marine1
Honorary Master
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/ambulance-crews-under-attack-1.1347762#.UA5OJbRFrzI
I just do not know anymore
An ambulance worker responding to what could have been a hoax call in Khayelitsha was stabbed in the arm while waiting to be escorted to a patient in the area.
The incident is one of at least seven since the beginning of this year involving violence or threats against Metro Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel responding to call-outs.
On Monday, EMS spokeswoman Keri Davids said the latest incident took place early on Sunday. She said at 3am a crew had been dispatched following a call about a baby in Site C, Khayelitsha.
“We had arranged with local community members that an escort would meet the crew at a school in the area,” Davids said.
She said it was sometimes arranged that residents in an area escort an ambulance to the exact place where it was needed, especially if the location was not well demarcated or there were no numbers on buildings.
Davids said when the ambulance crew arrived at the school, the escort was not there. Shortly afterwards, two men had approached the ambulance. The crew had thought they were there to escort the ambulance to the emergency.
But, Davids said, one of the men had pulled out what appeared to be a gun and pointed it at the ambulance driver. “He realised that it was a toy gun and removed the toy from the man. At that point, the second man stabbed the EMS practitioner in the arm and ran away from the ambulance,” she said.
The ambulance had returned to the EMS base in Khayelitsha and reported the matter to the police.
Davids said it was not clear if the initial call relating to a baby had indeed been an emergency or if it had been made to lure the ambulance workers into a trap.
She said after the stabbing, no patient had been picked up in the area and there had been no further calls for assistance.
On the Facebook page Traffic fines, cameras & updates in the Western Cape, a paramedic wrote about the incident and another that had happenedearlier.
“Earlier during the night one of my colleagues was knocked during a (motor vehicle accident) and driver drove off, and now this.
“Really sad state of mind to bite the hand that feeds them,” the paramedic said.
Community safety MEC Dan Plato on Monday appealed to residents to assist paramedics instead of harming them.
“I think it’s barbaric. Tomorrow you may be the patient needing their help,” he said.
Two months ago, Davids told the Cape Times there had been attacks on emergency workers in a number of places.
In dangerous situations, Davids said, ambulance personnel had the right to withdraw from an area or ask police to escort them.
I just do not know anymore
An ambulance worker responding to what could have been a hoax call in Khayelitsha was stabbed in the arm while waiting to be escorted to a patient in the area.
The incident is one of at least seven since the beginning of this year involving violence or threats against Metro Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel responding to call-outs.
On Monday, EMS spokeswoman Keri Davids said the latest incident took place early on Sunday. She said at 3am a crew had been dispatched following a call about a baby in Site C, Khayelitsha.
“We had arranged with local community members that an escort would meet the crew at a school in the area,” Davids said.
She said it was sometimes arranged that residents in an area escort an ambulance to the exact place where it was needed, especially if the location was not well demarcated or there were no numbers on buildings.
Davids said when the ambulance crew arrived at the school, the escort was not there. Shortly afterwards, two men had approached the ambulance. The crew had thought they were there to escort the ambulance to the emergency.
But, Davids said, one of the men had pulled out what appeared to be a gun and pointed it at the ambulance driver. “He realised that it was a toy gun and removed the toy from the man. At that point, the second man stabbed the EMS practitioner in the arm and ran away from the ambulance,” she said.
The ambulance had returned to the EMS base in Khayelitsha and reported the matter to the police.
Davids said it was not clear if the initial call relating to a baby had indeed been an emergency or if it had been made to lure the ambulance workers into a trap.
She said after the stabbing, no patient had been picked up in the area and there had been no further calls for assistance.
On the Facebook page Traffic fines, cameras & updates in the Western Cape, a paramedic wrote about the incident and another that had happenedearlier.
“Earlier during the night one of my colleagues was knocked during a (motor vehicle accident) and driver drove off, and now this.
“Really sad state of mind to bite the hand that feeds them,” the paramedic said.
Community safety MEC Dan Plato on Monday appealed to residents to assist paramedics instead of harming them.
“I think it’s barbaric. Tomorrow you may be the patient needing their help,” he said.
Two months ago, Davids told the Cape Times there had been attacks on emergency workers in a number of places.
In dangerous situations, Davids said, ambulance personnel had the right to withdraw from an area or ask police to escort them.
