Benjamin Franklin said that the only two certain things in life are 'death and taxes'; well, to those growing up in Ireland, I feel it is safe to add a third to this list, 'getting embarrassingly drunk in a field as a teen'. The inescapability of this was proven in the fabled fields of West Cork last Friday when several Gardaí and paramedics were called to a teenage disco. This is not to belittle the severity of the incident this article describes, merely to state how unfortunately common this type of thing is, and indeed how little high ground the majority of people in recent generations have to stand on in condemnation of the actions of individuals, rather than the broader culture that facilitates these actions.
The event itself was held at a rugby club and despite, being billed as 'alcohol-free' many teenagers arrived at the venue severely inebriated. The club had also made it clear that they reserved the right to refuse admission to anyone who arrived intoxicated would be refused entry.
Of the approximately 500 teenagers attending the disco, it soon became clear that a significant number were dangerously intoxicated. They were refused entry and the club then brought them into a changing room on the premises to keep them warm and help them sober up. Naturally, with this many vastly inebriated teenagers in one confined space, it comes as no surprise that the scene was described as a "vomitorium".
Disco staff and volunteers supervising the teenagers in this room soon decided, given how drunk several of them were that it would be necessary to contact the emergency services. Three ambulances from Cork University Hospital were dispatched to the scene to help tend to them.
Given that it's a HSE hospital and it was a Friday night, the Accident & Emergency department was already badly stretched in terms of man-power and resources. Speaking with Séan O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning, consultant of CUH, Chris Luke, said that his "heart sank" when he heard that three ambulances had been sent to the scene, as the department were already "stretched to the end of our pin".
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Dr. van der Welde, a retrieval physician sent to the disco decided to set up a triage at the scene so as to not overwhelm the A&E department with admissions. He described the situation he arrived at as critical.
Their blood pressure was into the seventies, they were unconscious. I'm not talking about a little tipsy. We're talking about paraletic unconscious drunk.
You've got to make sure they're warm, that they're properly looked after on their side so they don't choke on their own vomit.
While most of the patients were treated at the scene, two teenagers who "had the potential to die at the scene" had to be brought into hospital for prolonged critical care.
Dr. van der Welde praised the rugby club for their handling of the situation and their decision to not simply refuse the intoxicated attendees back out into the cold winter night but to take them into the premises to be looked after.
H/T: Independent.ie
