Code White Alert raised in all hospitals this holiday
While others are busy preparing for the holiday break, workers in the health sector would be having extended work.
Department of Health (DOH) has raised a Code White Alert in all DOH hospitals for today, Dec. 24, and tomorrow (Christmas Day) to ensure prompt emergency services to injured patients during the Holiday Season.
It will also be Code White Alert on Dec. 31 and January 1, said Dr. Erwin G. Solas, regional coordinator of "Fourmula Kontra Paputok" here in Western Visayas.
Said dates are considered critical period as people engage in revelry to celebrate Christmas and the coming of the New Year with the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnics.
Victims would be reported through a Nationwide-Registry Injuries.
Dr. Solas said that DOH 6 record shows that mostly children 10 years old and below comprises the bigger fraction of victims of fireworks and firecrackers. This is followed by youth and adolescents, 11-20 years old.
During the said briefing, the DOH 6 OIC Regional Director Ariel I. Valencia said that in 2007, Western Visayas was ranked third among the top three regions in the country with the highest cases of firecrackers related injuries, the National Capital Region being the highest followed by Region 1, and Western Visayas- third.
"Majority of these cases are males and what is worse is that about 35% of those injured belong to children 10 years old and below.
As to gender, the DOH 6 record of 2007 firecracker injuries showed that 6 percent were females, and 94 percent were males.
The DOH strongly warns the public against using any fireworks/firecrackers this holiday season, and urged the local government units to enact local ordinances to ban the use of firecrackers in residential areas.
Valencia also expressed hopes that this year's record would be lower compared to the previous years.
He urged the public to avoid firecrackers and pyrotechnics and instead use other safe gadgets like the "torotot" (trumpet) to create noise.
(With a report from PIA 6)