Oktoberfest medics tackle heart scares and alcohol emergencies

Medical teams at Munich’s Oktoberfest are responding to heart concerns, seizures, injuries and alcohol-related emergencies as hundreds of thousands of people visit each day, BR reports. The crowds and drinking can make it harder for medics to reach patients and provide care.

Max, an emergency medical technician with the Aicher Ambulance service, works on a five-person stretcher team. They provide first aid and take patients to the medical centre when needed. People unable to walk are carried on a stretcher, shielded from view by a blue cover.

The team’s first call came at 9.12am: a head injury at one of the entrances. A 60-year-old man had fallen on his face and was bleeding from the nose. The medics took him to the medical centre for an examination.

The volunteers had signed up for double shifts, working from morning until after midnight. Last year, the first Saturday of Oktoberfest brought 900 medical calls, a record, according to the report.

As the day went on, the team responded to an epileptic seizure. The young woman was feeling better after a few minutes. An older man who had fallen was taken in with a suspected heart attack. He had a very low pulse and cold sweat. The team worked together to prepare him for transport.

By about 3.30pm, the team was called to the Hacker tent for an alcohol-related emergency at the west entrance, a spot known as the “vomit hill.” Medics say intoxicated people may be at risk of choking if they vomit or stop breathing normally.

Security staff and other medics were already with a young man who was barely responsive. The team tried to help him down the slope, but his legs would not move, so four medics carried him. He was to be monitored for the next few hours. Sleeping off intoxication on the hill has not been allowed for several years, the report says, to help prevent assaults.