Alcohol consumption in the UK has been increasing steadily. We prospectivel
y studied the burden on hospital services caused by overt alcohol misuse, i
n an inner-city hospital in north-west England. All Accident & Emergency (A
&E) patients were assessed to determine whether their hospital attendance w
as alcohol-related, and whether this resulted in admission and/or generated
new out-patient appointments. Over 2 months, 1915 patients attended A&E wi
th alcohol-related problems, accounting for 12% of attendances; 50% were ag
ed 18-39 years, and acute alcohol intoxication was the commonest presenting
complaint. Overall, 6.2% of all hospital admissions were due to alcohol-re
lated problems. Over 2800 new out-patient visits were likely to have been g
enerated over an 18-month period from initial attendance with an alcohol-re
lated problem, mostly for orthopaedic clinics, The burden placed by overt a
lcohol-related problems on hospitals is enormous, both in terms of the emer
gency and out-patient services. The implementation of education, screening
and intervention strategies in A&E departments, and employment of key train
ed personnel, should be considered, to optimize the clinical management of
these patients.