But now they are also battling a rising tide of alcohol-related verbal and physical abuse, some of which is preventing them from seeing and treating patients who really do need their help.

Latest figures show booze-fuelled patients who have to be admitted after turning up drunk at our hospitals are costing the NHS up to £273,000 a year.

Up to 15 people a week are so drunk on arrival at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, that they have to sober up there overnight before being assessed.

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On a Friday or Saturday night, the emergency department becomes swamped with patients who have injured themselves as a result of drinking too much – some of whom are children as young as 11.

Many are aggressive and cause problems just by refusing to stay where they are told or insulting other patients.

And because they have to stay in hospital until their alcoholic indulgences have worn off, there is nothing staff can do but put up with it and hope for the best.

Beverley Cannon, consultant in adult and paediatric emergency medicine at Queen Alexandra Hospital, said: 'We admit a significant number of patients purely because they are under the influence of alcohol. They may have fallen over or hit their head and we can't assess them while they're drunk.

'Sadly the safe way of dealing with it is to admit them at the expense of the taxpayer, and we have to babysit them.

'We need to be sure their symptoms aren't related to something like a blow to the head.That costs about £350 per admission.

'We have seen an increase in younger people turning up under the influence of alcohol. We often see young girls who don't know what's happened to them and don't understand the seriousness of their actions.'

Alan Charters, 40, a consultant nurse in children's emergency care at Queen Alexandra Hospital, said: 'Quite often patients have spat at me while I'm trying to assess or treat them. On a weekly basis one of our nurses gets verbally assaulted.

'In some countries if you were drunk and abusive you wouldn't even be allowed in.

'It's difficult for us because you don't know whether these people are aggressive because they are drunk or due to a medical disorder. They could have a head injury and be mistaken for being drunk. The bottom line is we like to treat everyone the same. We are a caring profession.'