Building workers falling from height at construction sites are increasingly becoming a cause of serious concern for the Hamad General Hospital’s Emergency Department, Gulf Times has learnt.
“The fall could be due to lethargy, blacking-out or heat exhaustion,” observed Emergency Department senior consultant and lead clinician Dr Khalid Abdulnoor while pointing out that many labourers fall suddenly due to dizziness.The doctor added that in case of such an accident, people around the victim should not panic but immediately call for help on their mobile phone.
“People should exercise caution not to injure themselves while helping someone in distress. They should follow instructions given to them by the emergency medical services officials before the arrival of the ambulance and should not to move the patients to prevent further injury,” he cautioned.
Though he did not quote any figures, Dr Abdulnoor said the increasing number of cases were due to the rise in the number of construction sites around the country.
“The most important thing is for labourers to be more careful, follow work safety instructions and guidelines. They should wear protective clothing to shield themselves from the heat, should rest in-between work and their companies should provide some cool environment for them to rest, especially during the summer months when cases of heat-related cases may be rampant,” he advised.
The doctor said that those working outside should drink plenty of fluids, especially water to prevent dehydration.
“Dehydration might cause serious conditions like dizziness or lethargy - especially for those working on highrise buildings - and headaches, which could lead to loss of control and subsequently fall,” he explained.
Dr Abdulnoor said his department presently received up to 1,500 cases daily, excluding children and patients who are making use of urgent care centres.
“We are receiving a wide range of cases, including medical trauma. Road traffic accidents have always remained on top of the list,” he said.
“If you mention the figure of 1,500 cases to someone in the US or the UK, they will not believe you because it is something beyond any emergency department.
“The highest that could be seen in the UK is about 400 cases per day and similarly in the US, they record about 300 cases per day and their case mix include every emergency case; adult, paediatric, trauma, gynaecology and so on,” he said.
He reiterated that more than 50% of cases coming to emergency were not urgent cases.
“There are many sick ones who really need our time and resources, this high number of less serious cases really affects our time, we will suggest that they make use of PHCs and urgent care centres,” he said.
http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=294764&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
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