Festive season sees spike in medical emergencies
As we enter the 2024 festive season, medical professionals are reporting a spike in common emergencies across the country's hospitals.
Newswatch spoke to Charl van Loggerenberg, the General Manager of Emergency Medicine at Life Healthcare.
"Fractures from careless activities or accidents - motor vehicle and pedestrian-related incidents, either minor or major trauma. We think of the poisons and toxins from mild food poisoning to exposure to the environment,” he said.
"We will see the gastroenteritis, food-borne illnesses. Maybe less so winter emergencies like burns, but still present in uncontrolled cooking and kitchen environments and medical conditions that get exacerbated like asthma."
He said South Africa's emergency rooms experience one of their busiest times during the December and January period.
"Certainly, we see a relaxation of people’s awareness of risk-taking behaviour which they would otherwise maybe they would thought, 'Hang on a second, that doesn't sound like a good idea', and also people get together so, there is more transport, more people driving and more people engaged in social activities where the risks generally go up."
He shared some advice on how we can prepare for possible emergencies.
"It is about taking a sensible view at what is the activity that is coming up, and it is about thinking what are the logical possibilities and what can we good. If you have underlying medical conditions, keep them treated.
"Make sure you take your car for service, you have seen your general practitioner for your checkups. Make sure that you have medications available, and then it is about awareness and what to do."
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