Red Cross: mistakes made around the participant at death, Dam tot Damloop

The Red Cross made mistakes on the death of a 25-year-old participant at Dam Tot Damloop in 2016. The woman was sick upon arrival in Amsterdam and was not there. subsequently received no appropriate care of the emergency services. She died a few days later. she to the hospital by heat stroke. Following the incident, the Red Cross announced an action plan for the protests in the Netherlands on Saturday.

The sick woman is a "well-trained young runner," writes the humanitarian organization. The two volunteers who assisted her did not sufficiently consider the fact that she was overheated, according to the Red Cross. They decided to turn the woman into an insulating blanket while she should have been chilled. Its temperature was not measured because there was no ear thermometer in the standard equipment.

According to the Red Cross, meanwhile, communication with the control room was also defective, which meant that it took a long time before an ambulance arrived. The runner came back strong and had to be resurrected. The ambulance staff finally managed to get a heartbeat. The woman was transported to the hospital, but four days later she died of heat stroke.

10,000 events

Emergency services "misjudged and did not provide the needed help," said director Marieke van Schaik. One of the two deployed volunteers turned out not to have the necessary experience to help with the arrival. "There can be a whole range of calamities, where it is important that you can quickly make a good assessment of the situation," concludes director Van Schaik. The Red Cross also said that she was not providing good care to the family who, after the incident, had criticized the care lavished on the woman.

The Red Cross does not want this to happen in the future. The auxiliary organization also extends standard first aid equipment by adding, among other things, an ear thermometer. The Red Cross provides medical assistance every year to over 10,000 events in the Netherlands.