Western Cape EMS cautions motorists to be extra vigilant after busy weekend

The festive season’s first long weekend was extraordinarily busy for Western Cape emergency workers, with ambulance staff responding to more than 6,000 cases in just four days.

This week, emergency medical services (EMS) pleaded with motorists to be considerate of other road users after an unusually busy weekend that saw a spike in road accidents and other life-threatening emergencies. At least 47 incidents involved pedestrians.

Of 6,162 emergency cases recorded in the province at the weekend, about 31% were life-threatening.

The main incidents between Friday (Day of Reconciliation) and Monday included weapon assaults (1,068), chest pain/discomfort (931), respiratory complaints (535) and physical assaults (494).

About 367 incidents were obstetrics complaints, 281 were neurological, 247 abdominal, 237 were domestic injuries, 216 involved vomiting and diarrhoea, and 206 were musculoskeletal.

“Being considerate is an essential part of sharing the road and ensuring the safety of all road users, but unfortunately, over this long weekend, too many road users did not demonstrate this courtesy,” EMS said.

It called on motorists to travel slowly when approaching pedestrians and for the latter to wear visible clothing. “The fewer incidents on our roads, the more quickly our response agencies can attend to other emergencies.”

EMS paramedics responded to 187 road traffic-related incidents — 92 in the Cape metro, 35 in the Cape winelands, 27 on the Garden Route, 16 in the Overberg, 12 on the West Coast and five in the Central Karoo.

From midnight on Thursday to 8.30am on Monday, 3,661 trauma patients presented at 43 emergency centres linked to the provincial health department’s hospital emergency centre triage and information system (HECTIS). Not all emergencies are linked to this.

Most trauma cases were within the Cape metro at facilities such as the Delft community health centre (CHC) (220), Kraaifontein CHC (195), Khayelitsha Hospital (194), Tygerberg Hospital (184), Mitchells Plain Hospital (168), Gugulethu CHC (167) and Paarl Hospital (167).      

In addition to these, EMS treated 6,712 patients for non-trauma-related healthcare. 

Over holiday periods they typically attend to many motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents, as well as trauma cases due to interpersonal violence and chronic conditions which deteriorate, said EMS

“Our colleagues in the mobility department have done several road-safety awareness campaigns for the festive season and will also have significant law-enforcement officers on important routes to ensure road users obey the rules.”

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.