Hospitals a 'revolving door' for homeless alcoholics - experts

It has been revealed that eight homeless men were responsible for 75 per cent of admissions for alcoholism at Wellington Hospital last year. File photo / Bay of Plenty Times

The endless cycle of hospital, court and prison for alcoholics costs too much and is helping no one, an advocate for the homeless says.

Michelle Dianne Kidd works for Lifewise at the Auckland District Court and has been helping people through "the system" for ten years.

She said alcoholism is a sickness and it is time it is treated as one.

Ms Kidd said locking people up in prison to come off alcohol and methamphetamine is not a response that works.

Her comments come after emergency department doctor Paul Quigley told the Dominion Post that eight homeless men were responsible for 75 per cent of admissions for alcoholism at Wellington Hospital last year.

Dr Quigley said the eight had made 127 appearances at the hospital over the last 12 months with one man being admitted to intensive care three times - a cost to the hospital of at least $15,000.

He said a wet house should be set up as a place where patients can be discharged because the hospital is acting as a "revolving door" for homeless alcoholics.

"They are unlikely to be successful in treatment because they are living rough and unsupervised," Dr Quigley said.

But Ms Kidd said the idea is impractical and would not stop the cycle.

"Who is going to have that in their backyard?

Ms Kidd said she knows 12 men who she calls the 12 disciples.

"They're full of the methylated spirit, rather than the holy spirit," Ms Kidd said.

She said the men are mostly aged in their forties and fifties and grew up in Government agencies where they were abused.

Ms Kidd said these men need treatment, not prison.

"It's time New Zealanders got more imagination," She said, referring to the country's growing prison population.

She said alcoholics need to be detoxed, assessed for mental health issues and undergo programmes where they can be treated for alcoholism.

Ms Kidd said 95 per cent of problems that come before the court started with alcohol and that the breweries should be held accountable.

She said she has seen people turn their lives around.

Tacked on to the wall of her office at the District Court are postcards sent from around the world by people she has helped.

- with NZPA