The St. John Ambulance (SJA) Service has reported an increase in violence and trauma related emergencies between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. According to SJA, the ambulance teams were able to effectively respond to over 50 emergency incidents from Sunday evening to this morning, Monday 01st January 2024.
According to the report, violence and trauma-related emergencies, constituted 24 out of the 52 emergencies on New Year’s night. A breakdown of these violence and trauma-related emergencies revealed that 16 incidents occurred in the National Capital District (NCD), 3 in Central province, and 4 in the Momase Region.
This doubling of incidents during the night compared to the day raises alarms about the heightened risks associated with major events and public gatherings, often exacerbated by alcohol consumption. Such emergencies often require multiple ambulances, highlighting the strain on resources that could be alleviated through prevention.
SJA was able to meet the demand of the festive season by having additional emergency ambulance crews rostered, which included volunteers. Meanwhile, other emergencies cases during the period varied widely covering incidents such as snakebites, respiratory problems, obstetrics/maternal complications, childbirth and more.