HOSPITALS and emergency services are calling on football fans to drink responsibly.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have seen an influx in admissions to the combined Emergency and Urgent Care service of patients with injuries sustained after celebrations of England games.

The Trust saw some 569 people in Emergency and Urgent Care on Monday, June 14 – about 250 people more than usual.

Many of the injuries appeared to be alcohol related with head injuries, cuts requiring stitches, twisted ankles, damaged wrists and wounds from assaults being common.

Patients that have got too drunk after a match come into hospital to have their wounds tended to, making applying dressings and stitches more problematic for the clinical staff.

The Trust is appealing to all football fans to celebrate each match with care.

Trust medical director Deepak Dwarakanath said: “Let’s be clear, drinking until you injure yourself is not how you celebrate a victory for the national team."

“Our emergency team need to be on hand for people who fall seriously ill or are injured after an accident. Frankly, no one trains to become a nurse or doctor to stitch people up with easily preventable injuries caused by drinking too much.

“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, and we know the vast majority of people enjoyed the match without incident, but there is nothing patriotic about diverting our colleagues’ attention from their patients or wasting NHS resources."

North East Ambulance Service joined the call to celebrate carefully, with a spokesperson adding: “We are experiencing high volumes of calls to 999. Please do your bit when enjoying the good weather and football and take care to avoid unnecessary accident or injury that might divert our resources away from someone in a life threatening emergency.”