** South Australian social media campaign against violence towards medics deemed success
** South African air ambulance crashes;5 dead
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** A social media campaign launched this past May aimed at reducing violence against South Australian
paramedics has apparently succeeded in lowering the number of attacks against EMS personnel. That is the
word from 9 News (Leith Marshall/August 14) which said the service noted a 45 per cent decrease in incidents
in June and July of this year over the same period in 2014. Service acting chief executive Steve Cameron said
the stats were encouraging, while SA Health Minister Jack Snelling said the effort was incredibly successful.
Paramedic Jordan Pring, meanwhile, said since the May launch he has had conversations with many people
shocked by the violence medics endure. Pring said he hopes publicizing the problem will peer pressure
offenders to change their behaviour.
SOUTH AFRICA NEWS
** An air ambulance in-bound from Namibia crashed in Cape Town Sunday, killing 5 people. The Sowetan
(August 15) said the ER24 accident claimed the life of pilot Steven Naude, 53, co-pilot Amore Espag, 23, and
flight paramedic Alfred John Ward. A patient and his daughter were also killed in the mishap. According to
the newspaper, contact with the aircraft was lost around 7 a.m. Following a ground search, the plane was
located at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve. Prior to the flight going down, an airport radar fault had prompted
controllers to place several aircraft in a holding pattern. The South African Civil Aviation Authority has begun
an investigation into the matter.
