Wednesday, January 26, 2011

** UK paramedic paralyzed after taking Swine Flu shot

** Toronto EMS chief lobbying for 90 more medics

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** While Swine Flu cases continue to inundate the UK, news has been made public that a West Sussex paramedic was paralyzed by the immunization intended to protect against the scourge. The Daily Mail (Alison Smith Squire/January 24) said practitioner Sara Hornsey found herself immobile from the waist down some two days after having the jab in November of 2009. According to the paper, Hornsey was shortly after diagnosed with the rare shot complication transverse myelitis. Currently relying on a wheelchair and using a cane to walk, she was quickly fired from her job at the ambulance service. Attempts to secure an office position there also failed. As a result of her turfing, Hornsey’s case will soon be the subject of an employment tribunal hearing.

CANADA NEWS

** Toronto’s EMS chief is lobbying for some 90 more paramedics between now and 2014. That is the word from the Toronto Star (Dave Rider/Paul Maloney/January 24) which quoted Bruce Farr as saying the number would allow practitioners to reliably reach life threatening emergencies within a nine minute target. According to the newspaper, Farr made his pitch to the city’s executive committee in advance of the 2011 budget being sealed. It also comes at a time when Mayor Rob Ford is under scrutiny to reduce workers being paid by the city’s dime. Last year, medics hit their response targets 62 per cent of the time, down from 64 per cent in 2009. Despite a 21 per cent increase in emergency call volumes since 2003, only eight new paramedics have been employed. The total cost to hire 90 new providers would be $9.4 million over four years, with the city kicking in about $4.7 million.