Sheffield hospital chiefs send message to drinkers after pubs reopened

There were fears ahead of ‘Super Saturday’ that widespread disorder could break out as punters returned to pubs for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.

But Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, which runs the Northern General and Royal Hallamshire, said it was pleasantly surprised by how the majority of those venturing out in the city had behaved themselves and avoided extra strain on the health service.

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Dr David Hughes, medical director at the trust, said: “We would like to thank all those people across the city who enjoyed themselves but were sensible over the weekend as the pubs opened again.

“We did not see any particular increase in alcohol related attendances at A&E which was fantastic and we would urge people to continue to follow the guidance of washing hands, keeping their distance from others and if they do think they have COVID-19 symptoms to get a test immediately.”

His words come despite one Sheffield nurse speaking about a ‘busy’ shift in the emergency department on Saturday night https://www.thestar.co.uk/health/back-usual-nurse-describes-busy-shift-after-sheffield-drinkers-return-pubs-2905874, with many people ending up needing treatment after having too much to drink.

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South Yorkshire Police had already praised pubs and the drinkers who frequented them for behaving ‘responsibly’ and observing social distancing rules, with the force revealing the number of calls it received was surprisingly slightly down from the previous weekend.