Wednesday, June 6, 2007

** Calgary mayor pushes to have EMS declared an essential service

** Michigan EMT perishes in plane crash

** UK medics on hotseat after deriding overweight patient

** Military medics man South African hospitals during strike

CANADA NEWS

** Calgary, Alberta’s mayor is pushing to have EMS declared an essential service. The Calgary Sun (Shawn Logan/June 5) quoted Dave Bronconnier as saying he does not want to see a repeat of the prehospital strike which occurred in 1991. Bonconnier’s comments come at a time when medics are undergoing mediation to deal with their labour contract. They also follow on the heals of an averted transit strike. Provincial spokeswoman Lorelei Fiset-Cassidy, however, said legislation does not exist in Alberta permitting EMS to be designated an essential service.

UNITED STATES NEWS

** The piot who died in Monday’s Michigan medical airplane crash was an Ypsilanti EMT. The Detroit News (June 5) identified Van Buren Township resident Rick Lapensee, 48, as being onboard the plane which plunged into Lake Michigan. The aircraft was transporting organs for a critically ill patient at the time it went down. Lapensee worked with the Ypsilanti Fire Department for 14 years. He leaves behind a wife of 23 years and two sons, aged 18 and 13. 

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** Great Western Ambulance Service officials are investigating a paramedic duo who derided a dying overweight patient. The BBC (June 5) said the investigation was sparked by a complaint from the husband of Sandra Teague. Teague said medics guffawed about calling fire assistance to remove Sandra, 52, from their Gloucester home. She weighed 111 kg. Teague suffered from diabetes and asthma and was on steroid drugs at the ttime of her death. Her husband had hailed 999 when she had trouble breathing.

SOUTH AFRICA NEWS

* Durban military medics filled in at hospitals for striking workers this past weekend. News 24 (June 3) said the soldiers were assigned to the facilities after health care toilers walked off the job Friday. According to the news station, industrial action began after the government offered only a six per cent pay hike instead of the 12 per cent requested. Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi threatened prosecution for those essential services workers who continued to defy a Thursday Labour Court ruling ordering them back to work. In addition to hospitals, ambulance services have also been impacted by the strike. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dolman said skeleton staffing at hospitals has prompted longer EMS transports. At the same time, prehospital workers have been harassed by those on the picket lines, prompting a private security firm to provide for their safety.