Alcohol advice for attack victims

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Hospital patients who have been injured in violent attacks are to be given alcohol and aggression advice along with their medical treatment.

Stabbing victims are among those who will get counselling as part of a pilot in Glasgow and Lanarkshire aimed at preventing future incidents.

Half of all facial injuries seen by doctors are associated with alcohol and almost a quarter with violence.

Three hundred patients will take part in the 12-month trial.

Nurses based at the city's dental hospital are being trained to give out advice at Glasgow Southern General and Monklands Hospital.

My colleagues and I treat some horrific facial injuries David KoppelConsultant surgeon

Project co-ordinator Dr Christine Goodall is a lecturer at the University of Glasgow Dental School.

She said the pilot had the potential to prevent a "significant number of injuries and to reduce both the human cost of injury and the actual costs to the health service".

Consultant surgeon David Koppel, of the Southern General, said hospitals in Glasgow treat a serious facial injury every six hours.

He said: "Most of the injuries result from inter-personal violence and there is a high incidence of victims returning with similar injuries.

"My colleagues and I treat some horrific facial injuries, from bruising and swelling to fractures, right up the scale to nerve damage and permanent scarring."

The initiative has been funded by Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit.