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Irelands First Medical Drunk Tank comes to Galway

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    #32
    Wompa1
    Registered Users Posts: 8,173 ✭✭✭Wompa1


    Galwayguy35 wrote: »
    It just seems to be the under 21s that are drinking the heaviest, chances are people would have a more mature approach to drink by the time they are 21.

    Have the same legal age for off licenses and nip the loophole where kids can order booze online in the bud.

    Yeah but the reality is most people in Ireland start drinking between the ages of 12-15. That won't change if you bump up the age limit


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    #33
    BhoscaCapall
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,940 ✭✭✭BhoscaCapall


    zarquon wrote: »
    Whats your alternative suggestion. By all accounts not many 18 or 19 years can handle their drink as well as someone in their twenties or thirties. I would be very interested to know the percentage of A&E drink related admissions that are in the 18 to 21 years old group. Based on what i've seen a few times over the years at UCHG, a lot of the admissions fall into this age group.
    I would also imagine it is quite high, since they are the main group of people who go out drinking.

    Most probably your eye rolling rebuttal means that you fall either in this age group or close to it and thus are in denial that people in your age group
    Sorry no, I'm 24. I just don't agree with BAN EVERYTHING just because there are a few problems. I've been drinking since I was about 16 and never caused a bit of trouble. I've seen more serious fights among 'adults' over 21 in Galway than I have kids.

    Simple logic would suggest raising the drinking age to suddenly incriminate thousands of 18-21 year olds would only increase 'crime'.


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    #34
    Galwayguy35
    Registered Users Posts: 16,568 ✭✭✭✭Galwayguy35


    Wompa1 wrote: »
    Yeah but the reality is most people in Ireland start drinking between the ages of 12-15. That won't change if you bump up the age limit

    True, but where are 12-15 year olds getting drink from?

    They're not walking into a pub and getting served so that means they are getting someone older to buy it for them or else raiding the drinks cabinet at home.

    I don't know the answer on how to put a stop to either of these scenarios to be honest. Surely parents would notice if booze was going missing?
    I don't know about other people but I know what I have in my drinks cabinet and would notice if a bottle went missing.


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    #35
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,966 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    If your kid says "there's a guy in <<small-town>> who sells the kids a naggin of vodka for a tenner", then the parent has a choice:

    1) Forbid kid to buy from him (yeah, that's gonna work, esp if the kid has a job)
    2) Say "go ahead, sure of course it's safe"
    3) Say "ahh, if you want drink, I'll buy it for you"

    which would you choose?

    And while the parent can certainly report "guy in <<small-town>", there will always be another one.


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    #36
    BhoscaCapall
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,940 ✭✭✭BhoscaCapall


    JustMary wrote: »
    If your kid says "there's a guy in <<small-town>> who sells the kids a naggin of vodka for a tenner", then the parent has a choice:

    1) Forbid kid to buy from him (yeah, that's gonna work, esp if the kid has a job)
    2) Say "go ahead, sure of course it's safe"
    3) Say "ahh, if you want drink, I'll buy it for you"

    which would you choose?

    And while the parent can certainly report "guy in <<small-town>", there will always be another one.
    Identify the opportunity and undercut the guy by selling it for €8.


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    #37
    mathepac
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,991 ✭✭✭mathepac


    Iwannahurl wrote: »
    ... It's a bizarre development, IMO. One way of looking at it is that alcohol retailers (pubs, hotels and clubs) are paying for a service that facilitates hazardous drinking. That said, some might claim it's a pragmatic harm reduction strategy.

    Could it be an attempt to stave off stricter controls on closing times? ...
    There are of course alternative that could negate or at least reduce this apparent need for an additional ambulance service.

    Enforce the law - it is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone who is either:
    a) underage or
    b) drunk
    c) both.

    Simpelz


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    #38
    BhoscaCapall
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,940 ✭✭✭BhoscaCapall


    mathepac wrote: »
    Enforce the law - it is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone who is either:
    a) underage or
    b) drunk
    c) both.

    Simpelz

    Aye right, thousands of students going out completely sober at 11pm, queuing up and paying into a nightclub so they can drink for 30-60mins until they're "drunk" and can no longer be served, then away home.

    Oh and pubs full of aul fellas who might sit in the pub drinking a rake of pints with no bother to anyone suddenly allowed only to buy 4 pints before being sent home.

    Simple indeed, only not in the sense you intended.


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    #39
    2218219
    Registered Users Posts: 53 ✭✭2218219


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Who is funding this service?

    Life is funding the service, we should not ask about funding really.

    Really, this is great and should help a lot of people, like in America,England,France and all other good country's they have "ambulance service".

    On patrol ambulance is great and and should help a lot of people.
    This is great !!!!


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    #40
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,966 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    2218219 wrote: »
    Life is funding the service, we should not ask about funding really.

    It would appear from today's Indo that "life" has changed its mind:
    Galway City Vintner’s Association ... [said] ... that the majority of the organisation’s member “would definitely not be interested in contributing to it”.

    ... having a late-night ambulance “depicts Galway as a battlefield” and sends a message to the rest of the country that they are likely to “get involved in a fracas” if they visit the city.
    “We do not want to send the message out there that Galway needs a late night ambulance service. ....

    ... the majority of local publicans would have little need for an ambulance service and in the case of a medical emergency, transport and paramedics should be provided by the HSE.

    “We’re paying enormous rates and taxes and that’s where they should be going, to provide a service for people who are ill late at night. ...

    “We have no objection to the concept but we would definitely not be interested in contributing towards it. .... in excess of €100,000 per annum.”

    Full story: http://galwayindependent.com/stories/item/3878/2012-37/Galway-pubs-boycott-late-night-ambulance-service


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    #41
    Sponge Bob
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 25,234 ✭✭✭✭Sponge Bob


    Aw jayzus, no Drunk Tank to bring the poor dears from Supermacs to the Hospickle. :D


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    #42
    Iwannahurl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,156 ✭✭✭Iwannahurl


    JustMary wrote: »
    It would appear from today's Indo that "life" has changed its mind:

    Full story: http://galwayindependent.com/stories/item/3878/2012-37/Galway-pubs-boycott-late-night-ambulance-service



    That's life!

    I love some of the quotes:

    Mr. Tyson [Chairman of Galway City Vintner’s Association] added that the majority of local publicans would have little need for an ambulance service and in the case of a medical emergency, transport and paramedics should be provided by the HSE.

    “We’re paying enormous rates and taxes and that’s where they should be going, to provide a service for people who are ill late at night. If those people get ill, chances are they’re not getting ill on our premises, they get ill in their own homes by pre-loading and then head into town."


    It seems getting "ill" can be precipitated by "pre-loading" (not the washing machine, presumably) at home. The message is clear: never pre-load at home, because you will become ill and then you will head into town.

    However, Connor McEvaddy of Cara Ambulance refuted claims that the ambulance would be a “drunk tank” and said it had been “taken up the wrong light”.

    “It was unfortunate in its timing, in that it coincided with the students going back to college and people tended to get the idea of a ‘drunk tank’ but the service was set up to deal with medical emergencies happening on premises in the town. It wasn’t, as some people have suggested, carting drunk people off to hospital and filling the A&Es with drunks,” he explained.

    ...

    I suppose we floated the idea because we saw there was a need there and we approached some of the publicans in the city, who seems quite taken with the idea,” said Mr McEvaddy.


    Presumably Cara Ambulance did a needs assessment and discovered that, purely due to naturally-occurring factors -- I suppose -- people who have "preloaded" at home and then unexpectedly suffer a "medical emergency" most likely do so in a pub, or perhaps merely in the vicinity of such a premises.

    Hence their novel strategy of approaching publicans to fund an ambulance service that would not be focused on dealing with the effects of acute alcohol intoxication.

    Or perhaps they just felt that publicans have particularly deep pockets and altruistic natures and would be delighted to fund a paramedic service for the general public...


    .


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    #43
    thesandeman
    Registered Users Posts: 10,469 ✭✭✭✭thesandeman


    Anybody hear if this actually started? Reason I'm asking is that there was an ambulance strategicly (sorry about spelling) parked where the Garda van 'should' be in a proper scenario at 2-30 last night.
    It was parked just outside the old Abrakebra shop so could have got to 12(imo) of the potential flashpoints on a Thursday in the city within 1-4 minutes and the other three in less than ten mins if the taxi drivers are cooperative.
    The two people in the cab of the ambulance were sitting there quite relaxed so I presume there was no emergency happening hence my original question.


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    #44
    beeintheknow
    Registered Users Posts: 220 ✭✭beeintheknow


    thesandeman wrote: »
    Anybody hear if this actually started? Reason I'm asking is that there was an ambulance strategicly (sorry about spelling) parked where the Garda van 'should' be in a proper scenario at 2-30 last night.
    It was parked just outside the old Abrakebra shop so could have got to 12(imo) of the potential flashpoints on a Thursday in the city within 1-4 minutes and the other three in less than ten mins if the taxi drivers are cooperative.
    The two people in the cab of the ambulance were sitting there quite relaxed so I presume there was no emergency happening hence my original question.



    Where are these 'flashpoints' and what is a flashpoint?


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    #45
    Sponge Bob
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 25,234 ✭✭✭✭Sponge Bob


    beeintheknow wrote: »
    what is a flashpoint?

    Any urban Supermacs in Ireland after closing time. :)


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