The Western Cape recorded 621 trauma cases on Sunday – the highest number for the year – as alcohol restrictions were relaxed, writes Nicole McCain for News24. Trauma data will now be used to inform interventions to reduce violence in the province.
The 621 trauma cases on Sunday were recorded by the provincial health department's Hospital and Emergency Centre Tracking Information System (HECTIS), said the Western Cape's health department head, Keith Cloete.
"The recent shift to Level 1, with the lifting of all alcohol restrictions, has resulted in the highest single day of trauma cases of the entire year," Cloete said, News24 reported on 9 October 2021.
The relaxed restrictions coincided with the end of the month – a weekend that traditionally sees a high number of trauma cases.
HECTIS monitors 17 emergency centres across the Western Cape and has shown a pattern of trauma cases increasing over the last weekend of the month, as well as when alcohol is available.
The data generated will now be used to roll out interventions to reduce violence in the province, said Cloete.
“We are monitoring the impact of alcohol and trauma in all emergency centres. In the province, the premier and provincial cabinet have adopted a very progressive recovery strategy, one area of which looks at safety.
This strategy includes a comprehensive set of interventions to mitigate interpersonal violence – one of which deals with alcohol availability, Cloete continued, News24 reported.
The interventions will target the 16 areas with the highest prevalence of murder and trauma cases, informed by the data generated by the health department.
Link to the full News24 story below.
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