According to an article on The Daily Telegraph website, last weekend was one filled with alcohol-fuelled violence in Sydney, describing it as “two nights of alcohol-fuelled stupidity this weekend”. And the violence was not limited to locals alone, tourists and even women were involved in the violence, some even being punched and kicked on the streets of Sydney.
A number of victims landed in the emergency ward at St. Vincent’s Hospital for a number of injuries ranging from minor to serious injuries.
Reporters from The Daily Telegraph spent the night shift at the hospital with emergency staff to witness the drama. According to them in the eight hours they spent at the hospital, 34 patients were admitted, 25 of which were victims of assault most likely linked to alcohol – that is 73 per cent of patients admitted.
This excerpt was taken from the article on www.dailytelegraph.com.au
At 1am on Saturday Professor Gordian Fulde, the head of the emergency department, said goodnight to staff on the “graveyard shift” and wished them well.
For the first few hours all was quiet. Nurses and doctors filled in paperwork, checked medical equipment and made small talk and cups of tea.
At the front counter two triage nurses dealt with a few minor cases.
Then, at 3.40am a young Irishman walked in bleeding from a cut on the head.
“This is how it starts,” said one of the nurses.
He and two female friends were attacked on Pitt St by two men.
“We were just standing there having a joke. Next thing I know they are bashing into me. One even hit my girlfriend. Who hits women for f … . sake?”
About 40 minutes later the “bat phone” screams out from the centre of the room. It’s amplified and used when a particularly nasty case is on its way and all hands are needed.
Doctors and nurses run to a counter and the phone connected to ambulance radios is put on loudspeaker. A paramedic details how a 24-year-old man has been a victim of a violent assault in Elizabeth St. “Patient has been punched three times and knocked unconscious, five minutes away.”
The victim’s 26-year-old brother was in the ambulance behind him having had his nose smashed after the two got involved with a group of men walking down Elizabeth St.
Dr Fulde goes on to explain that after 3am is what doctors call “red line” time because this is the time when licenced premises start to close down and patrons spill out on to the street. 4:30am is when the ward is bustling with hospital staff and patients.
The article goes on to discuss a number of assault cases one of which involved a 24 year old club goer who was spear tackled by bouncers at a Sydney club, leaving him unconscious and possibly brain damaged.
Another incident involved a young man who was found wandering the streets in a daze with a wound to the head.
According to the doctor young people particularly those in their twenties especially men are falling victim (and are becoming perpetrators) of alcohol fuelled assaults every weekend due to violence.