BINGE drinking costs the NHS a staggering £1.7 billion each year.

With such a costly sum putting pressure on the organisation's reported £250 million short fall, taxpayers might expect accurate statistics to be compiled to monitor the situation.

But surprisingly, hospitals find it difficult to record the number of alcohol-related admissions.

In York, moves are under way to tighten up how cases of alcohol abuse are recorded, especially those resulting in injury.

Jim Easton, chief executive of York Hospital, said it was often difficult to tell the extent alcohol has played in someone coming to hospital.

"Without a doubt the problem of people drinking to excess creates significant pressure for us," he said.

"It puts pressure on people in the A&E department and we sometimes have the problem of disruptive behaviour in A&E and sometimes in the hospital in general.

"We do have incidences of people who drink lots then use threatening behaviour towards staff to make other patients concerned, occasionally causing physical damage in hospital.

"It's a problem on a Friday and Saturday and some other nights now. It's a problem for us and a problem for the community. We are able to do some analysis, but it can be very difficult.

"A common problem for us is a young person coming in woozy and they've fallen and have a smell of alcohol on their breath.

"It's very difficult for us to know whether they're woozy because they're drunk or because they're a bit unconscious after the fall."

Drunken patients can also put staff in danger. Last year, the Evening Press reported how nurse Jackie Jeffrey was attacked by a drunken alcoholic at Monkgate walk-in centre.

Mrs Jeffrey, of Slingsby, underwent 20 operations to repair her teeth and later quit her job after suffering panic attacks.

Mr Easton said that increasingly, security was being strengthened around the hospital.

"That, unfortunately, is a growing problem," he said.

"It's a fine line between people enjoying alcohol sensibly and it becoming a significant problem - and we tend to see the latter part."

Mark Gibson, consultant in emergency medicine at York Hospital's A&E department, said security guards were often called to stand with drunken patients while they were treated.

Once or twice a week, the police are also called to assist.

"Patients coming in after drinking too much is more common at a weekend at night and also during the following day, so on Sundays we have a lot of people who have been intoxicated the night before and cut themselves and don't remember even doing it," he said.

"When they're here at night they can become aggressive and sometimes people come in with somebody who is injured and the rest of party can be drunk in the waiting room and start fighting.

"People are often sick and sometimes they soil themselves. It makes for a lot of work overall."

Earlier this month, the Evening Press revealed how 48,000 men and women in York drink more than their daily recommended limits, while 24,000 people admitted to regular binge drinking.

Britain's teenagers are now among the heaviest drinkers in Europe, with the number of UK children admitted to hospital because of drinking alcohol had risen by 11 per cent since the mid-1990s, while the number of adult admissions rose by 15 per cent.

In 2003, the Government claimed that binge drinking culture was costing the country £20 billion a year, with 17 million working days lost to hangovers and drink-related illness each year.

In addition, alcohol-related problems are responsible for 22,000 premature deaths each year.

Around 40 per cent of A&E admissions are alcohol-related. Between midnight and 5am that figure rises to 70 per cent.

Alcohol-related accidents and illnesses land around 150,000 people in hospital each year.

Updated: 11:18 Thursday, September 29, 2005