The Maputo Central Hospital received more than 300 trauma patients from falls and road accidents between Friday and Monday (25). On the other hand, the Nampula Central Hospital treated more than 200 victims of assaults, O País reported on Tuesday 26 December.
According to the newspaper, of the more than 1,300 patients that Maputo Central Hospital received between last Friday and Monday, at least 348 were victims of trauma from falls and road accidents.
Although he considers the number of admissions to the Emergency Department to be stable, António Costa, the clinical director, regrets the number of deaths, since “we had three deaths from trauma this year, compared to two last year”.
During the Christmas festivities, 28 people were admitted to the country’s largest health centre as victims of physical aggression. In Nampula, the Central Hospital treated 14 patients over Christmas who were victims of physical aggression and another 59 victims of trauma, out of a total of 428.
Regarding the availability of blood, the Nampula Central Hospital says there are only 231 units, which may be too few to meet the needs of this festive season, so it is appealing for more donations.
“At the moment we have 231 units of blood, but we all know that blood is used from one person to another and not bought. It needs to be replenished,” said Dalva Khosa, spokesperson for Nampula Central Hospital.
The health authorities are also appealing for people to avoid excesses, as a way of reducing cases of food and alcohol poisoning as the end-of-year festivities approach.
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique also summarised the usual occurrences over Christmas, explaining that in the city of Beira, for example, eight people were arrested, accused of involvement in criminal cases.
“In the last 96 hours, we’ve registered seven cases, five of which are criminal and two of which are road accidents. Eight citizens have been arrested in connection with these cases,” said spokesman Dércio Chacate.
Also during the Christmas festivities, a 20-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in the city of Maputo, and there was one death due to being hit by a car.
“We had a hit-and-run accident that occurred at around 10am in the Albasine neighbourhood. The victim was declared dead by the health authorities. He was an 18-year-old citizen,” said Marta Pereira, PRM spokesperson in Maputo city.
