** UK union appeals to health minister over EMS service bullying
** UK man, who attacked paramedic in ambulance, given probation, fines
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** Union reps for South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) medics are calling on the country’s health secretary to intercede to stop an abusive work environment. That is the word from The BBC (February 14) which said the issue came to the forefront after a newspaper report on the matter. According to the news service, the report cited two dispatchers who had attempted suicide to escape bullying at work. GMB Southern Region Secretary Paul Maloney said despite the publicity, the culprits remain in place. Maloney said trust managers are unaccountable, with the intensity of bullying at Coxheath, for example, astounding. A spokesman for the trust, meanwhile, said many of the report’s allegations are old news and have already been handled. The unidentified talking head said other accusations are unsupported by evidence.
** Twelve months probation was the sentence handed to a Sunderland man Tuesday for attacking a paramedic because the latter told him not to drink Vodka in the ambulance. That is the word from The Sunderland Echo (Petra Silfverskiold/February 14) which said Ronald Oxberry, 46, tried to suddenly punch the practitioner and put him in a headlock during the August 30th incident. According to the newspaper, Oxberry had hailed EMS around 9 a.m. after consuming 40 diazepam pills. Oxberry’s lawyer admitted his client’s assault, saying the man was upset at the recent death of his girlfriend. Along with probation, he has been ordered to undergo alcohol counseling. He was also handed 210 pounds in fines.
