Council to join St John Ambulance staff on weekly Alcohol Triage Service - The Coventry Observer

Council to join St John Ambulance staff on weekly Alcohol Triage Service

Coventry Editorial 16th Nov, 2016   0

ST JOHN Ambulance will be joined by Coventry City Council this week during the night shift as part of Alcohol Awareness Week in Coventry.

Commissioned by Coventry City Council, the St John Ambulance service operates on Friday and Saturday nights in the city centre.

It is staffed by two St John Ambulance staff working with a fully equipped ambulance.

The Council’s support comes amid plans to raise awareness of the new Government guidelines of 14 units per week for men and women as well as working to encourage safer drinking in the lead up to Christmas.




As part of the awareness week, the Council has also created the ‘Wasted’ campaign – which raises awareness of safe drinking across the city and on social media.

Council officers will be joining the St John Ambulance crew on Friday, November 18, and will be live posting the experience on social media accounts.


Coun Kamran Caan, cabinet member for public health and sport, said: “We want the public to understand the recommended limit and know the risks that come with unsafe drinking.

“Alcohol awareness week will give us the opportunity to get some important messages out there about staying safe and knowing your limits.

“This collaboration with St John ambulance also gives us the opportunity to help raise awareness of a very important service that works hard to help keep people in the city safe.”

Commissioned by the Council, the St John Ambulance Alcohol Triage Service is now in its third year and responds to call relating to alcohol or drug use within the CV1 post code area.

Since the service began, 413 patients have been treated – most of them being between the ages of 18 and 22.

Half of those patients have avoided hospital treatment thanks to the care they received from the St John Ambulance team.

Dr Adrian Canale-Parola, GP and chair of NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group, is supporting Alcohol Awareness Week.

He said: “Alcohol can be an important factor in many health conditions including cancers, high blood pressure, mental health issues and brain damage.

“Many people are risking their health by regularly drinking too much and may not realise the harm their drinking could cause them.

“That’s why it’s important to remind people of the risks and sensible drinking guidelines.”

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