Too many drunks clog up emergency rooms: doctor

A doctor yesterday advised Lunar New Year revelers to drink sensibly to avoid trips to the emergency room that take up resources that should be reserved for people with urgent medical needs.

Tsai Wei-mo (蔡維謀), an emergency room supervisor at the Mackay Hospital's Hsinchu branch, said at this time of the year emergency rooms are often inundated with drunks who have passed out and been taken for dead or who are so impaired that they are mistaken for stroke victims.

He said that the police, the hospital and even the fire department often receive calls from good Samaritans who report sick people passed out on roadways, but that many of these victims were simply drunk.

Tsai said his emergency room has had to deal with so many drunks that individuals with real needs, such as cardiovascular victims or stroke patients, are overlooked because there are not enough ambulances to go around.

However, sometimes people get so drunk that they end up vomiting blood or having a heart attack, the doctor said.

He said people with chronic diseases or those who suddenly fall ill have to go to emergency rooms over the Lunar New Year holiday because their regular doctor's office or clinic is closed.

Many people with chronic diseases skip their medicines during holidays in the belief "that going without for a few days won't hurt," while others forget to take enough medicine on trips, he said.

Tsai urged people to take care of their health and be thankful for the doctors and nurses who have given up their own holidays to work.