Paramedic UK » Australia

Australia: Ambos adopt a no-risk policy on swine flu

Editor — Sun, 03 May 2009 10:09:25 +0000

Ambulance officers are making their own calls on whether to wear super-protective spacesuit-style clothes during the swine flu scare.

On the Gold Coast last week, paramedics took no risks transporting elderly patients with flu symptoms.

Emergency Services staffers have strongly rejected criticism of an over-reaction.

“The officers on the ground make the calls themselves on a case-by-case basis. They get the information to make that decision from the communications centre,” a staffer said.

Read full article: The Courier-Mail

Australia:Emergency call op ‘very sorry’ about call

Editor — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:24:17 +0000

An ambulance call operator has apologised for the way she handled emergency phone calls made by a Sydney schoolboy, who died while bushwalking in the Blue Mountains.

Laura Meade, 26, had been working at the NSW Ambulance Service call centre in Redfern for nine months when she took two phone calls from a dehydrated and distressed David Iredale, 17, on December 11, 2006.

Read full article: smh.com.au .

Australia: Weary paramedics prepare for first mass strike in 36 years

Editor — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:11:53 +0000

After a year of negotiations, pay talks have broken down between the union and Ambulance Victoria over minimum rest breaks, with claims by the union that weary paramedics are falling asleep at the wheel.

The union is preparing to stage its first mass strike in 36 years and is pushing for eight-hour minimum rest breaks between shifts to be increased to 10 hours.

Read full article: Herald Sun

Australia: Save-A-Mate program focuses on first aid skills for teens

Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:12:38 +0000

The Red Cross says almost a quarter of deaths among people aged under 25 are drug-related.

The organisation is highlighting the statistic in its national Save-A-Mate program.

The program is being expanded to Horsham, to teach Wimmera teenagers crucial first aid skills to help friends affected by drugs or alcohol.

Through the program, young people are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves, their friends and others around them.

Project officer Katie Scott says teenagers need to be able to recognise when a friend needs help and what to do while they are waiting for an ambulance.

“To know when’s the right time to call an ambulance, and that calling an ambulance is not a bad thing to do and you’re not going to get in trouble for calling an ambulance,” she said.

“If someone’s had too much to drink and they’ve passed out, that’s not necessarily a good thing and it’s just as simple as getting those messages across, that can mean the difference between potentially saving someone’s life.”

Read full article: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.