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Northern KwaZulu-Natal and, more specifically, Newcastle is known for its big braais and stiff drinks. Moreso, heavy drinking has long been a staple pastime, with daily alcohol consumption a standard for countless Newcastle households.
But with a common reason like stress, given for this high consumption, it is time to take stock of what the town is dealing with behind closed doors. “Alcohol seems to be used as a coping mechanism for a lot of patient’s lives and work stress”, says Dr Bianca Cooper, Principal Clinical Manager at Mediclinic Newcastle.
The Head of Services at SANCA, Nokuthula Mabika, says that the problem with this outlook is that people often go from social drinking to using alcohol as a coping mechanism when they feel stressed. “While no harm is intended when doing this, people slowly find themselves turning more and more to alcohol when trying to cope with the stress in their life.”
In many cases, alcohol misuse leads to chaos at a community level, with people from all wealth groups not escaping this ignored and dismissed problem. Mabika says that while few poorer families struggle with alcohol abuse, this issue often plagues Newcastle’s wealthier families, especially as these individuals can afford their habit.
In addition, Dr Cooper says, “Newcastle appears to have a significant problem with alcohol misuse and abuse; this is even compared to my experiences working in several other private emergency centres in Gauteng.”
Mabika, concurs with Dr Cooper. “Alcohol abuse is really affecting Newcastle, with SANCA seeing between 25 to 30 families in the past three months alone.”
Furthermore, Mabika states that the “Courts have sent parents to us, as their children were temporarily removed from their custody.”
Additionally, Dr Cooper further says that the ER sees an array of intoxicated patients come through their doors. “Very often, trauma patients arrive with clinical signs of alcohol intoxication, admit to recent alcohol use, or are escorted by friends/family members who are intoxicated. The trauma ranges from minor injury (e.g. sprained ankle from dancing too hard at a party) to severe polytrauma from motor vehicle accidents or assault.”
Due to this heightened drinking culture, many newcastillians get behind the wheel or lose themselves in the moment, resulting in innocent people paying the price.
“We also see the victims of trauma perpetrated by intoxicated persons – the innocent parties in motor vehicle accidents, domestic abuse survivors, assaults at bars etc. Intoxicated persons are often a risk to the staff in the emergency centre as well, occasionally threatening or even perpetrating violence against the staff who are only trying to help them,” says the doctor.
On top of this, Dr Cooper declares that she has also noted that many of the medical facility’s suicide attempt patients have recent alcohol use reported. “More acutely, alcohol contributes to many severe traumatic presentations as a result of drunk driving, physical violence, suicidal behaviour and domestic abuse.”
Joining the conversation, Newcastle Crisis Centre‘s Gugulethu Makhubu states that alcohol also plays a major role in Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) and Domestic Violence. She says that approximately 80% of the women who walk through the Crisis Centre’s doors are victims of GBV and domestic violence fuelled by alcohol. “It is actually rare to find GBV where alcohol was not involved,” she stresses.
While the bulk of Newcastle families coming to SANCA are parents and caregivers, Mabika highlights that several local families visit the association to seek help for their children who are alcoholics. These children, she says, are often as young as 15.
Moreover, one of the more prominent issues surrounding alcohol abuse, Mabika states, is how people view alcohol usage. “Not only is alcohol legal, but it is an accepted substance which is used to socialise in our community. If you discuss the dangers around it, people look at you as though you’ve lost your mind.”
Not helping the problem, there is a notable lack of rehabilitation facilities in the area, and services like Uber are not available in Newcastle. According to Dr Cooper, this all compounds the issue, as people are left to their own devices.
Makhubu explains that 20 of the 30 women who came to the Newcastle Crisis Centre over the past three months were victims of alcohol-induced abuse.
She further notes that the guilty parties are often unemployed men or guys facing financial difficulties who seek solace in alcohol. Their depression, stress, and inability to care for their families often result in a wave of brewing anger triggered by the alcohol.
However, Makhubu notes that men are not the only offenders. “Women are able to hide it better and only when it comes to counselling and a thorough investigation do you find that the mother has a drinking problem and either abused or neglected her child or children.”
When chatting to the police the same reality is confirmed. Newcastle SAPS affirmed that they have noted a substantial issue with drinking in the community.
In the crime stats released in February 2022, Police Minister Bheki Cele noted that violence is often fuelled by alcohol abuse. This is a scary thought, especially when considering that Madadeni placed eight among the top 30 police stations where assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was an issue.
On top of this, both Newcastle and Madadeni found themselves among the top 30 stations for driving under the influence. Newcastle placed 14th on this list, with 96 people taken into custody for the crime. Madadeni placed 21 on the said list, with 86 motorists arrested.
The most substantial evidence medical professionals hold supporting all of this is the fact that alcohol-related cases dropped significantly during hard lockdown when alcohol was restricted. Yet, once alcohol was again available, cases immediately resurged. “This was a pattern we saw in all of ER Consulting Inc’s emergency centres across the country,” says Dr Cooper.
To try and deny or simply shrug this off is insanity. The town is struggling at all levels. Business owners and staff alike are clearly turning to alcohol for relief. This, as stated above, is resulting in a perpetual calamity and can and will only get better once you and I do something about it.
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King.
With all this in mind, concluding, Dr Cooper points out that many medical aids now offer helplines and remote assistance, so patients can get help without consulting locally if they do not feel comfortable disclosing their concerns to a local doctor.
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Sadly alcohol causes so much heartache and the whole family suffers