Emergency Departments are over dealing with alcohol related patients, and a new study shows just how bad the problem is.

Research by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine has found some startling figures on the numbers of intoxicated people that end up in Emergency Departments.

More than half a million alcohol related cases go through EDs in New Zealand and Australia every year.

A study of nearly 10,000 patients has found at peak times one in eight patients at any given ED in Australia and New Zealand is there for alcohol-related emergencies.

Hawke's Bay Hospital Emergency Consultant, Dr Scott Boyes, reported alcohol-affected patients are also more likely to arrive by ambulance or with police.

"[There are] sad stories where things just go wrong. We know when you have too much to drink you make bad choices and it doesn't mean you're a bad person, but what we need to change what is sensible, responsible drinking patterns because it has massive implications for patients, families and the wider community."

He said these patients are often difficult, and disrupt the whole emergency department.

"Over 98 percent of them have been verbally abused in the last 12 months, 93 percent of them had physical threats."