Commenting on figures from the NHS Information Centre showing that 181,568 attendances in A&E last year were due to assault – equivalent to almost 500 each day – Heather Kidd said:
“We know that alcohol is a key factor fuelling violent crime and these figures show that Britain’s hospitals have to bear the brunt of it. “For too long hospital staff have had to cope with the impact of binge drinking while Labour has paid little more than lip service to the issue. We urgently need to stop alcohol being sold at pocket money prices and properly enforce existing laws if we’re to have any chance of reducing the number of violent assaults that A&E departments have to deal with.”