Monday, May 26, 2008

** Melbourne, Australia medics lobby for in-ambulance cameras

** Welsh Ambulance Service facing millions in compensation claims

** Rural Queensland hurting for medics

AUSTRALIA NEWS

** Unfounded rape accusations directed against a Melbourne medic have EMS workers concerned they are vulnerable to other fingerpointing. That is the word from the Herald Sun (May 23) which said the ambulance union is considering lobbying for in-unit security cameras that would record interactions between patients and providers. Ambulance Employees Australia spokesman Steve McGhie said the videos are being touted as a way to prevent employers from sacking medics without grounds. McGhie’s comments come just a day after former Metropolitan Ambulance Service worker Simon Paul Howe was acquitted on charges he digitally raped a female patient who had consumed illicit drugs. Howe, who maintained his innocence throughout court proceedings, was fired after the allegations first surfaced. He has now launched a wrongful dismissal suit to get his job back.

** Competition from the higher paying mining industry, set against little affordable housing, has created a lack of rural Queensland paramedics. Yahoo Australia (May 23) said pundits claim the shortage involves about 700 positions, with some regions noting 51 vacancies. Union spokesman Steve Crow said more incentives are need to prompt practitioners to leave urban settings. Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts, however, said carrots are already being dangled. Roberts said along with extra annual holidays, the state already subsidizes airfare for EMS families wanting to fly out once a year. In addition, rental subsidies are offered, as are grants for telephone costs.

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** Difficulties with the troubled Welsh Ambulance Service have surfaced again, with board papers claiming the organization is enmeshed in dealing with millions of pounds of compensation claims. IC Wales (Madeleine Brindley/May 23) said 13 clincial negligence cases have been brought against the trust, along with 130 staff personal injury claims. Payouts from the suits could reach over 6 million pounds. While several of the files deal with road accidents and lifting injuries, the newspaper said a number also related to on-the-job assaults.