Monday, March 1, 2010

** South Carolina medic out of job after posting humorous EMS video on Facebook

** Yobs glue UK air ambulance helipad gate shut

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A Colleton County, South Carolina paramedic is on the unemployment line after being fired for a Facebook video he posted. Live 5 News (Hatzel Vela/February 25) said Jason Brown was let go February 11 after putting the cartoon like offering up the night before. According to the newspaper, Brown’s three minute work depicts a conversation between a doctor and a paramedic. Detailing exaggerated on-the-job experiences, the doctor is named for a local physician Brown met at a party. Told the satire was offensive and had created tension with Colleton Medical Center staff, at the same time as sullying his department’s reputation, Brown said he intended only to entertain and not to offend.

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** West Midlands Air EMS brass in Cheltenham are crying foul over yobs who glued a helipad gate shut, forcing an increase in transport time for a collapsed elderly woman. This is Gloucestershire (February 26) said the incident, which took place last Thursday, played out with medics struggling with the landing pad’s digital key lock before diverting to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Seriously ill, the 90sish woman’s treatment was delayed for around ten minutes because of the rerouting. A spokesman for the air ambulance service said the consequences of the foolish prank could have been devastating for the woman’s survival. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesman, meanwhile, said the incident was unique since the locks are regularly checked.