article_snippet.sent: There were nearly 60,000 assaults on NHS staff in 2011-12 and alcohol-related hospital admissions have now topped a million a year – a rise of 510,000 in a decade.
article_snippet.sent: Politicians from across the political spectrum have backed the idea of fining or charging people who visit A&E after drinking too much, but doctors leaders warn the plan is unworkable.
article_snippet.sent: Lib Dem health minister Norman Lamb warned that people who ‘gratuitously’ consume too much alcohol, especially at the weekends, were putting a ‘huge’ burden on hospitals.
article_snippet.sent: I have a great deal of sympathy for the people who say we should charge people who use A&E because people who use A&E go over the top on a Friday or a Saturday night,’ Tory Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.
article_snippet.sent: Gordon Miles, chief executive of the College of Emergency Medicine, said in September that the proposal would be ‘very tricky’.
article_snippet.sent: Gordon Miles, chief executive of the College of Emergency Medicine added: ‘For example example had a couple of glasses of wine, fell and really hurt example?
article_snippet.sent: The priority is treating example.
article_snippet.sent: It’s all very well saying example are a huge burden on hospitals which example are, and A&E staff do face challenging situations. '
article_snippet.sent: But there are many other ways we need to tackle alcohol abuse before it gets to hospital.