** South Australian medics begin industrial action to protest failing system
** Drunken British teen steals Greek ambulance, goes on rampage, but escapes without charges because he is a minor
AUSTRALIA NEWS
** Prehospital practitioners in South Australia have begun a non urgent paperwork ban to protest what they say is a failing EMS approach in the state. That is the word from ABC News (Claire Campbell/July 12) which quoted union sources as saying the death of a patient after a dispatch error is just yet another sign that the ambulance system is ailing. Ambulance Employees Association Secretary Phil Palmer said the call in question saw a patient who was unconscious and not breathing labelled as collapsed. Because of the computer error, electronic CPR instructions would not show on screen and the patient died. Palmer said the incident, along with staff shortages and medic overwork, as well as ramping, are all combining into a recipe for disaster. South Australia Ambulance Service spokesman Jason Killens, meanwhile, countered the assessment by saying the EMS system is both stable and safe. Killens said, however, the call detailed by Palmer is under investigation.
GREECE NEWS
** A British minor will face no charges after stealing an ambulance, hitting seven parked cars and a motorcycle, and then crashing it into a nightclub. The Daily Mail (Ted Thornhill/July 12) said that is the verdict being given by the Public Prosecutor on the island of Zakynthos after the youth was arrested Monday. According to the newspaper, the teen was drunk at the time he jumped behind the wheel of the EMS unit after pushing the driver out. There is no word on where the boy’s parents were during his escapade. Police on the island have so far declined to comment.
