108 gears up for emergencies in Ahmedabad

While the rest are engrossed in the celebrations, the emergency medical service 108 is gearing up for a spurt in emergencies — including burns and accidents. The service is looking at a 6-32% rise in emergencies across the state this year.

A look at last year’s data has shown 7% rise in emergencies on Diwali, across the state and 32% on New Year's. Number of emergencies were 2,353 against an average 2,205, while on New Year it was 2,900. On an average the city sees 223 emergencies per day but on New Year of 2011, it was 264.

It should be noted that most of the emergencies relate to respiratory troubles, abdominal pain and losing consciousness.
Last two years’ data reveal that hike in emergencies was tremendous in Navsari (86.57%), followed by Sabarkantha (66.51%), Valsad (59.16%). Ahmedabad has on an average seen a rise of 22.94% in emergencies during Diwali days.

Explaining the scenario in districts like Navsari, a 108 official said that on average days the number of emergencies reported from these places is low when compared to districts like Ahmedabad. “But with people moving out and the fact that several rural areas fall under these districts, there is a hike in the figure. We have seen that several cases of fire are reported from rural areas during Diwali,” said the official.

The highest number of emergency cases that the service has seen over the last two years relate to assault and burn injuries. While assault cases rise from an average of 60 on normal days to 208 during Diwali days, burn cases increase from an average of 10 per day to 36.