The lockout laws enacted in New South Wales in early 2014 have been commended by St Vincent's Hospital in King's Cross, which reports a significant reduction in the number of drug- and alcohol-related injuries of an extreme nature.
The hospital's Dr Mark Winder told the ABC's "AM" program that the Emergency Department would typically see a "a lot of drug and alcohol induced injuries which was associated with violence", which included a large number of head injuries and major injuries that required "urgent surgical intervention". However, since the introduction of the new laws, Mr Winder said: "Now we'd be lucky to see even one major injury within the week coming in, based on the lockout rule."
The lockout laws mean that venues within a specified segment of the Sydney CBD are subject to 1.30am lockouts and must serve last drinks at 3:00am. The regulations were triggered by the alcohol-related death of 18-year-old Daniel Christie, who was killed in Kings Cross by a punch to the head on New Year's Eve 2013. Mr Winder was involved with the young male's treatment and referred to "senseless violence" when speaking about the incident with the ABC.
The hospital is part of St Vincent's Health Australia, and the healthcare body's chief executive, Toby Hall, stated that it is "absolutely clear" that the lockout laws led to a "significant reduction in the level of severe trauma" in Sydney's CBD entertainment precinct. Mr Hall also stressed the reduction in the number of morning trauma presentations.
For the CEO, the potential for the relaxation of the laws, as pressure is received from business owners, is the main concern now. Mr Hall told the ABC:
"So we'd say to the Government let's get the evidence, let's look at it on a factual basis but certainly at the moment it would be very very naive to make any changes to what is quite clearly a successful law."
The comments from St Vincent's were published after NSW received the "most improved" credit on the National Alliance of Action on Alcohol (NAAA)'s National Alcohol Policy Scorecard for 2014.