Doctor despairs of 'smashed' youths

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Record numbers of "messy" youths are expected to arrive at Wellington Hospital's emergency department this year, victims of our binge-drinking culture.

So far this year 76 people under 20 have been admitted to the hospital at weekends - 60 per cent of them girls - compared with only 106 admissions in all of last year.

Emergency medicine specialist Paul Quigley says the girls tend to be brought in by ambulance, "smashed", vomiting and incontinent. About half the girls need to be referred on to a sexual assault clinic.

"They are usually unconscious and literally it's to the stage where a good samaritan has brought them in. There's a lot of sexual assault cases we don't even see because they go straight to the clinic."

Their injuries range from sprains and bruises from falls or concussions, or facial fractures from alcohol-related violence.

Dr Quigley says binge- drinking is to blame but it is an "Australasian problem" that has come with more equality between the sexes.

Women are matching men drink-for-drink - but tend to consume higher-alcohol drinks such as wine and spirits, he says. "It's daft when they're smaller. Even in a business group going out, it's the women who are falling over and appearing messy ..."