I WAS saddened to read in Monday's Evening Times that Glasgow's SOS bus run by Glasgow Council on alcohol has been taken off the road after three years serving the city.

 

The bus provided an important service for those worse for wear after a night out that might have difficulty in getting home or had lost their friends and needed assistance.

Importantly, the bus raised awareness that such a service existed and provided an important half-way house to help those without the need to access A&E or spend the night in the cells.

The ethos of the SOS bus very much chimes with a policy idea the Scottish Conservatives are taking forward for the creation of recovery centres.

Such a service would provide specialist units for intoxicated people, and somewhere that police and ambulance staff could refer those heavily under the influence.

They exist in many countries around the world including Australia and the US under various names such as a sobering-up service, welfare centres, drink tanks etc. and could go a long way to alleviate A&E or police cell pressures.

Evidence from Australia suggests that a service that provides clients with physical and emotional care and support is perceived as safer and a better use of resources than holding intoxicated people in police custody. And the recovery centres wouldn't be just a one stop shop - in the cases of those regularly admitted, staff and alcohol support organisations would be invited to participate and offer proactive support programmes for those needing help.

The plan would also ensure that for people with injuries or who are in genuine need - who just happened to be drunk - would not be diverted away from A&E.

Throughout the winter especially, there is a heightened pressure on our NHS and it's important that we look at solutions that safeguard the service and ensure A&E is not used to "mop up" after weekend excess, but support those facing a critical health emergency.

By diverting alcohol cases away from A&E to specialist units, we will ensure that under pressure clinical staff concentrate vital resources on helping those genuinely in need.

I'd like to see the Scottish Government really tackle this issue as a national effort to deal with this problem - 21,000 people per year enter A&E for no other medical reason other than being under the influence, which can regularly overwhelm casualty.

Initially, we'd like to see some pilots established to determine the most effective Recovery Centre model with a view to starting up facilities in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

The NHS is there for the use of everyone - but everyone has a responsibility to care for our NHS.

That means looking after it and not misusing it. A&E is a place for those who are sick or hurt and need urgent attention.

It is not a place for people who've had a skinful to sleep it off and take up bed-space.

We need to think about different ways to help take the pressure off A&E and recovery centres could help.