Patras carnival: First aid to 600 people in the hospital in three days - Drunkenness, minor injuries, drugs, panic attacks

During the three days of the carnival, according to the newspaper "Peloponnisos" (pelop.gr), about 600 people - not all related to the carnival - were taken to hospitals. Only on Sunday night, that is, at the height of the carnival, more than 300 people were recorded, of which four remained for treatment in the hospital.

As the same site states, the majority involved incidents of intoxication, followed by minor injuries, respiratory incidents, substance use and panic attacks.

Hospitals, ambulance service EKAV, North and South Sector Health Centers and the Patras Department of the Red Cross managed, within the framework of the cooperation they had developed under the coordination of the commander of the 6th Health Region Giannis Karvelis, to effectively cover all the incidents that arose and only four required hospitalization .

"The results show that the mechanism we developed worked effectively. Tomorrow we will have a meeting of all the agencies we cooperated with in order to make an assessment of our work and the operation of the plan. The aim is to point out any negative points, although everything points to the fact that this plan should be a guide for the coverage of corresponding events", the commander of the 6th Health Region, Yannis Karvelis, told "Peloponnisos".

During the three days, according to pelop.gr, the following were recorded:

⦁ At the hospitals "Agios Andreas" and the University General Hospital of Patras, a total of over 400 cases passed through the Emergency Departments, which were not only from the carnival. Incidents of minor injuries, drug use, etc. were transferred from the carnival.
⦁ In particular, on Sunday night, 15 cases were transferred to the surgical intensive care unit of "Agios Andreas" and the same number, on the same day, to the surgical intensive care unit of the PGNP.
⦁ EKAV was able to transfer cases to both Health Centers (Agios Alexios and Zarouhleikon), and thus the hospitals were not particularly pressured.
⦁ The role played by the Emergency Department that was set up in the upper part of Georgiou Square by the EES was decisive. Mr. Karvelis additionally equipped this Department with defibrillators, materials for suturing wounds and other necessary equipment from the hospitals, as well as doctors, so that incidents can be dealt with on the spot.
⦁ Hospital admissions were very limited, as they did not exceed four.

"To the above data we should add that the neighboring hospitals of Pyrgos, Agrinio and Messolonghi also worked very well. We had agreed to avoid transfers on three days, so that the hospitals of Patras would not have an extra burden, but also that the EKAV would have its units available for Patras," explains Mr. Karvelis.

As he said, "the main thing is that the specific planning we did succeeded in avoiding the suffering of the people. Anyone who needed help got it immediately. All fronts worked smoothly, so we avoided grumbling. At this point we owe public thanks the local branch of the Greek Red Cross and its volunteers, who worked well organized."

Panic on Monday mornings

With 200 volunteers who over the last two months attended seminars and were trained specifically for the sanitary coverage of the carnival, the Patras Department of the EAC participated in the three-day event.

Led by the leader of the Samaritan Volunteer Corps Dimitris Haliotis and the administrative care of the director of the local Department, Angeliki Giannakopoulos, the 200 red rescuers worked in an organized, methodical and efficient manner.

"We essentially operated an outdoor Emergency Department with the assistance and cooperation of the 6th Health District. Also, our nurses and our doctor kept the First Aid Station open, where many cases were also served. All our volunteers worked flawlessly, and thus we covered all the incidents" said Mrs. Giannakopoulou.

As for the hardest day, that was the early hours of Monday. "The quietest day was Friday, when the incidents we covered did not exceed 50. On Saturday the incidents multiplied, as we reached 200, and on Sunday - the dawn of Holy Monday we exceeded 300. The biggest volume and the most difficult part was yesterday from 3 am onwards. The incidents were too many and massive. Fortunately, they were all covered," he emphasizes in conclusion.