Avurudhu accidents reach new high

by Carol Aloysius

Sinhala and Hindu New Year related accidents spiked to new heights, going beyond the incidents recorded last year, in all categories, health officials said.

From April 13 to16, patients treated at the Accident Service, Colombo, totalled 963, of whom 393 were admitted for treatment, Director, Accident Service, Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake said.

"Home injuries led the list with 247 patients - an increase of 35%, followed by road traffic injuries - 217 victims - an increase of 30%."

A visible increase was also seen in injuries from violence (88 victims due to drunken brawls) Avurudhu games such as cycle races and marathons, numbering 31.

However, the one area that showed improvement was accidents related to the lighting of fire crackers.

Accidents from crackers however plunged by about 55%, with only four persons being treated at present. "The actual number could be much higher with most child victims treated at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital", Wickramanayake added.

Meanwhile Director, Colombo National Hospital, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the hospital had treated 700 patients from all over the island during the April 12-15 period. The majority of them 420 were treated at the Out Patients Department(OPD) while there were 280 hospital admissions.

Last year, during the same period, 631 patients received treatment with 270 being admitted. "Increase in New Year related injuries is mainly due to home accidents, ( 177 admitted this year compared to 105 last year - an increase of 68% the previous year) followed by road traffic accidents - 156 this year a 41% increase, and violence - 72 victims - a 13% increase.

Fall and cracker-related injuries had plunged due to better awareness, he said, adding that the hospitals continued to conduct seminars on minimizing festival-related injuries, especially in view of the Vesak season next month.