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A good night out on the town
A good night out on the town Being in the city centre on a hot summer evening at the weekend was a reminder of a health issue we appear to have failed miserably with. I saw large groups of young men, with clean shirts, pressed trousers, smelling of copious amounts of aftershave, and I saw young women, laughing, running, all dressed up (or down) for a good night out on the town. We have all been young, and even foolish, but as they dart across the road with no thought of danger, or argue with the bouncer outside the night club, some will end the night in seriously hazardous situations. One danger area known to us is that late night/early morning taxi queue: some waiting, some pushing, some walking to the front of the queue. This spot alone has been the scene of many serious head injuries, stabbings, and mutilating assaults. We also know about the night club that promotes special 'vodka nights', advertising cheap offers for the ladies which means they can drink numerous varieties of vodkas. It will, of course, result in a number of these customers spending the night in the intensive care unit. Believe me, this is no exaggeration. The outcomes at the other end of the scale will be less dramatic, but nevertheless painful. We really should warn the lads who are hell-bent on a good night out that you do not argue with the bouncers. Some are notorious for putting people in hospital, and attempts have been made recently to introduce standards of behaviour for bouncers, to reduce the number of incidents. Alcohol and drugs will result in some extreme pain and misery for many of our patients and their families and friends after a good night out. Those of you who work in city centre departments will see these incidents with monotonous regularity; they will constitute the bulk of your work on most weekends. I have seen
9 1999 H a r c o u r t P u b l i s h e r s Ltd
many a young man distressed at the blood and vomit on his new powder blue trousers and white shirt, and desperate for a mirror to inspect the extent of the damage to his face. He may well be accompanied by a young woman no longer looking chic, with make-up running down her face and in need of a phone to ring her mum. Yes, a good time was had by all. In Cardiff recently, plastic surgeons discussed the fact that most of their work was a result of broken glass and bottles in faces, and treating serious assault cases. When you think of health education and preventative medicine, what a challenge these patients are. Would you have listened when you were young and impulsive? After all, it was only a good night out, or maybe somebody's party. Should we resort to showing more gruesome pictures to the sixth forms or on the television? Perhaps, as some nurse mothers have suggested, it should be compulsory that all early teenagers be paraded through the A&E department on a Saturday night as a warning. There appears to be no change in behaviour from when I started in A&E, many, many years ago. I ask myself whether we, the A&E nurses, are outspoken enough about it all. After all, we do know the club with the vodka promotion, and the one where the bouncers are usually more heavy handed. Is there a nurse out there who knows of something that works to reduce the thousands of injuries from the good night out at the weekend? Perhaps you have found some way of promoting a healthier response to all this merriment. If you have come up with some answers, you would be in line for a Nurse of the Year award. For me, you would deserve something more prestigious, like the Nurse of the Millenium. Is this thing bigger than all of us?
Bob Wright, Editor
Accident and Emergency Nursing(1999) 7,
189
189
9 1999 H a r c o u r t P u b l i s h e r s Ltd
many a young man distressed at the blood and vomit on his new powder blue trousers and white shirt, and desperate for a mirror to inspect the extent of the damage to his face. He may well be accompanied by a young woman no longer looking chic, with make-up running down her face and in need of a phone to ring her mum. Yes, a good time was had by all. In Cardiff recently, plastic surgeons discussed the fact that most of their work was a result of broken glass and bottles in faces, and treating serious assault cases. When you think of health education and preventative medicine, what a challenge these patients are. Would you have listened when you were young and impulsive? After all, it was only a good night out, or maybe somebody's party. Should we resort to showing more gruesome pictures to the sixth forms or on the television? Perhaps, as some nurse mothers have suggested, it should be compulsory that all early teenagers be paraded through the A&E department on a Saturday night as a warning. There appears to be no change in behaviour from when I started in A&E, many, many years ago. I ask myself whether we, the A&E nurses, are outspoken enough about it all. After all, we do know the club with the vodka promotion, and the one where the bouncers are usually more heavy handed. Is there a nurse out there who knows of something that works to reduce the thousands of injuries from the good night out at the weekend? Perhaps you have found some way of promoting a healthier response to all this merriment. If you have come up with some answers, you would be in line for a Nurse of the Year award. For me, you would deserve something more prestigious, like the Nurse of the Millenium. Is this thing bigger than all of us?
Bob Wright, Editor
Accident and Emergency Nursing(1999) 7,
189
189