Heatwave causes emergency room visits in Italy to rise

A severe heatwave sweeping across Europe is beginning to impact emergency rooms in Italy, with visits rising by 10 to 15 per cent in major cities, health officials said on Friday. “We can estimate a surge in emergency room visits of 10 to 15 per cent in large cities,” said Alessandro Riccardi, president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (Simeu). He clarified that, for now, “the increase is not yet significant and there is no need for alarm.” According to him, the visits mainly concern the elderly, but also include people with mental health conditions. Riccardi warned that staff shortages of doctors and nurses in emergency departments are also having an effect amid the well-above-average temperatures.