With the Christmas and holiday season now in full swing, Steward Health Care Malta has launched an online infographic campaign on its social media channels to raise awareness of incidents and injuries that lead people to require the services of hospital emergency departments.

The aim of this campaign is to relieve pressure on medical services during the festive period by highlighting the common and most-seen injuries during this period and providing advice on how to avoid these incidents in the first place. 

Some of these incidents include falls while decorating, which are regular causes of hospital visits at Christmas. The festive period also sees a peak in accidents and injuries from drink driving, as people under the influence of alcohol get behind the wheel after parties. Similarly in December hospitals often witness an increase in cases of electrocution caused by unsafe electrical practices when putting up decorative lights. 

This Steward Malta campaign is being coordinated by Patrick Cimaroli, Prehospital Practice Nurse at Gozo General Hospital (GGH), a Steward Malta hospital. Cimaroli stated: “Raising awareness on these types of incidents and injuries may be obvious, however these injuries still occur on a very frequent basis. We see many of these injuries during the Christmas time at GGH, and the same rings true globally.”

“With this campaign we aim to drive home the message for one to take some small precautions in this season, so one can enjoy the festivities without requiring the emergency and hospital services,” concluded Cimaroli.

Steward Health Care Malta’s staff-led campaign focuses on local communities and seeks to ensure that the people of Malta and Gozo enjoy a restful and enjoyable Christmas.