But department consultant Tim Kerruish says the statistic is just the "tip of the iceberg".
"It's a huge issue for us. We treated 186 people for alcohol intoxication - that's an awful lot of care we have to give. It soaks up a lot of our resources.
"And this is the tip of the iceberg. There are a whole heap of others who turn up with alcohol-related injuries - significantly more."
Dr Kerruish said staff in the emergency department were seeing many more "nasty assaults" at weekends which were related to alcohol consumption.
"People are getting teeth knocked out, faces broken and there have been some major head injuries.
"We've had people killed in town and around the region from alcohol-related assaults.
And then you've got the drunk driving."
Dr Kerruish was concerned that of the 186 people brought to Dunedin Hospital with alcohol intoxication in the past 12 months, 33 were younger than 18.
And the numbers were increasing.
He had also noticed an increase in the number of older people in Dunedin turning up intoxicated.
Of the 186, 50 were in the 30-plus age group.
An 86-year-old was treated for intoxication during the past year, he said.
In the past, intoxicated people going to the emergency department had their stomachs pumped.
"But we don't do that any more. These days, we just look after them," he said.
When children were brought into the emergency department intoxicated, their parents were called.
He said the parents were usually "quite displeased" with their children's actions, a reaction which was heartening for staff.
Dr Kerruish said he had no personal views about solutions to the problem, but said what had been proven to work overseas was raising the age of eligibility to buy alcohol, making it less available, and raising the price.
Queens High School principal Julie Anderson agreed.
She was one of many community leaders to attend a meeting on Wednesday aimed at reducing the harm caused by alcohol in Dunedin.
"The ease of access to alcohol for young people is a concern. It is an issue for all schools, no matter what area they are situated.
"Access is coming from older friends and parents. There seems to be a feeling in the community that that's OK. That's a worry."
Mrs Anderson had also noticed the age at which Otago pupils began drinking alcohol was decreasing and schools had had to change the targets of their alcohol education.
"Schools already do a lot of work with students around alcohol education. In the past, it was targeted at year 11 and 12 students. Now, we are tailoring classes to year 9 and 10 students.
"Parents and the community need to take more responsibility. I would personally support a raise of the drinking age and making alcohol less accessible."
A concerned parent, who declined to be named, told the Otago Daily Times many parents in the community were plying teens with alcohol, particularly at birthday parties.
"If teens' parents are hosting a birthday party, do they really feel that alcohol needs to be involved?"Teens' parents need to realise it is not acceptable to ply children that don't belong to them with alcohol.
"If they feel their teen needs alcohol or to learn about alcohol, then they can do that in a responsible manner when other teens are not present.
"I know these children do not need to go to parties to be supplied with alcohol, but the parents do need to make a stand and set an example so that they know what is right and wrong."
Drunken youths
12-16 year-olds treated at Dunedin Hospital for alcohol intoxication during the past 12 months:
Aged 12: 1, aged 13: 2, aged 14: 9, aged 15: 6, aged 16: 7.
