Emergency response teams of public hospitals and the Okypy ambulance service remain standby and ready to deal with “any emergency” over the weekend, Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charliaou said on Friday.

“Whether due to traffic accidents or other situations, such as strokes or heart attacks, [the services] are always properly staffed, so that they can respond,” he said.

Charilaou said that during the summer period, an increase in patients is sometimes recorded, with Okypy noting incidents of heat stress, minor accidents and sunburn linked to the very high temperatures.

“[The emergency response centres and the ambulance service] are always staffed with all the necessary doctors and relevant personnel,” he said.

Regarding traffic accidents, Charilaou noted that this was a year-round issue, but pointed out that during the summer months increased traffic on roads, particularly on certain days, made accidents more likely.

“We are alert for anything that may happen [and hope that] everyone will travel safely to their destinations, without any issues,” he said.

As for incidents recorded in the accident and emergency units (A&E), Charilaou explained that data is logged daily with “no particular change from previous years” being recorded thus far.

“The incidents are about the same, both in number and nature,” he said.

Regarding the current situation in the A&E units, he said that there has been increased traffic due to the summer vacations among staff and specialist doctors in the private sector.

According to Charilaou, many people were taken to the A&E unit due to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, however, currently no patient is hospitalised.

He said that these incidents mainly concern vulnerable groups of the population including children and elderly people with cardiovascular and pulmonary problems, which were typically examined and later discharged without requiring hospitalisation.