Category: paramedics

Judge OKs Trial for Illinois Paramedics in Patient’s Death

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—Two Illinois emergency medical professionals should be tried on first-degree murder charges after a patient they strapped facedown to a stretcher suffocated, a judge ruled Friday. Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan are charged in the December death of 35-year-old Earl Moore in Springfield. They pleaded not guilty Friday and are being held in the…


Colorado Police, Paramedics Plead Not Guilty to Homicide in Elijah McClain Death

DENVER—Three Colorado police officers and two paramedics pleaded not guilty on Friday to homicide charges in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a Black man subdued by police, placed in a choke hold and injected with a sedative, though he was neither armed nor suspected of a crime. Attorneys for all five defendants entered pleas…


South Australian Budget Delivers on Election Promise of More Ambulance Officers

The South Australian (SA) government has begun its recruitment of the 350 additional ambulance officers promised at the state election in March. A new intern cohort of 32 paramedic graduates are set to start work on Monday, the first of 278 new paramedics and 72 new ambulance officers to be added to the SA ambulance…


Union Welcomes NSW Paramedics Boost

Nearly 2000 paramedics will join New South Wales’ “worked to the bone” workforce as the state government commits to a funding boost. The Health Services Union has welcomed the announcement following several industrial actions by NSW paramedics this year. Secretary Gerard Hayes dubbed it a historic win for paramedics who had been “consistently under-resourced”. “For…


Australian Union Welcomes NSW Paramedics Boost

Nearly 2,000 paramedics will join New South Wales’ “worked to the bone” workforce as the state government commits to a funding boost. The Health Services Union has welcomed the announcement following several industrial actions by NSW paramedics this year. Secretary Gerard Hayes dubbed it a historic win for paramedics who had been “consistently under-resourced.” “For…


Striking Paramedics Say NSW Government Not Listening

Paramedics in New South Wales (NSW) are two days into a five day period of snap industrial action as their dispute with the government over staffing and wages shows no signs of simmering down. On Saturday, paramedics brought forward plans for on-the-job industrial action after the NSW government launched a legal challenge with the Industrial…


Victorian Premier Called Out Over His Role in the State Health Emergency

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been questioned over his role in the state’s health crisis that led to the death of a 14-year-old girl waiting for an ambulance as well as 15 other Victorians’ deaths in the recent months. 14-year-old Lydia Anseline died on April 13 from an asthma attack after waiting for over 30…


First Responders Speak About the Pandemic’s Psychological Toll

BUENA PARK, Calif.—As the ongoing pandemic continues to hit Southern California hard, Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) paramedics are sharing the struggles they’re facing on the frontline. Climbing COVID-19 numbers, coupled with a limited intensive care unit (ICU) capacity at area hospitals, has taken a mental and physical toll on emergency medical (EMS) workers, said…


Orange County Paramedics Tapped to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine

Some fire department paramedics in Orange County, California, are being trained to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, in a move officials hope will help alleviate the workload of hospital nurses and doctors. “Because hospital staffing is overworked, they don’t have the [manpower] to inoculate people,” Supervisor Doug Chaffee told The Epoch Times. “We are getting paramedics trained,…