** Victorian medics in Australia trialing mobile stroke ambulance
** UK paramedic faces second hearing in case involving ignoring dying heart attack patient
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** Ambulance medics in Victoria will soon be undertaking a four year pilot study on the effectiveness of a stroke ambulance. That is the word from the Herald Sun (Brigid O’Connell/December 21) which said the trial is aimed at decreasing the time to definitive treatment for suspected cases. According to the newspaper, the undertaking will involve the use of a mobile CT unit. Responders working on the rig will be able to do blood tests, brain scans and dispense life saving drugs. Telemedicine capabilities will also be on-board the unit. The trial, funded through donations and the state government, will cost around $7.5 million. The van will work initially in Melbourne’s northern and western sections.
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A former West Midlands paramedic, convicted of standing by and watching a heart attack patient die, could see his job lost after all after a successful appeal of the matter. The Express and Star (December 21) said Great Wyrley resident Matthew Geary, 38, Â will return to a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) hearing next month, a full year after being handed a two year supervision order. The order followed an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years in the June 23, 2012 incident involving patient Carl Cope. Geary apparently saw Cope was in distress outside a Walsall hospital, but failed to render assistance. Originally charged with manslaughter, he instead pleaded guilty to failing to discharge his duty. The HCPC ruling was successfully appealed by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Although no longer employed with the West Midlands Ambulance Service, Geary has continued to work in EMS.
