72 red zone escorts for busy EMS personnel

IT WAS all hands on deck for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) paramedics, who on 72 occasions were escorted to red zones – areas in which it is deemed unsafe for them to operate – over the weekend.

The provincial Health Department said the past weekend was one of its busiest ever, with staff responding to 6 364 incidents in the province, including eight in the Cape Winelands District Municipality and 64 in the city.

EMS spokesperson Deanna Bessick said the incidents included 1 135 reports of weapon assaults, 364 physical assaults, 905 pain complaints and 444 respiratory complaints.

“Public support is crucial to the work performed by our EMS staff, who go above and beyond the call of duty to render a critical health-care service, and risk their lives daily,” said Bessick.

Last month, four attacks on EMS crews were reported. In one of the incidents, in Kewtown, Athlone, equipment valued at R300 000 was stolen from a crew. The team was dispatched to Kewtown at 3am, escorted by the police as a safety precaution.

While the EMS staff and the SAPS members were inside the home of a patient, the ambulance’s window was forced open and a Lifepak 15 cardiac monitor stolen.

The red zone status of the area remained in effect for 24 hours.

Red zones in the Cape Metro include Browns Farm in Philippi, Tafelsig, Manenberg, Hanover Park, Site C Khayelitsha, Beacon Valley, Nyanga, Gugulethu and New Crossroads.

“Both our stakeholders in law enforcement and the SAPS have substantial resource challenges with respect to their primary mandate.

“We are pleased to report that the strong collaborative efforts are yielding small but encouraging improvements in our ability to respond to red zone incidents.

“We thus remain committed to working alongside these crucial services in our efforts to meet our constitutional mandate,” said Bessick.

To pledge support for EMS staff visit www.westerncape.gov.za/ems-pledge