A night in the life of London's 'Booze Bus'

Brian set up the booze bus service in December 2005 as a way of responding to the big increase in alcohol related call outs in the West End over Christmas and New Year. The service was an instant success and was repeated every subsequent December. 

A sharp rise in alcohol related incidents in this area of central London, and an increased strain on London Ambulance’s resources both led to the booze bus becoming a fixture in the West End every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

Brian regularly works day and night shifts on the bus alongside two other trained members of staff. When he’s not riding the bus himself, he is making sure that the service is manned and doing its job.

All in a night's work

A typical night will see Brian and his team treating males and females of all ages who have got themselves into various states of drunkeness. Brian says: “we are able to deal with half of the patients we pick up there and then, and can release them once we are confident that they have sobered up enough. The other 50% are the patients who have drunk dangerous amounts and we can tell that they’re not going to be up and walking in an hour’s time. They’re the ones that we have to rush to hospital.”

Brian and his team also treat people who have injured themselves as a result of drinking. While Brian has been unfortunate enough to experience some alcohol related fatalities, his team regularly treat people who have fallen over while drunk or cut themselves on glass.

Then you have the patients who have drunk very little themselves but find themselves on the bus because they have got on the wrong side of someone who has drunk too much.

Freeing up valuable resources

One of the successes of the booze bus is that it frees up the rest of the London Ambulance service to deal with non-alcohol related emergencies. On the average weekend one in five of ambulance call outs in central London are alcohol related so the booze bus really helps to shoulder some of this weight.

Brian and his team can treat up to five patients at one time on the bus, which greatly reduces the number of people who would have otherwise ended up taking up a hospital bed. It costs London Ambulance between £165 and £200 every time an ambulance is called out, so the bus saves the service a lot of money as well.

Getting the right message across

So with all they see, what stance do Brian and his team have on alcohol? “None of us would say to someone ‘don’t drink’, because we all enjoy the occasional drink ourselves. But when it comes down to it, it’s all about knowing when to call it a night, which unfortunately many people out there have trouble doing.

"With our patients we try not to be too sympathetic, you know sitting there stroking their hair telling them everything’s going to be alright, but at the same time we are not there to give them too much of a hard time. Our job is to check that they’re alright clinically and to get them sober and back up on their feet again.”

Brian sees education as being the key to changing people’s drinking behaviour. It is already part of his job to visit schools in South East London and talk to pupils about alcohol. “Kids need to be taught about alcohol and its long and short term effects, as early as possible, I mean starting at primary school age. Even then we shouldn’t be saying ‘don’t drink when you get older’, because that’s unrealistic, but we should be showing them some of the bad side effects of alcohol, such as it can make you sick, so that they are more able to make an informed choice when they become young adults.”

He also believes that compulsory alcohol misuse workshops or a heavy fine for adults that end up in hospital due to a night of heavy drinking would make people think twice before they went out and did it all over again.

Looking ahead

In addition to better alcohol education, another of Brian’s goals is to get a second bus up and running. “A similar unit is running in Camden, up in North London at the weekends as part of pilot between the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) and council. But in terms of the West End, it’s got to the point where we really need a second bus on the Friday and Saturday. And not just at night, ambulances are increasingly getting called out during the day for alcohol related incidents in parks and to other public places.”

5 tips for a safer night out

Brian recommends five ways to help you and your friends have a safer night out:

Deploy a ‘Des’ (designated non-drinker) – “When I was in the army, it was common, and probably still is, for a group of soldiers to pick one or two people in the group to stay sober on that night and make sure that the rest of us got home alright after a few drinks. We had a kind of rota going so you knew when you were lined up to be ‘Des’ for the night. Try it out, it works well and your friends will be really grateful for getting them home.”

Stick with your friends and don’t go astray – “If the plan is to go to a few different places, get it mapped out before you start drinking. And if you get chatting to someone else, make sure that your friends know where you are and that they don’t leave without you. Nine times out of 10, the people that we find slumped out on the street are people who have lost their mates somewhere.” 

Drink plenty of water and eat well – “You’ve heard it a hundred times before, but having a pint of water to hand while drinking alcohol, or a glass of water in between drinks will hydrate you and stop you from getting too drunk. Get something substantial down you food-wise before or during drinking too.”

Have a taxi booked or know when your last bus or train is – “Don’t save doing this until you’ve had a couple of drinks because you will only put it off or end up putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation staggering home or resorting to a dodgy cab. Knowing that you’ve got a taxi booked or a last train to catch acts as a good cut off point for yourself, and a good excuse if your friends are trying to talk you into staying out.”

Drink at your own pace – “People often get themselves into a mess if they’re out in a group and trying to keep up with their mates. We drink a lot more in mixed groups these days, where women are expected to go drink for drink with their male friends, which is very dangerous when you take into account the difference in body size and alcohol tolerance. If you’re out in a large group discourage or opt out of rounds, or stay on lower alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks if your mates are set on buying rounds.”          

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Unknown, 10 May 2012.

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26 Aug 2009