** STARS air ambulance flights to resume in Manitoba soon?
** 4 South African medics facing disciplinary action after allegedly refusing to transport dirty patient
CANADA NEWS
** Winnipeg’s STARS air ambulance service is expected to soon resume after Manitoba’s health minister grounded choppers Monday. That is the word from the Winnipeg Free Press (Bruce Owen/December 4) which quoted Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) CEO Andrea Robertson as saying she wants the southern Manitoba service back in the air ASAP. According to the newspaper, flights were halted following a Friday incident in which a female cardiac arrest patient died. The incident is the third involving STARS and patient oxygen delivery this year. In February, an undetailed incident with an adult also took place, while in May a two-year-old boy suffered brain damage after a breathing tube became dislodged during flight. His parents have launched a lawsuit over the matter. The province is now reviewing 15 STARS cases. In addition, the auditor general is also undertaking a value for money audit.
SOUTH AFRICA NEWS
** Four Johannesburg paramedics could face disciplinary action after allegedly refusing to transport a female patient because she was too dirty. Eyewitness News (December 3) said the group apparently declined service to Soweto resident Sarah Bezuidenhout last Thursday after she suffered an urgent medical event. Bezuidenhout subsequently died the next day at home. EMS spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said, if true, the behaviour is unacceptable.
