Tuesday, October 26, 2010
** UK medic responding to emergency call allegedly drunk;involved in 7 car crash
** Australian medics in Victoria suffer high rates of depression, survey finds
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A Nottingham paramedic has been arrested for allegedly being drunk while responding to an emergency call Saturday. The BBC (October 25) said the unnamed medic, 39, who is out on bail until January, was taken into custody following a seven car smash-up in which he was involved. According to the news site, the 7:30 p.m. mishap played out with one individual incurring whiplash injuries, while another suffered a possible fractured pelvis, and a third a broken leg. The ambulance was not loaded with a patient at the time. Pending the outcome of the police and internal investigations, the East Midlands Ambulance Service provider has been suspended.
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** Paramedics working in Victoria apparently suffer high rates of depression. The Sydney Morning Herald (Danny Rose/AAP/October 26) said that is the finding of a new study done by a PhD candidate from Melbourne’s Latrobe University. According to the data compiled by researcher James Courtney, some 10 per cent have extremely severe depression, while 40 per cent are besieged by stress. A further 25 per cent surveyed admitted to feeling above normal degrees of anxiety. Fatigue from long hours and sleeplessness were contributing factors for survey participants, with only 30 per cent dubbing themselves good sleepers. Some 350 medics were polled, of whom 250 were men. For further information, see The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Organization Psychology.
