Kraljevo: 100 Emergency Calls in 24 Hours, Who's at Risk
Emergency crews in Kraljevo logged more than 100 callouts in 24 hours, while Belgrade recorded 279. Doctors name four patient groups most at risk from the heat.
Who is calling emergency services most often during this heat wave? According to data released today, they are cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney and neurological patients, and the Emergency Medical Service of the Kraljevo Health Center logged 100 callouts in 24 hours.
The Kraljevo figure was released on August 5 at 2:03 p.m. and covers the day the heat wave peaked. This service covers a single city and its surroundings, so a triple digit number of callouts carries a different weight than the same number would in the capital. Dr. Nevena Kostic says day and night brought different kinds of calls.
During the day there was a markedly higher number of crew callouts, while at night the number of outpatient examinations rose. The most vulnerable are cardiovascular, respiratory, kidney and neurological patients, but high temperatures can cause problems even in people who are otherwise completely healthy
That is the basis for the advice Kraljevo doctors keep repeating: therapy is not stopped or adjusted without consulting a doctor first. They also recommend avoiding time outdoors between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., when UV radiation is strongest.
Belgrade: 279 callouts, and that is not a rise
The Belgrade City Institute for Emergency Medicine, in its report for August 4 and 5, recorded 279 callouts in 24 hours, 55 of them in public places. The day shift handled 146 callouts, 32 of them in public places, and the night shift 126, 23 of them.
It is worth comparing this with our story from July 31, when the same institute reported 282 callouts in 24 hours. Five days later the figure is 279. The load on Belgrade’s emergency service at the peak of the heat wave, then, is not higher than it was five days ago, so the daily total alone does not say much. What does say something is the breakdown by shift.
- pediatric crew: 4 callouts during the day, 3 at night
- transport crews: 33 transports during the day, 17 at night
- institute outpatient clinic: 4 patients examined during the day, 18 at night
- adult helpline: 85 calls during the day, 15 at night
- pediatric helpline: 39 calls during the day, 26 at night
Outpatient examinations were four and a half times more frequent at night than during the day. For the pediatric helpline, two out of every five calls came in during the night shift, while for adults the ratio was one in seven. Parents, in other words, seek advice far more often on nights like these.
Who is in the risk group?
The Institute of Public Health of Serbia, Batut, in recommendations updated on July 31, lists infants and young children, pregnant women, older people, chronic patients, heart patients and diabetics. That list matches what crews in Kraljevo see on the ground. Kostic adds that even people without a single diagnosis can develop problems, meaning the precautions are not only for the already ill.
Five steps you can take today
Everything below comes from Batut’s recommendations, without additions on our part. The order follows what is most often skipped.
- Two to three liters of fluid a day for an adult, roughly a glass an hour. Alcohol, coffee and sweetened drinks should be avoided.
- Keep rooms below 32 degrees during the day and around 24 at night. Air the space out at night and in the early morning; during the day keep windows closed and blinds down. Set air conditioning to 27 degrees, combined with a fan.
- Five smaller meals a day, about 500 grams of fruit and 300 grams of vegetables.
- Sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, applied half an hour before going out and reapplied every two hours.
- Move strenuous physical work and training to the coolest part of the day, between four and seven in the morning.
Heart patients should also check their blood pressure more often and keep a record of the readings, while diabetics should monitor their glucose and avoid walking barefoot, since injuries in these conditions can easily go unnoticed.
When should you call 194?
Batut lists heat stroke as a life threatening condition, and in that case the number 194 should be called immediately, without waiting to see if it passes on its own. The same applies to persistent cramps and severe exhaustion, which Batut lists as symptoms that should not delay a call for professional help.
Our advice for the rest of the week: if someone in your family belongs to a risk group, arrange one check in call a day during the hottest part of the day. Batut counts on exactly this kind of contact too, asking in its recommendations that vulnerable people stay in touch with relatives and carry a phone along with a card listing their personal details and diagnoses. One phone call is a simple step, and it takes off the shoulders of emergency crews the share of calls that could have been avoided.
