service and the wider NHS.
“Ambulance crews need to be able to take care of patients with life-threatening emergencies. If our staff are dealing with patients who are simply drunk, they won’t be able to do that.”

He also warned injured party-goers that calling out an ambulance rather than making their own way to hospital would not get them seen any quicker.

A spokeswoman for Barnet Council pointed out that Barnet’s large population was partly responsible for the relatively high number of incidents.

“That is not to say there has not been an increase in the number of alcohol related call-outs in Barnet,” she said.

David Longstaff, the council’s cabinet member for safety and resident engagement, added: “There has been a worrying increase in the rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions both in Barnet and nationally.

“As such we continue to work with our partners, particularly in education and healthcare, to further develop our preventative and early intervention programmes, to help reverse this trend.”