Drunk kids under ten treated in Scots hospitals

Thousands of youngsters were hospitalised because of drink

Nearly 5,000 young people aged between ten and 18 years old, received medical help following alcohol-related incidents.

A total of 225 children aged under ten were also given care for alcohol-related conditions during the same period.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran was the worst affected health area, with 86 under-tens treated between 2011 and 2013, followed by NHS Tayside with 61 cases and NHS Forth Valley, which had 33.

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The numbers soared in the age group ten to 18, with a total of 4,884 young people treated for an alcohol-related condition over the same period.

The NHS Ayrshire and Arran area again had the highest incidence, with 1,483 cases recorded, followed by NHS Tayside with 1,385 and NHS Forth Valley which had 612 cases.

However, there was a fall in the number of year-on-year incidents among ten to 18 year-olds, with the number falling from 1,743 in 2011 to 1,672 in 2012 and 1,469 last year.

The number of under-tens treated for alcohol-related conditions increased from 39 in 2011 to 108 in 2012 and then dropped to 78 in 2013.

The figures were obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats through freedom of information legislation.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume said: “These figures show that young people will pay the price for Scotland’s failure to tackle problem drinking.

“People will be shocked to learn that more 200 children under ten years of age were treated for alcohol-related injury or illness.

“These children should be out kicking a ball about, not hitting the bottle.”