Wednesday, November 7, 2007
** Canadian medics collect thousands of boxes for Operation Christmas Child
** UK medic arrested as part of child porn sting
** Patient breaks UK medic’s nose
CANADA NEWS
** Medics across the country took part in the Operation Christmas Child gift box collection yesterday. Calgary, which has spearheaded the event, culled 12,039 boxes with some 100 practitioners taking part. Although information is not yet available on all areas, Manitoba has reported preliminary numbers indicating some 5,800 boxes were gathered from 11 city and about 30 rural schools. Homeschoolers also contributed. Some 40 Manitoba providers from Winnipeg, Southeastman, Northeastman, Interlake, Central, and Assiniboine regions chipped in. Churchill also had boxes flown down for the occassion. MD Ambulance in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is doing the gift box collection today. EMS workers there, as well as rural First Responder groups from Warman, Osler, Martensville, Dalmeny, and Aberdeen will lend a hand. To offer stats on your service’s participation in Operation Christmas Child, email editor@Paramedic-Network-News.com
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** Police are refusing to release details, but at least one British newspaper is saying a paramedic is among those apprehended this week for contributing to an international child pornography ring. The Daily Mail (Charlotte Gill/November 5) said the unidentified practitioner is one of 46 people arrested across the country so far. Involving the use of the Internet, the porn ring involved home videos depicting on-demand sexual attacks on children. Viewers paid the site after making specific requests for the type of abuse they wanted to view. A 42-year-old Italian national is believed to be the primary person running the ring. Individuals from some 19 different countries were involved.
** Violence against medics continues to rise, with the West Midlands Ambulance Service reporting a patient broke a medic’s nose in August. IC Coventry (November 6) said the incident is just one of 80 similar assaults in the past six months. According to the newspaper, the facial attack occurred in Stoke when a 43-year-old man hailed EMS for stomach pain. Upon arrival, the patient became agitated when his symptoms were not alleviated. He then head butted one of the practitioners and kicked the other in the groin. Police arrested him for common assualt and aggravated bodily harm. He is set to appear in court by November’s close.
