Britain is considering transferring care for overdrunk citizens from hospitals to drunk tanks
Obviously, the human body cannot withstand such a sharp overload and quietly collapses in some secluded corner, sometimes with complete loss of consciousness. If this body has friends who can still string a few words together and poke a finger at a phone, an ambulance arrives for the fallen body.
As BBC notes, for many years in the United Kingdom this honorable duty fell on the National Health Service. All residents of the country know well that, except for the most acute situations like a heart attack or a leg broken in four places, it is better not to go to emergency rooms on Friday or Saturday evenings.
The statistics are actually quite frightening: if on ordinary days the number of citizens suffering from overdrinking in emergency rooms is 11-12%, on weekends and holidays it rises to 70%. This means that ambulances, instead of rushing to heart patients and sick elderly people, are forced to transport perfectly healthy men and women who have lost their sense of alcohol moderation to hospitals.
It has gotten to the point where one of the top British health officials, Stephen Stevens, irritably stated: "We are the National Health Service, not the National Sobering-Up Service!"
For several years now, special drunk tank buses have been operating in a number of British cities. The idea is simple: an overdrunk citizen is found, picked up, carried in, put to bed, covered with a blanket, a papier-mâché bowl is placed nearby in case the consumed alcohol wants to come out, and they are allowed to sleep it off and come to their senses. And to ensure nothing bad happens, medical staff monitor the unconscious bodies. Sometimes stationary premises are used instead of buses, but the system is clear.
The project has been so successful that they are now considering extending it to the entire country. Only one question arises: why didn't they think of this earlier?
The answer to this question lies in the fundamental principle of the National Health Service: free, for everyone, on demand. Britain is rightly proud of one of the most accessible national health systems in the world. Over several decades of its existence, people have become accustomed to the fact that in any case, with any health problems (and drinking can have a very, very bad effect on health), any person can go to a doctor or hospital, and they will definitely be helped. The condition of refusing to provide medical services if a person has brought the illness upon themselves (for example, delirium tremens) is found in private health insurance policies, but not in public healthcare.
Meanwhile, for several years now, the British healthcare system has been bursting at the seams due to a lack of funds and staff. And it seems the time has come to take on irresponsible citizens, firmly grabbing them by the wallet or credit card. And if you think that the proposal to charge the overdrunk population for medical services and sobering up does not cause controversy, you are deeply mistaken.
Firstly, many find it outrageous to refuse free medical services, even if a person has driven themselves into such a state.
Secondly, social workers immediately raise their voices, claiming that alcoholics will not stop drinking, but their families will be left without any means, and children will go hungry if you charge their parents 300-500 pounds for forced sobering up.
Thirdly, if we start charging for these medical services, it will be impossible to stop on this slippery slope. First for sobering up, then for stomach ulcers ("It's your own fault for eating spicy and salty food and being too nervous!"), then for gastric bypass surgery ("You shouldn't have eaten yourself to inhuman proportions!"), then for childbirth, and so on – until we slide into the American system with its expensive insurance and preventable deaths.
If we consider that comments on the English-language BBC website at least somewhat reflect public opinion in the country, then it overwhelmingly leans towards the idea of drunk tanks and requiring payment from irresponsible drunks.
One thing I guarantee you: if this is put to a vote in parliament, a purely practical issue will escalate into powerful political debates, where each party will loudly shout about the ills of society, for which only their political opponents are to blame. However, we are already used to that. And if necessary, we will get used to drunk tanks too. Whether on wheels or without them.