Thursday, November 4, 2010

** Coroner’s report into deaths of two BC paramedics not expected for some six months

** Winnipeg EMS to establish paramedic unit at city’s drunk tan

CANADA NEWS

** The coroner’s report into the deaths of two Tofino, BC paramedics will likely not be available for at least six months. That is the word from The Times Colonist (Cindy E. Hartnett/November 3) which quoted Port Alberni coroner Ron Tramer as saying his final report will have to wait while other analyses of the October 20th accident are compiled. Tramer’s comments come as speculation grows that unit chief Jo-anne Fuller, 59, who was driving the ambulance at the critical moment, may have either fallen asleep of suffered a medical emergency. Her partner Ivan Polivka, 65, was asleep on a stretcher in the unit’s rear. Bodies of the two practitioners were found in the driver’s seat and passenger compartment respectively. Road skid marks also did not indicate a sudden braking. Along with medical and toxicology reports, other information that will contribute to discovering just what happened to Fuller and Polivka will include traffic analysis, mechanical inspections, and possibly even witness accounts. Though funerals for the two providers have already taken place, a public memorial service is set for Saturday in Tofino at 1 p.m.

** Winnipeg EMS in Manitoba is working to establish a paramedic unit at the city’s drunk tank. CBC News (November 3) said 8 practitioners will be stationed at the Main Street Project by April 2011. Touted as a cost saving measure in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the decision comes after some four people have died at the facility. In one instance, currently the subject of an inquest, a mentally ill woman died at the site in March of 2007 after a prescription drug overdose was mistaken for intoxication. Two other inquests are pending. Statistics from 2009 indicate the Main Street Project hailed EMS some 569 times, only 31 of which occurred when an on site paramedic was present.