Make way for the pushbike paramedics
(from 
)
BEN WAY
March 1, 2007
STRICKEN patients will get a pedal-powered boost with bicycle ambulance crews making their debut at major events this month.
Bike unit paramedics Paul Norrey, John Bradley, Jenny Lewis and Jasmine Usher For the first time in South Australia, first response units which include paramedics and intensive care paramedics, will use bicycles to operate more effectively in large crowds.
The new service will be used at major events such as the Clipsal 500, Womadelaide and the Fringe.
SA Ambulance director of Metropolitan Operations Keith Driscoll said the bikes would give increased access to trauma patients in large crowds.
“Bike teams can respond quickly where access for a normal ambulance is next to impossible,” he said.
“The fast response will have a lot better outcome.”
Mr Driscoll said the pushbike first response units, which have already been introduced in Victoria and overseas, carry a full range of medications and treatments for emergency situations.
“We are not providing a first aid service. These rapid response units are exclusively for the purpose of responding to medical emergencies and getting to the patient as quickly as we can to begin treatment,” he said.
The teams are similar to police pushbike crews, but paramedics will carry a medical kit including oxygen and defibrillators suitable for responding to seizures, heart attacks and collapses.
