Drunks don't need to go to ED: study

Hundreds of drunk people picked up by ambulances could be safely left to sober up in detoxification centres, to ease the pressure on EDs, research suggests.

Paramedics in a two-year study triaged 718 intoxicated patients using a simple 29-point checklist. They deemed 138 (19%) to be at low medical risk, and transported them to a 24-hour detoxification centre.

Only four of these went on to have adverse events requiring transfer to an ED — all for minor and non-acute