Monday, June 16, 2008
** New York EMT faces up to seven years in jail
** Hamilton, Ontario to use nurses to ease EMS ER backlogs
** Winnipeg paramedics not to man ERs after all
UNITED STATES NEWS
** An FDNY EMT is set to appear in court July 25 on charges he left the scene of a car/pedestrian accident he caused last March. 1010 Wins (June 13) said Hawthorne resident Scott Desimone, 35, was arraigned Thursday. Desimone, who faces up to seven years in jail if convicted, remains in custody pending the posting of a $15,000 bond. According to the news site, Desimone fled the scene of the crash after striking a man walking on the side of the road;he was not on duty at the time. Along with both hitting and killing Manuel Saca, Desimone also failed to report the incident to police. He was identified after the authorities undertook a traffic analysis of the scene.
CANADA NEWS
** In an effort to free up medics detained by ER backlogs, Hamilton, Ontario has decided to hire nurses to sit and wait. That is the word from The Hamilton Spectator (Nicole McIntyre/June 13) which said funding for the initiative is coming from the province which will kick in $375,000. EMS spokesman Brent Bowett said the move could see paramedics return to service after dropoffs within 15 minutes. In the last year, Hamilton has had no ambulances available for call at least 32 times;pundits predict the stat could grow to 100 this year without intervention.
** Winnipeg paramedics won’t be staffing emergency rooms after all. The Winnipeg Sun (June 14) said the idea, originally touted to ease EMS ER backlogs, has been scrapped in favour of using respiratory therapists instead. Originally proposed in April, the stragegy would have seen the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spend some $200,000 to hire prehospital workers to watch stable ambulance patients; crews could then return more quickly to service. Winnipeg Deputy Chief Ken Sim said respiratory therapists give the RHA more bang for their buck, since they can work elsewhere in the hospital in-between peak periods.
