Renfrewshire's youth drugs and drink shame uncovered by Express

Jan 6 2012 by Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express

ALMOST 800 children have been rushed to A&E with booze and drug problems over the past five years.

And, worryingly, of the 768 accident and emergency patients taken to Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital, 124 were under the tender age of 14.

Details of how tight a grip alcohol and drugs have on our young people were obtained by the Paisley Daily Express through the Freedom of Information Act.

Statistics supplied to us by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde paint a worrying picture of how young children are dabbling with drugs as well as alcohol, which they are not even old enough to buy legally.

From December 1, 2006, to November 30 last year, 445 children aged 17 and younger were taken to the RAH specifically for a booze-related illness or injury.

Of these, 351 were aged between 14 and 17 and 94 were under 14.

These 445 patients came from areas including Paisley, Renfrew, Johnstone, Barrhead and Neilston.

The majority, 196, were from Paisley and Renfrew with 133 coming from other towns and villages that have postcode areas within Renfrewshire and 101 living in the G postcode area, which takes in Barrhead and Neilston, in East Renfrewshire.

A total of 323 young people were taken to casualty over the five years because they had been involved in taking drugs.

The drug patients included 293 aged between 14 and 17 as well as 30 who were younger than 14.

Most of the kids suffering the after effects of drugs came from Paisley and Renfrew - 147 of them. There were also 107 from other parts of Renfrewshire and 56 from the G postcode area.

The patient data is based on a diagnosis where drugs or alcohol have specifically been mentioned as the reason a child was brought to the RAH. It includes patients who have self-harmed or taken an overdose.