Thursday, January 27, 2011

** Texas woman arrested, jailed after biting paramedic

** New South Wales medics bullied, patronized, and run off their feet, report says

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A Killeen, Texas woman, who bit a paramedic attempting to treat her, is spending some R & R time in the local clink. That is the word from KXXV (Louis Ojeda Jr./January 26) which said Rebecca Sue Anderson, 25, is languishing in the Bell County Jail after being charged with assault on a public servant. Bond has been set at $100,000. According to the news site, Anderson hailed EMS to her home Saturday night for an undisclosed injury. During transport to hospital, she inexplicably bit the attending medic on the leg. There is no word on the extent of the practitioner’s injuries as a result of the attack.

AUSTRALIA NEWS

** New South Wales paramedics are apparently responding to one call every thirty seconds. That, at least, is the contention of the AAP (January 27) which quoted from stats provided by the Emergency Medical Services Protection Association (EMSPA). According to the news service, fewer than 3,000 medics responded to 1.2 million calls in 2010;by way of comparison, 15,000 police officers handled 850,000 emergencies. Saying low staffing and poor morale are endangering patient lives, the organization said the EMS bullying culture is also prompting existing providers to seek work outside of the profession or worse. Since 2001, the ambulance service has seen at least one staff suicide each year. The report comes just as the EMSPA is set to go before the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to resolve a dispute with the Department of Health.