About 600 incidents the sanitary apparatus of Patras was called to manage the three days of the Carnival. On Sunday night alone, more than 300 were recorded, of which four remained hospitalized.

The majority involved incidents of drunkenness, followed by minor injuries, respiratory injuries, substance use and panic attacks.

Hospitals, EKAV, Health Centers of the Northern and Southern Sectors and the Patras Department of the EES 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 require 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 project and the operation of the project. 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 us.

THE DATA

During the three days the following were recorded:

⦁ In the two hospitals, “Agios Andreas” and the University Hospital of Patras, a total of over 400 cases passed through the Emergency Departments (EDs), which were not only from the carnival. Incidents of minor injuries, substance 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 Zarouchleikon), so 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, Pyrgos, Agrinio and Messolongio, also worked very well. We had agreed to avoid transfers on three days so that the hospitals of Patras would not have an extra load and the EKAB would have its units available for Patras” explains Mr. Karvelis and concludes: “The main thing is that the specific planning that we have 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 to the EES, the local branch 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 treated. All our volunteers worked flawlessly, so we covered all the incidents,” Ms. Giannakopoulou told us.

As for the hardest day, that was the early hours of Monday. “The quietest day was Friday and the incidents we covered did not exceed 50. On Saturday the incidents multiplied as we reached 200 and on Sunday morning of Clean Monday we exceeded 300. The highest volume and the most difficult part was yesterday from 3 in the morning and after. The incidents were too many and massive. Fortunately, they were all covered.”