'Alcohol clinic' for teenagers to be opened in Antwerp hospital

'Alcohol clinic' for teenagers to be opened in Antwerp hospital
Every day, about six youths between 12 and 17 years old ended up in the hospital as a result of alcohol abuse. Credit: Needpix

Drunk teenagers who end up in emergency care will soon also receive intensive guidance, both mentally and physically, in the University hospital of Antwerp.

The UZ Antwerp is preparing a pilot project to provide drunken teenagers who have ended up in the urgent care with extra guidance, if necessary, reports Het Nieuwsblad.

In the Netherlands, one admission to the hospital emergency care is enough for a conversation with a psychologist.

The Dutch paediatrician Nico van der Lely wants to start the alcohol programme for teenagers in early 2020, collaborating with the doctors there. The hospital has been working on a plan like this for years, "and now, it is on a fast track," they said, reports Knack.

Drunk youths in the UZ Antwerp get a physical treatment, but in the Netherlands, their mental state is also analysed.

Every day, about six youths between 12 and 17 years old ended up in the hospital as a result of alcohol abuse in 2018, which is three times more than in the Netherlands, according to new figures by the InterMutualistisch Agenschap (IMA-AIM).

"Immediately, during the first hour they wake up in their hospital bed, we sit with them, behind a computer, pointing out the risks of alcohol, such as brain damage, or just being unlucky enough to fall in a bad way. We also involve their parents," said Van der Lely.

The Netherlands already has so-called 'alcohol clinics' in several cities across the country.

Maïthé Chini

The Brussels Times


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