Like every year The Liguria Region has launched the Hot Plan for summer 2024 with the aim of dealing with the potential danger that some sections of the population risk facing. The Hot Plan, which will be activated in the event of an orange or red bulletin, mainly involves those interested in social and health protection and provides targeted actions to prevent and reduce potential risks deriving from heat waves. In Liguria there are around 5,500 people susceptible to heat waves with high risk. A prevention campaign will also be released in July, with clips of Camilla and Corrado Tedeschi, which will illustrate the correct behavior to follow to prevent the effects of heat waves.
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“The Ligurian health and social system is gearing up to prevent potential risks to the detriment of the most fragile citizens, especially the elderly, in view of the hottest weeks – explains the interim president of the Liguria Region Alessandro Piana -. In addition to the widespread coordination between family doctors and local health authorities, and thanks to the health facilities spread throughout the territory, the information campaigns promoted by the Region will also contribute to guaranteeing the safety of citizens and tourists”.
“The heat plan launched again this year by the Liguria Region – explains the Health Councilor Angelo Gratarola -, through networking in synergy with local authorities, allows for the implementation of effective actions to deal with any heat waves that characterize the summer season. The objective is to keep a high level of attention on the most exposed people and the invitation addressed to Ligurians is to follow the useful and valuable advice to prevent any damage from excessive heat. Like every year, family doctors, paediatricians and local health authorities will have at their disposal the list of their patients who may be susceptible to heat waves with the aim of monitoring their needs and health conditions and from this year citizens Ligurians can count on the clinics that will be progressively opened dedicated to low complexity in the districts or in community houses open from 8 to 24. A service that will prove essential especially during the summer to deal with the problems related to its possible complications”.
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TOLL-FREE NUMBER FOR THE ELDERLY AND FRAGILE
“This year too we have worked with the network of Third Sector Bodies to guarantee all vulnerable people a series of widespread services and reference points in the area – explains the councilor for Social and Health Policies Giacomo Giampedrone -. I want to thank all the entities involved in the project with the social caretakers and neighborhood butlers, committed all year round also through the regional toll-free number 800 593235, free, active seven days a week from 8am to 8pm for orientation, information and to collect requests from citizens, for example for small daily errands. These activities, adequately strengthened in the summer also for the monitoring of heat waves, will continue until 20 September, with possible extensions if necessary based on the climatic situation. Temporarily during the emergency period, the possibility of taking care of fragile people again is also foreseen, always in synergy with the social spheres with a view to prevention for non-critical situations, which however could become complicated due to the heat”.
“Particular attention – explains Ernesto Palummeri, responsible for Alisa of the center for the prevention of the effects of heat waves – is paid to residences for the elderly. Every day the bulletin is issued which identifies the level of risk linked to climate data (temperature and humidity). When risk conditions are foreseen, notices are issued to all health, socio-health and social structures, through the Agorà cooperative. With yellow, a pre-alert condition occurs, with orange and red, you go on alert based on the risk conditions and measures can be adopted to reduce risks, especially for the most fragile subjects. The invitation, especially in alert conditions, is to adopt the correct behavior to prevent risk conditions, the subject of the campaigns that will be widespread in Liguria during the summer”.
The main behaviors to adopt to prevent the effects of heat waves
The main behaviors to adopt to prevent the effects of heat waves are: constantly hydrate yourself throughout the day, follow a light diet, avoid alcohol, carbonated and frozen drinks, avoid exposure to the sun especially during the hottest hours, dress lightly not using synthetic fabrics, check with your doctor for any changes in therapies, also in relation to blood pressure.
In 2023, through the work of social caretakers and neighborhood butlers, over 1100 elderly people were taken care of, with an increase in requests of around 10% in the summer months for mainly home monitoring and support activities. The call center almost doubled the daily average of calls received (daily average on an annual basis 26, average summer period 40) in particular from the second half of July until the last week of August (the period of greatest heat waves last year was recorded in the period around August 15th for about ten days). The main requests concerned information on the climatic conditions of the days to come (the bulletin service provides information on the day but also for the following two days); any open and air-conditioned community centers in the area; expenses and small commissions; some transportation; company of lonely elderly people.
‘Safe Summer’ program of the Municipality of Genoa
“Meanwhile, by clicking on the ‘Safe Summer’ Program link of the Municipality of Genoa, the citizen can find information and awareness material regarding the lifestyles and behaviors to adopt in case of excessive heat – explains the councilor for Social Services of the Municipality Lorenza Red – A specific memorandum of understanding was signed between the Municipality, the Genoese Forum and the Ligurian Forum of Third Sector Bodies, to integrate and expand the interventions of the territorial social protection and proximity network aimed at elderly people, including the Call center regional Informanziani, telecompany activity, neighborhood butlers, social caretakers and the Viva gli Anziani a casa program. Furthermore, I would also like to mention the socialization and involvement activities of elderly people, to promote healthy lifestyles and active ageing, for which socialization activities are planned in 15 air-conditioned locations, so-called oases, published on our institutional website . Investigations are underway for possible access at discounted rates for elderly people at the Bagni San Nazaro bathing establishment and the city swimming pools”.
“This year too – declares the Councilor for Security and Civil Protection of the Municipality of Genoa Sergio Gambino – the city of Genoa has equipped itself with an anti-heat plan to protect the population, especially the weakest and most fragile groups: a plan which allows us to manage emergencies due to heat waves that can have effects on health. Among the actions carried out by the Civil Protection Directorate within the plan, I would like to mention the dissemination of the guide to citizens regarding good civil protection practices and the self-protection measures to be adopted in situations of physiological distress; the collection of telephone reports that arrive in the Emergency Room and, starting from pre-alert level 1, the activation of the information machine for citizens, via variable message panels on the road, information displays at AMT stops and the Protection social networks Municipal Civil Service (Facebook, Telegram-GenovAlert Channel). All this to say that in recent years we have witnessed increasingly frequent heat waves and the Genoese Civil Protection, excellence in Italy, has never been caught unprepared, always implementing a series of 360° initiatives that can help the population during the hottest days”.
The initiative of neighborhood butlers and social guardians
“The initiative of the neighborhood butlers and social caretakers – explains Andrea Rivano, regional manager of the project, of which the Agorà Cooperative is the leader – involves 25 Third Sector bodies in addition to the important connection with the network of the many associations and the many volunteers involved in the project “Well…being elderly in Liguria” with which this project is connected in a structured way, developing the objective of a truly innovative ‘integrated system of local welfare services’ in the Ligurian territory which necessarily involves also social services and local health and social partners. Another example of how networking and collaboration between public administration and the third sector can innovate but also provide concrete answers to people and territories”.
