Free Newcastle Accommodation Can be found on the Quayside Friday and Saturday nights; http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/...dline=sleep-off-the-booze-here-name_page.html d'oh, can't get the link to work, but basically you can go to this place on the edge of the Quayside if you're too pissed to go home or have drunken injuries and basically just crash on the floor
Binge drinkers too intoxicated to make their way home safely can now go to a new all-night centre. Up to 50 people at a time will be able to crash down on stretchers, trolleys or the floor. They will be provided with portable toilets, a supply of water to ward off a hangover and medical support for drunken injuries. The Newcastle Remote Medical Centre will be set up in a room at the historic Guildhall on the Quayside. The health service initiative - backed by police - is aimed at helping to reduce the pressure on A&E departments and the ambulance service. While health bosses say there are no set guidelines about who can be use the clinic, it is predominantly for people who "can't look after themselves". A spokeswoman for the North of Tyne Commissioning Consortium added: "You don't have to be injured, but it's not just a stop-off place for people. "If you have had far too much to drink and may cause yourself an injury, this is somewhere you can go and rest." From this Friday, the centre will be open from 8pm until 8am every Friday and Saturday until Christmas. Police, pub and club bosses will be directing any drunks they have concerns about to the centre. Paul Liversidge, director of A&E for North East Ambulance Service, said: "We deal with many more incidents at a weekend than we do normally during the week and many of the cases that occur at night and in the early hours of the morning are simply alcohol-induced. "During this trial period, we are dedicating extra resources in the city centre to assist patients to get to the Remote Medical Centre. It takes the strain off our core fleet of ambulances which would normally find themselves responding to low-grade alcohol-related injuries and drunkenness in the city centre. This will give them sufficient time to respond much more effectively to the really life-threatening and serious clinical incidents that arise during a weekend." Alison Wake, head of Urgent Care at the NHS North Of Tyne Commissioning Consortium, said: "Most people who go out in Newcastle on a Friday or Saturday night are simply looking to enjoy themselves. But there are a few who drink too much, become ill or have an accident and end up in the accident and emergency department at Newcastle General Hospital. "This can be alarming for other patients and can cause long waiting times for people while doctors and nurses attend to the needs of those who are drunk. "We're providing information to all the bars and clubs and door staff in Newcastle so they are aware of the medical centre and can send people straight round. Of course, if there are any serious problems, the ambulance service will take them straight to hospital." It is hoped the centre will ease pressure on the city's A&E department. The clinic will comprise of one large room, screened off into individual bays. As well as stretchers and trolleys, there will be room on the floor for people to rest. Portable toilets and water will be available. Police will providing a radio link direct to a station to ensure an appropriate response if necessary. Inspector Gillian Mitchell said: "It's sad a clinic of this nature has to be set up to deal with people who are supposedly out to enjoy themselves. "The responsibility for getting home safe and unhurt lies with the individual but we realise not everyone heeds that advice so we welcome the provision of on-the-spot care." If the clinic is a success, it will continue to run into the New Year. Linda Valentine, area manager for the North East Council on Addictions, said: "Often drunk people have accidents that just require minor attention, like a plaster. But because alcohol has been involved, they turn up at A&E, usually with five or six other people." A spokeswoman for Alcohol Concern added: "The centre will provide a safe environment for people who've had too much to drink." Also, why do I have to pay to read the Journal online all of a sudden?
god... imagine the dregs turning up there...... fisticuffs and shagging all over the place Ahhh the class of Newcastle!
u know as well as the rest of us, as soon as mushroom closes u'll be straight there wearing 'that suit' trying to pull mate!!
