I remember the same thing happening to me in France - an homeless man, inebriated, but not conscious, that can not be awakened, and with an open wound, in the s

I remember the same thing happening to me in France - an homeless man, inebriated, but not conscious, that can not be awakened, and with an open wound, in the stairways of a subway station. Just like you, the ambulance personnel was angry at me for calling them on what was obviously a drunk bum. I was so disgusted I left after making sure they would take care of the patient (and not just leave). I am a MD, and unlike them I would not pretend I can make an accurate diagnosis just by look and smell. Saying the loss of consciousness is due to alcohol just because of the smell is a wild guess - if you have a seizure while drinking some hard liquor, you may end up soaked in it, and smelling like a drunk. The clothing of the person can be used as a Bayesian prior, and indicated that it is likely to be alcohol intoxication, but even then, the open wound could have been sustained during the fall (and indicate other potential damages, like broken bones?) or could mean something else (aggression?). Even if we are 100% sure it's "just a drunken bum" without any other injury, acute alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency and can be fatal. When the person can not be awaked, how do you exclude that diagnosis??? Obviously some people don't want to do their job and think they are so clever they figured everything out. The place of that person was in a hospital, to at least be under visual surveillance until some basic test are run - at least blood alcohol level.