Canada – Scores of paramedics rallied outside Toronto City Hall on Tuesday demanding they be declared an essential service in the face of a potential work stoppage that would cut staffing levels by 15 per cent. More than 100 paramedics gathered at Nathan Phillips Square Tuesday morning, chanting and waving pickets as they marched in [...]

Eire – People who fall suddenly ill in rural Kerry, north Mayo, west Clare and south-west Donegal are more than an hour’s drive from a hospital A&E, new research has revealed. The healthcare blackspots have been identified on maps which flag up gaps in access to services across the island of Ireland. Among the worst [...]

Tuberculosis which appears to be totally resistant to antibiotic treatment has been reported for the first time by Indian doctors. Concern over drug-resistant strains of TB is growing, with similar incurable TB emerging in Italy and Iran. Doctors in Mumbai said 12 patients had a “totally drug resistant” form of the infection, and three have [...]

Medic Madness Blog – This week’s “Celebrity Medic” features an NFL star that has captured headlines, stirred up political controversy and helped send the Squealers Steelers back home to Pittsburgh last Sunday. So with all his talent, money and fame, one would imagine that he would be set in his career for a long time, right? [...]

Canada – A paramedic injured in a crash near Souris earlier in January has been upgraded to stable condition in hospital. The crash happened on PR 250 on Jan. 5. At the time of the collision, the ambulance was transporting a patient in a non-emergency call from Melita to Brandon. Witnesses suggested it appeared the [...]

USA — An arrest warrant for a Connecticut paramedic accused of raping an unconscious woman inside an ambulance says he admitted to police that he touched her inappropriately. Read more USA news and other good stuff at EMS1.com.

Canada – A Winnipeg paramedic hit by a suspected drunk driver is speaking out to highlight the dangers he and his colleagues face while on the job. On Monday, three vehicles were involved in a collision around 5:45 p.m. at Corydon Avenue and Stafford Street. Paramedic Cory Wilson was on his way back to the [...]

A bus driver in southern China has died from bird flu in the first reported human case of the deadly disease in 18 months. The man, surnamed Chen, died in Shenzhen – a booming industrial town that borders Hong Kong – where thousands of chickens have already been culled after three birds tested positive for [...]

TORONTO — A Canadian-led study finds that more than two-thirds of paramedics have experienced verbal, physical or sexual abuse on the job. Emergency Medical Service workers in Ontario and Nova Scotia were invited to take part in the study while attending a continuing education seminar this year, and 90 per cent responded. More than 1,300 [...]

New Delhi – The amount of planning and resources that has gone into upgrading health facilities over the years does not seem to have yielded results, with the ambulance network needing the maximum attention . A monthly call analysis of the Centralised Ambulance and Trauma Services (CATS) from June 2009 to May 2010 by AIIMS [...]