By Scot Phelps
Emergency Medical Services never stop, 24-7, in every corner of the globe. Learn from these news stories about the trials and tribulations of paramedics, probably similar to your own, as they respond to calls for service for the silly, mundane, and violent.
Ridiculous 9-1-1 calls
- Ambulance called for dead squirrel in Epping Forest (a very small urban park outside London)
- Ambulance called to injured bird in London
- “My cat is sick send an ambulance": In Dubai only 17% of EMS calls in 2014 were real emergencies
Video and audio takes you on the road with paramedics
- Video: A night with an NHS ambulance crew in the West Midlands
- Crazy tiny paramedic rapid response vehicle
- Video: UK Ambulance ‘Bloomsbury 3’ 1986
- Audio: New Study Looks at 9/11 Health Effects on EMS EMT’s and Paramedics
- Video: UK Men in the Ambulance 1974
Violence against EMS providers
- Northern Ireland ambulance staff get PSNI riot gear
- Yobs Smash Ambulance Windshield Whilst Paramedics Treat Patient
- UK ambulance windscreen smashed by brick in Birmingham
EMS systems in crisis
- Scotland medics lost 50,000 hours to stress time off last year
- “Staggering” Rise in Ambulance Red Alerts in Alberta
- Alberta Missing Ambulance Response Targets Nearly 1/3 of the Time
- BC Mayor: Ambulance Wait Times Fatal
- Winnipeg’s integrated paramedic/firefighter model resulted in lower costs but worse response times!
- “A 14% pay raise for EMS Paramedics? Not so fast. See you in court.”
- Paramedics have the highest risk of musculoskeletal & mental health injury claims among Victorian healthcare workers
- EMS service finds only 318 out of 19,151 “non-urgent” calls actually required an ambulance
- Suicides reveal ambulance officer stress in Australia
- 9000 prank 9-1-1 calls per month
Ambulance collisions and deaths
- Three burnt alive in Tamil Nadu ambulance crash
- Patient Dies in Zambia Ambulance Crash
- Cameras to fend off drivers tailing, cutting off ambulances in Turkey
News items curated by Scot Phelps, JD, MPH, Paramedic. Phelps is a Professor of Ambulance Science who teaches the Ambulance Science Fellowship Programs at the Emergency Management Academy.