NHS offers practical tips to help drinkers stay in control
Starting this Friday, 21 May, people heading to Broad Street or Sutton town centre for a night out will be presented with the dangers of becoming paralytic from drinking too much.
Through a mix of activity including real-life stories, posters and free food NHS Birmingham East and North will be alerting locals to the risk of allowing ‘another them to take over’. Postcards describing residents’ real-life stories of what happened to them after drinking too much will also be handed out in shopping areas and cinemas, alongside DVDs of a film by renowned celebrity photographer Rankin and co-director Chris Cottam who have both offered their time for free to support the campaign. The pair, who previously put their weight behind the ‘Fight Back’ quit smoking campaign last autumn to great effect, have created a hard hitting film showing the repercussions of getting too drunk, on what can often start off as a normal night out.
All activity will lead people to the website www.whoisincontrol.co.uk where the real stories from locals will be featured as confessional films. The website will also contain information on how people can avoid getting out-of-control drunk and background on the serious long-terms effects.
Posters and on-mirror signs will be displayed in toilets in popular bars, pubs and clubs, asking things like, “Who threw the glass that cut the girl’s face and scarred her for life?” and “Who was thrown out of the club and got into the man’s car and had sex she didn’t want?” they will encourage people to continue thinking about the risks of drinking too much alcohol.
Later in the month, installations set up in Broad Street and Sutton Coldfield will vividly bring home the things that can go wrong when you are out-of-control drunk. The installations will include an overturned car, bloody pavement and a smashed window.
It’s well known that simple things like eating before a night out, and drinking water throughout the evening can lower the risks of getting paralytic, so during the final weekend evenings of the campaign, a food van and a water truck will be touring the streets, handing out slices of pizza to locals visiting bars and clubs, and encouraging people to drink some water.
NHS Birmingham East and North’s latest campaign takes a unique stance, by acknowledging the fact that most people are already aware of the dangers of excessive drinking, and that going out drinking with friends is a socially important part of many people’s lives. As a result the Trust is not asking people to stop drinking, instead, they will be reminded of what can go wrong, and provided with easy tips on how to stay the right side of drunk.
Nicola Benge, Director of Health Improvement and Public Health at NHS Birmingham East and North describes the reasons behind the unusual tactics, saying: “We realise that excessive drinking is a problem across east and north Birmingham, but know we can’t ask people to stop drinking all together. We wanted to give people easy ways to remain more in control, and hopefully reduce the damage and pain that can be caused by becoming too drunk. This is part of the Trust’s initiative to help people take better care of themselves now and reducing unnecessary A&E treatments whenever possible.”
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Enquiries
For more information, contact the NHS Birmingham East and North communications team on 0121 380 0620 or email communications@benpct.nhs.uk
Notes for editors
About NHS Birmingham East and North
NHS Birmingham East and North is one of 152 primary care trusts within the English NHS. As a PCT it is responsible for the wise investment of public money to ensure health improvement, access to health services and where appropriate the provision of health services to a local population of some 438,000 people, across 17 wards across north and east Birmingham.
In summary we organise and fund the delivery of health care with the involvement of local people, maximising health outcomes for every pound spent – this is often referred to as commissioning.
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Dr Foster was first launched to the public in January 2001 with publication of the Hospital Guide. Since then, Dr Foster has published a series of guides detailing the availability and standards of local health services. The Hospital guide is now an annual publication which has done much to catalyze improvement in the NHS.
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