Western Cape health services are gearing up to deal with an anticipated 60 000 emergencies over the festive season.

Health and Wellness MEC Nomafrench Mbombo unveiled the province's festive season readiness plans at the Hermanus Provincial Hospital on Monday.

Mbombo said Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were expecting to respond to around 60 000 calls between 15 December and 15 January, based on previous years.

"Every year, the Department of Health and Wellness prepares for increased trauma and emergency incidents that are associated with the festive season. This entails ensuring that our emergency centres in our facilities and our EMS are well-equipped to manage this period of increased demand ahead of the province's tourism season.

"[The province's] readiness plans are in place to ensure our personnel can rapidly access and respond timeously to place the right patient in the most appropriate facility in the shortest time, resulting in the best possible outcome," she said.

Hospitals have also started to decrease the number of elective procedures they carry out to allow for the reallocation of resources to emergency centres.

Mbombo said ambulances and rescue vehicles would be strategically placed along major highways that are notorious for major road traffic incidents, and teams would be promoting road safety at strategic points from 15 December.

The Western Cape EMS will also work with the National Sea Rescue Institute and Lifeguards SA on busy beach days.

The province's Hospital and Emergency Centre Tracking Information System (Hectis) shows that there are, on average, around 110 000 trauma cases reported at health facilities across the Western Cape every month.

Hectis is utilised by 53 facilities and provides a near real-time record of trauma burden on emergency centres across the province.

So far this month, there have been 43 952 trauma cases reported, said department spokesperson Dwayne Evans.

He added that trauma cases tend to spike over the weekends, public holidays and at the end of the month.

The areas that record the most trauma cases are Khayelitsha, Mitchell's Plain, Delft, Kraaifontein and Gugulethu.

The health department has previously flagged a correlation between alcohol availability and trauma cases based on a study of the Covid-19 lockdowns. In February 2021, the Western Cape saw an increase of more than 100% in trauma cases following the lifting of the alcohol ban, News24 previously reported.

Mbombo said: "We appeal to all residents to be responsible during their celebrations this festive season. In doing so, you will help us to help those in need of health care.

"With health services traditionally working under increased pressure during this period, we all must work together in protecting the healthcare system, particularly during a time when resources are even more strained."