Health
In relation to the hospitalisation of minors (ie those younger than 18) as the result of underage drinking:
(1) (a) How many hospitalisations have taken place monthly in each health district in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 to date and (b) what other substance abuses, apart from alcohol, also contribute to the hospitalisation of children younger than 18;
(2) whether her Department has any campaigns or programmes that target such cases of substance abuse; if so, what are the relevant details?
1.We do not routinely test patients for drugs and alcohol levels, and so our routine data on this would be a significant under-count. Therefore, to understand the impact of alcohol on our service, we undertake periodic studies. I will draw on two prominent studies for this response.
A prospective study of all trauma admissions at Groote Schuur hospital in 2011 found that alcohol was implicated in at least 30.1% of trauma admissions. This research looked at 9 236 patients [Nicol et al., 2014]. We can therefore draw the conclusion that a significant percentage of trauma admissions are linked to alcohol.
The Western Cape Department of Health conducted a review of injury mortality from 2010-2016 using data from Forensic Pathology Services. For the study period, 80% of all homicide victims were tested for alcohol. Of the available results, 50 % tested positive for alcohol (had an alcohol concentration above 0g/100mls) and 45% had alcohol concentrations equal to or above 0.05g/100ml (the South African legal driving limit.) From 1 January 2022 to 9 August 2022, we have had 2 569 homicide deaths in the Western Cape.
2. Addressing issues which fuel trauma incidents requires a whole-of-society, whole-of-government approach. The Western Cape Government’s recently launched Safety Dashboard is one initiative that will support this approach; by providing real-time data to provincial safety stakeholders including the SAPS, the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety and the City of Cape Town and ensuring data-led and evidence-based law enforcement deployments to guide violence prevention interventions.
This Safety Dashboard, using data from 34 health facilities, will further support the establishment of the Provincial Government’s Violence Prevention Unit [VPU] and allow for the identification of patterns of admissions into these ECs. The VPU will primarily be responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight of a Comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy and will work in partnership with key stakeholders, including Government Departments, Civil Society, Businesses and Research Units/ HEIs.
“Health is Everybody’s Business”, thus each organization, government department and every individual have a part to play in lessening the burden on the health system by addressing the upstream factors. The whole of society needs to take co-ownership. This is in line with the provincial focus on safety and economic growth.
