The Western Cape’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams have so far been targeted by violent criminals on 10 occasions in 2023.
The latest incidents occurred this past weekend in Parow,
Langa and Pinelands. On Saturday, an ambulance crew escaped a robbery at
gunpoint as they were travelling down Francie van Zijl Drive towards Elsies
River. The following day, a crew member was slapped in the face by a patient
who refused assistance in Langa. Later the same day, cable theft occurred at
the EMS base in Pinelands.
PICTURE: WCDoHSpokesperson for the Western Cape’s Department of Health
& Wellness, Byron La Hoe, urged residents with any information related to
the weekend’s incidents to report it to
the SAPS.
‘’Assaults on our EMS personnel and their impacts on
services to our communities will not be tolerated. These assaults often leave
our EMS personnel traumatised and fearing for their lives while fulfilling
their duties.
‘’Although most attacks did not result in serious physical
injuries, essential healthcare services to the most vulnerable have often been
disrupted and the staff have been traumatised. Cases have been reported to the
South African Police Service (SAPS) for investigation.’’
‘’While the unpredictable work environment exposes EMS
personnel to many risks, violence should not be one of them. Staff safety is a
high priority, for the department and we will continue to provide the necessary
employee assistance programme interventions to the affected personnel and
implement essential measures to help ensure that EMS personnel are kept safe.
These include staff safety, management strategies, safety stakeholder engagements,
and community initiatives,’’ he added.
Furthermore, EMS teams responded to 5 827 incidents over
the weekend, of which, 31% were of a life-threatening nature.Most patients were
transported to the Tygerberg, Worcester and George Schuur Hospitals. Most
incidents involved chest pains (915), weapon assaults (817), respiratory complaints
(530), physical assaults (376) and obstetric complains (323).
On the province’s roads, EMS responded to 198 incidents
which left several vehicle occupants injured. On 4 March at 19:45, 10 persons
suffered injuries in a crash on the Rawsonville Road and were transported to
Worcester Hospital. In another crash on 5 March at 20:37, one person died, and
10 others injured when a bakkie overturned on the Old Mamre Road near Darling.
EMS personnel also attended to various incidents in the permanent
Red Zone neighbourhoods, with majority in Beacon Valley (50), followed by Tafelsig
(36), Hanover Park (14) and Chicago (5).
Red zone areas are where ambulance crews are not allowed to
enter certain areas without a police escort.
‘’The EMS remains appreciative of the SAPS’ and other law
enforcement agencies' ongoing support, as this helps protect our crews and
enables them to care for the most vulnerable patients,’’ said Byron
La Hoe, Spokesperson for the Western Cape’s Department of Health & Wellness.
Done By: Mitchum George
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