** Inundated EMS brass in East Midlands cuts paramedic breaks to cope with huge surge in New Year’s Day call volumes
** 2 South African paramedics killed in New Year’s Day crash
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** EMS medics in East Midlands were run off their feet New Year’s Day with brass even cutting paramedic breaks to better handle the upswing in help hails. That is the word from The Nottingham Post (Jemma Page/January 2) which said the blip saw the service deal with 3,038 calls rather than the standard daily average of between 1,800 and 2,000. According to the newspaper, the break slashing from 45 to 20 minutes had the approval of the EMS union and was intended to deal with calls involving life threatening conditions. The action occurred between 5:30 to 9 p.m.
SOUTH AFRICA NEWS
** Funeral services have been set for Saturday for a Limpopo paramedic who died on New Year’s Day after his ambulance turned over during a crash. That is the word from OFM (January 3) which said the commemoration for Tshepo Moshapo, 37, will take place in Giyani. Moshapo’s partner, who hailed from Mpumalanga, also perished in the accident. No funeral has yet been set. According to the newspaper, police are continuing to investigate the mishap involving the Buthelezi Ambulance Service unit. Authorities say there are no witnesses to the rollover near Blumfontein and no apparent cause at this time.
