Drunks attended to every 21 minutes in Scotland

Ambulance crews in Scotland deal with a drunk person every 21 minutes, totalling more than 25,000 incidents in 2014, according to new figures.

Alcohol intoxication was a factor in the callout of 25,071 incidents in Scotland during 2014

The release of figures under Freedom of Information confirmed alcohol intoxication was a factor in the callout of 25,071 incidents in 2014, and 79,761 incidents between 2012 and 2013.

It is possible the actual figures could be much higher as alcohol is not always recorded properly as a factor in every incident.

In light of the new data, Conservatives have called for the implementation of alcohol recovery centres to attend to drunk patients, with the intention of diverting them away from the casualty departments.

The party’s health spokesman Jackson Carlaw MSP told The Herald: “This is a tricky issue and it’s a terrible situation that our ambulance crews are having to deal with drunks so frequently.

“That’s why we are calling for the setting up of recovery centres which have already been successfully up and running in America and Australia.”

The largest number of incidents occurred in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, which recorded 25,926 such instanced in the last three years.

By comparison, Orkney saw nine cases where alcohol intoxication was a factor in the incident.