Xmas emergency rooms ‘quieter’, most callouts for Covid

It was a busy Christmas this year for authorities and emergency personnel, despite the lockdown, with the incidents reported ranging from suicides, a horse rescue, vehicle collisions and Covid-19 related incidents.

Netcare 911 spokesman Shawn Herbst said the majority of incidents reported over the Christmas period were related to Covid-19.

These involved transporting people with suspected Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 patients needing treatment at home.

“Callouts for Covid-19-related or suspected Covid-19 cases dominated over the past few days,” he said.

Herbst added that towards the evenings, the incidents reported were mostly crime- and trauma-related. “We have also responded to incidents where people had trouble breathing or cases of heatstroke in the current hot weather.”

He said other incidents reported over the past few days included vehicle collisions, stabbings and shootings.

“Out of 11 shootings reported nationally over the festive season, three were fatal.”

He said they responded to several attempted suicides.

“We can’t give a full figure of the fatalities of suicide because we stabilise the patient before the patient is taken to hospital.

“Some of them pull through while others only pass away three days after being admitted.”

Herbst also said there had been a couple of hangings (suicide), with the most recent being on Christmas day.

Pretoria-based paramedic and spokesperson for Best Care Emergency Medical Service Xander Loubser said this Christmas they recorded more medical callouts compared with previous years when vehicle accidents were the main cause of callouts.

“We have had big a spike in Covid-19-related patients and callouts.

“Although there were some motor vehicle accidents, the accidents this year have decreased, especially around the midnight hours on Christmas eve and Christmas.

“This time last year we were much busier,” Loubser said.

Loubser said they had treated a lot of patients at home because people did not want to go to hospitals because of the second Covid-19 wave and that the hospitals were full to capacity.

ER24 spokesperson Ineke van Huyssteen said it was relatively quiet on Saturday with only three incidents having been reported in Johannesburg.

“We have a mixture of vehicle collisions and a rescue of a horse stuck in its horsebox in Weltevrenden Park.”

Meanwhile, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) arrested a total of 14 motorists for driving at excessive speeds on Allandale Road in Midrand on Christmas day.

“The speeding drivers were caught driving above 121km per hour in an 80km per hour zone,” Wayne Minnaar, spokesman for JMPD, said. “The highest speed was that of a white VW Polo doing 146km per hour.”

Minnaar said all the drivers were detained at Midrand Police Station, where they were granted bail. The drivers were likely to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court next week on charges of reckless and negligent driving.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za

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