The news no parent should have to hear after their child has been to a festival
27.11.2023 - 07:38
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A national database of drug-related medical incidents at UK music festivals could help reduce the number of fatalities, a new study has said. Between 2017 and 2023 there were 32 drug-related deaths at UK music festivals, including Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Creamfields and the Isle of Wight Festival, academics have estimated.
But only 18 have been confirmed, they said. They include 16-year-old David Celino, 16, from Salford, who died after taking ecstasy at Leeds Festival in August 2022.
The teenager, from Worsley, Greater Manchester, became ill after taking the drug, which his group bought from a dealer in the Camping Plus area of the festival, and died after being taken to hospital in Leeds, an inquest earlier this year was told.
In a subsequent prevention of future deaths report, coroner Kevin McLoughlin raised concerns that there was no national oversight of drug-related casualties at music festivals, which he said makes it difficult to understand the extent of the issue.
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The study, published in the journal Drug Science, Politics and Law, echoed that call, saying there is there is no standard process for reporting or accessing data on medical incidents at music festivals.
Researchers collated the information by cross-referencing media and social media content with a national database contributed to by coroners and also spoke to bereaved families.
The team has called for a publicly accessible national database – updated in real time – of drug-related medical incidents at UK music festivals.
Prof