A triple 21st birthday party spells out alcohol poisoning and
danger, a night that most hospitals dread.
Three local Hamilton boys are transforming into men all in the
same weekend, this has led to the apparently ‘genius’ idea to have
a joint party. While all invited guests are suiting up and polishing
their shoes local nurses are about to start their shift, a few of them
dreading what the end results of some of these guests may be.
Left to Right: Nathan Van Der
Berg(20) Holds Scott Van Syps(21)
Yard Glass while Scott Drinks
I interviewed recently retired Health care assistant Isabell Rossitor, 78, who worked in the
Tauranga Hospital Emergency floor for fifteen years. Isabell worked most weekend nights
and regularly came across youth with alcohol poisoning or injuries from accidents. Isabell
said “They were usually around 20 and always too drunk. The words ‘underestimated’ and
‘too much’ were said often by them and their friends.”
When asked if she thinks binge drinking has increased over the years she said yes, that back
when she was a teenager there was no such thing as binge drinking. I asked her why she
thinks it is common for youth to over-indulge in alcohol she replied with blame to parents
and a belief that there was a lack of discipline from home and the community. Isabell
believed “It has become acceptable to get too drunk whereas back when I was younger, it was
seen as making a scene and being rude. It just wasn’t classy.”
I asked several people at the party on their opinion on why binge drinking has increased. The
majority replied with the media, saying how it glorified being drunk and made it seem ‘cool’
while others blamed group environment cheering each other on. Shayne, 17, said that when a
large group of friends start getting drunk you just keep up with their pace, that sometimes you
forget that their pace may not be your own and that is how people can get too drunk.
However, the three boys were lucky, after finishing their yardy’s and still drinking no body
was requiring a trip to the emergency floor, saving the nurses from any troubles that night.