Torrid time for ambos

By Lia Bichel
SCORCHING temperatures kept Ambulance Victoria flat out last week as paramedics responded to 23 heat-related cases in the City of Greater Dandenong.
And across the state ambulance crews were called to 360 heat-related cases in just two days.
One of the cases occurred last Wednesday (28 January) when paramedics were called to help a 72-year-old man in Dandenong North. Neighbours found him on his porch, shaking and semi-conscious. They were not sure how long he had been outside. The man, who had an extremely high temperature, was given oxygen and a drip for hydration and was transported to the Dandenong Hospital.
Operations manager Paul Holman said it was important that older, sick and frail people needed help coping with the heat and should have proper care.
“People most at risk are people over 65 years – particularly those living alone without airconditioning – infants, pregnant women and nursing mothers, people who are unwell, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure and people on medications for mental illness,” he said. “This is a very extreme situation and people need to realise the consequences can be very serious,” Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella said.
“We need the community to play their part; we need them to continue to respect the heat and not exert themselves.”