Friday, March 15, 2013

** UK paramedic will not be charged for nasty Facebook comments against hospital campaigner

** Booze culture in Scotland leading to upswing in medic attacks, ambulance chiefs say

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** Criminal charges will apparently not be laid against a West Midlands paramedic who criticized a hospital campaigner on his Facebook page. That is the word from the BBC (March 13) which said Staffordshire police exonerated Murph Guest of wrongdoing after he posted that he hoped Julie Bailey would suffer a life threatening illness. According to a police spokesman, the remark did not meet the requirements for further legal action. Guest, however, was suspended from his job, pending an internal investigation. There is no word yet on his current employment status.

** An increasing affinity for alcohol on the part of the public is being blamed for the growing number of attacks on Scottish paramedics. Deadline News (Peter Laing/March 15) quoted EMS brass as saying statistics show assaults on EMS personnel have climbed by a third since 2010. According to the newspaper, hits on prehospital responders sat at 228 three years ago and jumped to 306 in 2012. Including the use of weapons, the assaults have regularly included spitting, pushing, and punching. Edinburgh was tagged as the most dangerous city, with 100 attacks located there. A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said the country’s drinking culture is fuelling the trend. He said medics have been instructed to wait for police accompaniment to attend calls when the situation is deemed unsafe.