By Alexis Akwagyiram
BBC News
Copyright 2007 BBC News
LONDON — A “drunks-only” ambulance is mobilised on occasions of widespread drunkenness in central London. What’s it like aboard the “Booze Bus” on one of the busiest party nights of the year?
“I love the job - I like being able to make a difference. No two days are ever the same,” says paramedic Brian Hayes with a jovial grin as he describes his job.
Over the course of a 12-hour shift on Friday night, he and his two colleagues on the Alternative Response Vehicle - or Booze Bus, as it’s more commonly known - draw on their reserves of composure, ingenuity and stoicism to treat more than 20 dazed drunks.
At St Thomas’ Hospital, where some of these patients are taken, a visibly-frustrated doctor speaks despairingly of dealing with a tide of alcohol-related problems, instead of people who are seriously ill.
“Everyone I’ve treated tonight has been drunk - this is ridiculous,” he says.
Full Story: Normal ambulances freed up to handle critical calls