A PRIVATE ambulance will be on dedicated standby to provide emergency care for drunk students during their first week in York.

The University of York and York University Students Union are launching a new Alcohol Recovery Centre (ARC) for Freshers’ Week, which begins on September 21.

Private paramedic company YorMed will provide an emergency ambulance throughout the first week of the new term.

The ambulance will deal exclusively with calls relating to students who are heavily intoxicated. The project has been launched as safety in the city, particularly of young people around the city’s rivers, is high on local agendas.

A spokesman for YUSU said: “Upon finding such a student, ‘persons in authority’ such as police officers, doorstaff, NHS staff and NightSafe volunteers will be able to call the ARC and arrange for the student to be collected.

“After being carefully examined by paramedics, the student can be transferred to the ARC to ‘sleep off’ the effects of drink under the supervision of registered healthcare professionals such as nurses.

“Should a patient be found injured, they can still be transferred to the A&E department as usual.”