A University of Stirling study reveals the growing toll of alcohol-related emergency callouts on ambulance staff across Scotland, exposing violence, harassment, and emotional strain linked to drinking culture.
The research, carried out by Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health (ISMH) and funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office is the first of its kind to investigate the effect on ambulance drivers.
Interviews with 27 ambulance staff and four senior managers found that alcohol-related callouts account for one in six incidents attended by Scottish ambulance crews.
violence on the frontline
Many participants describe the physical assault or verbal abuse they face from intoxicated patients and bystanders, with one paramedic saying,
“The only times I’ve been physically threatened, if not assaulted, have always been drunk patients. I’ve been punched, I’ve been kicked, I’ve been bitten.”
The study also highlights the knock-on impact of such incidents on other patients. Time spent managing intoxicated individuals often delays responses to medical emergencies elsewhere, as ambulance crews become tied up for hours dealing with alcohol-related cases.
Harassment and emotional strain
Female ambulance staff reported a particularly high risk of sexual harassment. One female paramedic described,
“The thing is, you don’t know how they’re going to turn one minute they’re nice, the next they’re screaming or lashing out.”
The report’s lead author, Dr Isabelle Uny, said the research reveals a deep sense of duty among ambulance workers but also a growing frustration:
“Ambulance staff show extraordinary care and resilience, but too many have come to see violence and harassment as part of the job. That should never be normal.”
legislation
The team argues that stronger government regulation of late-night alcohol sales and marketing could help ease pressure on emergency services. Restricting sales after midnight and reducing alcohol promotion would, they suggest, limit the number of late-night incidents requiring ambulance intervention.
Professor Niamh Fitzgerald, Director of the ISMH and co-author of the study, warned that current trends risk worsening pressures:
“Alcohol continues to place an avoidable strain on hospitals, paramedics, and other frontline workers. The solution lies in reducing availability and marketing, not expanding them.”
The findings arrive as the UK Government considers further liberalisation of alcohol licensing laws a move researchers say could increase alcohol availability and make regulation more difficult.
What It Means for Stirling Students
For Stirling students, especially those training in healthcare or working in the city’s nightlife, the study hits close to home. Paramedic students often face the realities of alcohol-related callouts first-hand, from aggression on the street to the emotional toll on staff long before they graduate. Many describe how violence and burnout are treated as “just part of the job,” revealing how normalised the issue has become within healthcare training.
For other students, it’s a reminder that Stirling’s nightlife culture has wider consequences, stretching from the pavements outside clubs to the already strained emergency services they may one day rely on.
local issues
This research doesn’t just outline a national issue; it shows how the problem begins in student life and follows many into their future careers a reminder of why awareness and change can’t wait.
While the study looks at Scotland as a whole, its findings carry a local resonance. Stirling’s nightlife, centred around venues like Fubar and Jessica Omarley’s, sees regular ambulance activity. Students working or studying in healthcare are particularly aware of the issue.
A Stirling paramedic student told Brig:
“We get told about it early on, but everyone knows it’s bad. It’s like you just accept that abuse comes with the job and that’s not right.”
Another student working in nightlife said:
“Every weekend people pass out on the streets or shout at paramedics trying to help.”
The University of Stirling’s ISMH, a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, hopes the study will inform future alcohol policy across the UK. The research is part of a wider investigation into how minimum alcohol pricing and late-night licensing affect public health outcomes.
As conversations around alcohol consumption continue on campus and beyond, Stirling’s latest research reminds students and society of the unseen toll of a night out.
featured image credit: Ronnie Robertson via wikimedia
