Prague sees drop in emergency service calls, but twice as many for scooter accidents

The number of injuries in Prague related to electric scooters doubled
in July and August compared to the same time last year. Overall the
number of incidents requiring a response from Prague’s emergency
medical services (ZZS) dropped slightly.

ZZS crews in July
and August intervened in a total of 20,392 events, while in the same
two months in previous year it was 20,840 cases, according to a ZZS
press release.

ZZS spokeswoman Jana
Poštová previously told the media that the number of reported
accidents did not give a full picture, as most scooter accidents do
not require an ambulance, so no report is recorded. Some European
cities such as Paris have seen fatalities due to electric scooters.

During the holidays,
ZZS rescuers went to just under 2,000 patients with severe
respiratory disorders,730 patients suspected of having an acute heart
attack, and 480 patients with seizures. In 84 patients, health care
workers performed resuscitation due to failure of vital signs.

In the case of
injuries, the ambulance intervened in 2,300 serious falls, in 430
traffic accidents and in almost 50 patients with severe burns or
scalding.

The number of
ambulance calls in Prague decreases during the summer in Prague, as
residents are going on vacation, but a large number of tourists come
in, so the decrease compared to the annual average is only 5% to 10%.
Although the summer sees more injuries involving children, these
happen outside the city since schoolchildren tend to go out on
vacation with their parents. There is actually a 25% to 30% drop in
calls regarding children.

The reduction in the
number of interventions does not apply to the air rescue service.
Rescuers in the summer months see almost double the calls for
intervention than in the winter months.

Although the number
of trips in Prague is decreasing during the summer holidays, the
summer months for the rescue service crews of the Prague City Hall
among the most challenging times of the year, both due to high
outdoor temperatures and increased staffing requirements as a result
of holidays.