Examentrainers

A helping hand for dance floor casualties

A nightclub is using drastic measures to keep clubbers safe, says John Naish

		On a heavy night out, the toxic cocktail of drink,				the clinical experience to deal with that: not just
		drugs and dancing can be overwhelming even for the				medically, but in gaining clubbers’ confidence and
		most seasoned of nightclubbers. Many who fall ill on		35		getting them to admit they have taken something.”
		the dance floor have nowhere to turn to for fast,				Cream has certainly not been immune from
5		professional help. But a Liverpool nightclub is				trouble: early this year one young woman clubber
		pioneering a new approach by introducing the				died after taking an Ecstasy tablet. But drug
		country’s first in-house casualty support unit.				difficulties are a small part of the workload, says
				40		Storr.
						“With up to 3,000 people in the building, we get
						people turning up with every problem imaginable,
						though it usually involves alcohol. For example, in the
						autumn we dealt with near-hypothermic girls who
				45		turned up wearing hardly anything. They would not
						wear coats out of vanity and got frozen in the queue
						outside.”
						Dr Luke’s initiative is spreading. Six specially
						trained nurses from his unit now work in local clubs in
				50		their own time, paid for by the owners. It is a bold
						move for proprietors to make - implicitly admitting
		The unit, at the 3,000-capacity superclub Cream,				that drugs feature in their clubs - but, as a recent
		is the brainchild of Dr Chris Luke, accident and				survey of young clubbers revealed, 97 per cent said
10		emergency consultant at the Royal Liverpool				they had tried drugs and 90 per cent of them intended
		Hospitals Trust, who says the NHS1) should not be		55		to take some that evening. Clubs can try to keep out
		expected to deal with the thousand-plus clubbing				drugs by frisking on the door, but people simply
		casualties every year.				swallow them while queuing outside.
		While more enlightened clubs around the				Gill Nightingale of Cream says: “Drugs are a
15		country have begun to introduce first-aid staff, Cream				fundamental part of dance culture. It would be a lie for
		is the first to employ teams of specialist-trained		60		anyone in our business to claim they were drug-free -
		nurse-practitioners, paramedics and doctors who can				because no one can stop drugs coming into a club.
		provide everything from trauma counselling to				Instead we have set up systems to tackle the
		reanimation.				problem.”
20		Paramedic Phil Storr, who manages the				Luke, who has been monitoring clubbers’
		nightclub’s casualty services, says: “Cream can		65		attendance at his hospital for the past five years,
		manage any type of medical emergency in the club.				wants to see all clubs introduce highly skilled backup.
		The people who come to our medical room for help				“We see 60-70 Ecstasy cases a year, and at least
		could be in trouble because of drugs, alcohol, or				one death, but that compares with a good many
25		someone giving them a beating up in the toilets.				deaths related to alcohol. What kills people most in
		People taking drugs can turn up feeling ill and		70		clubs is drink-related violence,” he says. “Around 16
		anxious - freaking out. We acknowledge that and				million people go clubbing every year and that is a
		deal with it, rather than pretending drugs don’t				massive industry. The NHS cannot afford this. It
		happen.				shouldn’t have to look after all these lifestyle
30		At one end of the drugs spectrum it’s about				illnesses. I want to see every club in Britain having its
		counselling - at the other it’s about saving lives,		75		own casualty service.”
		though that is mercifully rare. We have people with

The Sunday Times

NHS = National Health Service