Health
- (a) How many (i) paramedics in the Western Cape received trauma counselling and (ii) emergency medical personnel completed counselling sessions in the previous two financial years, (b) what were the reasons for non-completion and (c) in the light of ongoing criminal attacks, what measures are put in place by her Department to support such staff members;
- how many criminal attacks on Emergency Medical Services personnel have been recorded in the (i) 2018/19 and (ii) 2019/20 financial years, (b) how many of these attacks occurred in so-called “red-zones” and (c) in how many of these attacks were the SAPS and/or security services present to escort staff members?
- (a)(i)(ii) We have done over 185 referrals over the past two financial years, with an approximate refusal rate of 25%.
(b) Reasons for non-completion are that staff either feel resilient enough (depending on the severity of the incident) or they are already being seen by a treating physician with an existing treatment plan.
© All staff are offered counselling and treatment through our Employee Assistance Programme. Progress is continuously followed up until the staff member is back at work and confirms they are able to resume work. Other interventions include:
- Absolute discretion for own safety
- Dedicated safety desk with own channel to monitor crews operating in Red Zones.
- Up to date intelligence regarding protest action and areas to avoid
- Declaration of Red Zones and No-go Zones for limited periods
- Standard procedure to utilize law enforcement escorts in Red Zones
- Dedicated crews working in areas deemed high-risk to integrate with communities
- Community engagement programs
- Utilise state advocates to monitor progress of criminal prosecutions of attackers
- Support of victims during court cases and provide expert witness to convince court not to set bail and to motivate long sentences
- Participation in media reporting of incidents
- Regular engagement with an organized labour task team collaborating on security and safety matters.
- (a)(i) 30 attacks between January and December 2019
(ii) 43 attacks since January 2020 (as at end of August)
(b) The “red zones” changes regularly. An area is assigned the “red zone” status when an attack occurs and is then deemed a “red zone” permanently during the evenings and 12 hours until SAPS clears the area. These attacks are spread across the province with the majority of cases having occurred in the Cape Metropole.
© There have been isolated incidents where staff have been attacked in Red Zones under police escort. However, these are due to the SAPS being under attack themselves and were rendered incapable of assisting EMS. The relationship between EMS and SAPS is good and they have provided us with excellent escort services over the last five years under very difficult circumstances. Likewise, the City’s Law Enforcement units have provided escorts whenever they can and we acknowledge these law enforcement officials as without them the situation would have been dire and the communities would have suffered.
