Drunk people to blame for A&E strain, says Hunt

UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that much of the strain put on A&E departments at peak times is down to drunk people.

With visits to the emergency room up 30% on last year, Hunt has spoken out against drunk patients, calling them “selfish”. Over a third of all visits to A&E are now caused by drunken incidents or involve inebriated patients.

In a session in the House of Commons where Hunt gave a speech on the state of the NHS, Andrew Selous, Conservative MP, asked: “More than a third of A&E attendances at peak times are caused by drunkenness… What can we do to hugely reduce that?”

Hunt blamed a large portion of the issue on drunk people that put themselves in harms way, and consequently deprive those in need of the care they deserve, saying that everyone must use the service in a “responsible way”.

He also however denied The Red Cross’s claims that the NHS is in a “humanitarian crisis”, instead saying that major incidents were limited to “one or two hospitals”.

The huge rise in patients has caused an “unprecendented demand” for emergency services, and follows the news that December 27, 2016 was the busiest day in the history of the NHS.