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FAST
In partnership with the Singapore Civil Defence Force
SINGAPORE: Chaos erupted at a hotel when Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics responded to reports of a drunk man in his 40s who had allegedly been assaulted.
The man claimed he had been enjoying drinks at a wedding banquet when a group of strangers attacked him.
When the medics arrived, however, he hurled invective at them, insisted on smoking while on the stretcher and refused to cooperate — complicating efforts to assess his condition.
“By protocol, we’re not allowed to restrain patients,” said Major Muhammad Nazri, a senior staff officer in the SCDF’s EMS department.
“We try as far as possible not to engage the patients or make them more aggressive than they already are.”
SCDF senior staff officer Major Muhammad Nazri speaking to CNA Insider.
Still, safety remains a top priority in these situations. So it is important for emergency staff to request police assistance when necessary, said advanced paramedic Sergeant 3 (SGT3) Muhammad Zuhaili, who attended to this case.
“At that very moment, (I felt) a little bit of apprehension as we were trying our best to help,” Zuhaili shared. “Although it’s tough … every patient should be treated the same.”
Despite the challenges, paramedics are trained to remain composed in hostile circumstances — training that is often put to the test, with assaults on paramedics more common than one might think.
In March, a man received a two-month jail term for repeatedly grabbing a medic’s limbs and spraining his neck en route to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Another man, who slapped and kicked a paramedic in Hougang in February last year, was sent to prison for 14 weeks.
Zuhaili has experienced such abuse firsthand, once taking a punch to the head from another drunk patient.
Lieutenant Colonel Janice Oh, a senior assistant director in the SCDF’s EMS department, disclosed that there were 38 cases of physical abuse against paramedics last year, with another 20 incidents this year as at July.
In the SCDF operations centre, call-takers handle an average of 677 medical emergency calls a day to the 995 line. And some callers can be uncooperative, for example when they refuse to provide an address despite requesting an ambulance.
Nazri said: “If you want us to help you, then the best way would be to answer our questions as quickly as possible.”
Screengrab of video showing a SCDF call-taker responding to a 995 caller.
In one instance recently, a call-taker informed a caller that an ambulance was on the way, only to be met with an outburst of vulgarities.
Such language, which can range from insults to threats, is not only unhelpful but punishable by law. Those using abusive language face penalties of up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 (US$3,700) or both.
Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Jason Tan said about one experience with an abusive caller: “I was very, very frustrated because I was trying to help (him).”
Yet the SCDF operations centre specialist and his colleagues had to keep their emotions in check, knowing it could otherwise affect the next call.
After the abusive call, WO2 Jason Tan went to the toilet to try to calm down.
To support them, rota commanders may step in, especially when a call-taker seems traumatised; those affected by a situation are also encouraged to take a break. Calls are later reviewed together to determine how to handle these situations better.
In more severe cases of aggression towards SCDF responders, the law comes down hard on offenders. Those causing physical harm could face up to seven years in prison, a fine and/or caning; those committing criminal force face up to four years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.
Sometimes there is a lack of consideration on the roads. Drivers may jam on the brakes in front of an ambulance or fail to make way despite having ample space in the next lane, causing a delay to the ambulance’s response.
WATCH: SCDF officers react to abusive calls, emotional cases and ambulance-blocking drivers (11:42)
“(This) could even result in an accident,” noted the operations centre’s commander, Colonel Dennis Quah. “Instead of us responding to the original incident, we’d have to actually dispatch another resource to the incident.”
Delays in giving way to emergency vehicles can cost precious seconds during the “golden hour”, the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury, when medical intervention will significantly increase the chances of survival.
This is also crucial in cases of cardiac arrest — the first chest compression can make all the difference in saving a life.
Failure to give way to emergency vehicles comes with a penalty: four demerit points and a fine of up to S$200.
Some drivers do give way, then slip back behind the ambulance, tailing it as though they are taking the “express lane”.
“This is very dangerous,” Nazri warned. “If the ambulance (driver) jams (on the) brakes, … you’re going to hit the ambulance, especially if you’re tailgating.”
Then there are non-emergencies, making up about 10 per cent of 995 calls each year, or 50 calls a day on average. They delay EMS’ response to real emergencies, where every second is critical.
Since last year, the SCDF operations centre has been screening 995 calls more thoroughly, dispatching ambulances only when there are genuine emergencies, such as breathlessness, excessive bleeding, loss of consciousness, major traumas, seizures and stroke.
Those with non-emergency issues, such as toothaches, constipation, coughs, diarrhoea, headaches, slight burns and toothaches, will not be prioritised or conveyed to hospital.
While cases of abuse and delays caused by road hogs or non-emergencies frustrate SCDF officers, the feelings that are hardest to bury arise from genuine emergencies.
Zuhaili recalled an infant who had a leg trapped between the bars of her cot. On the way to the scene, the paramedics were told the child had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating.
“I got into the ambulance, and I continued doing (chest compressions) over and over again until we reached the hospital,” Zuhaili said.
She did not make it.
Advanced paramedic SGT3 Muhammad Zuhaili cited the three-month old baby as the one patient he would never forget.
For emergency medical technician WO1 Kee Seng Teck, who was on call with Zuhaili at the time, that case lingered in his memory too. “As a father of two … (seeing) these types of things, sometimes I feel very sad.”
Cases involving children seem to cut the deepest for call-takers too. Senior staff nurse and medical dispatch specialist Muthe’Ullah still recalls a call seven years ago, from a young girl who told him her mother was unconscious and not breathing.
Her father had already died, so when she asked if she would become an orphan, Muthe’Ullah struggled to hold back his tears.
“(I later) took a short break … and then just (shared) the whole call with my colleague,” he recounted. “Was there any way we could’ve done better?”
For many call-takers, the emotional weight does not just disappear overnight. “Our call-takers will relive the call over and over in their heads and (question) whether they could’ve done better,” Quah said.
“No matter how hard they try to be professional about it, they do carry that emotional baggage.”
SCDF operations centre commander Colonel Dennis Quah said it was important for personnel to support each other.
Support is available, though. The SCDF provides counsellors and psychologists to assist operators in need. “The last thing we want is for our operators to be numb to all these cases,” Quah added.
Each officer has his or her own way of coping. Nazri, for instance, turns to food to shake off anger at public abuse. Tan and Muthe’Ullah release that energy with a run and by confiding in a loved one, respectively.
“I know that today is a brand-new day, and there might be someone who needs my assistance. And I can’t be burdened by the past,” Muthe’Ullah reflected.
Source: CNA/dp
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FAST
In partnership with the Singapore Civil Defence Force
SINGAPORE: Chaos erupted at a hotel when Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics responded to reports of a drunk man in his 40s who had allegedly been assaulted.
The man claimed he had been enjoying drinks at a wedding banquet when a group of strangers attacked him.
When the medics arrived, however, he hurled invective at them, insisted on smoking while on the stretcher and refused to cooperate — complicating efforts to assess his condition.
“By protocol, we’re not allowed to restrain patients,” said Major Muhammad Nazri, a senior staff officer in the SCDF’s EMS department.
“We try as far as possible not to engage the patients or make them more aggressive than they already are.”
SCDF senior staff officer Major Muhammad Nazri speaking to CNA Insider.
Still, safety remains a top priority in these situations. So it is important for emergency staff to request police assistance when necessary, said advanced paramedic Sergeant 3 (SGT3) Muhammad Zuhaili, who attended to this case.
“At that very moment, (I felt) a little bit of apprehension as we were trying our best to help,” Zuhaili shared. “Although it’s tough … every patient should be treated the same.”
Despite the challenges, paramedics are trained to remain composed in hostile circumstances — training that is often put to the test, with assaults on paramedics more common than one might think.
In March, a man received a two-month jail term for repeatedly grabbing a medic’s limbs and spraining his neck en route to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Another man, who slapped and kicked a paramedic in Hougang in February last year, was sent to prison for 14 weeks.
Zuhaili has experienced such abuse firsthand, once taking a punch to the head from another drunk patient.
Lieutenant Colonel Janice Oh, a senior assistant director in the SCDF’s EMS department, disclosed that there were 38 cases of physical abuse against paramedics last year, with another 20 incidents this year as at July.
ABUSE ON THE FRONT LINE
In the SCDF operations centre, call-takers handle an average of 677 medical emergency calls a day to the 995 line. And some callers can be uncooperative, for example when they refuse to provide an address despite requesting an ambulance.
Nazri said: “If you want us to help you, then the best way would be to answer our questions as quickly as possible.”
Screengrab of video showing a SCDF call-taker responding to a 995 caller.
In one instance recently, a call-taker informed a caller that an ambulance was on the way, only to be met with an outburst of vulgarities.
Such language, which can range from insults to threats, is not only unhelpful but punishable by law. Those using abusive language face penalties of up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to S$5,000 (US$3,700) or both.
Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Jason Tan said about one experience with an abusive caller: “I was very, very frustrated because I was trying to help (him).”
Yet the SCDF operations centre specialist and his colleagues had to keep their emotions in check, knowing it could otherwise affect the next call.
After the abusive call, WO2 Jason Tan went to the toilet to try to calm down.
To support them, rota commanders may step in, especially when a call-taker seems traumatised; those affected by a situation are also encouraged to take a break. Calls are later reviewed together to determine how to handle these situations better.
In more severe cases of aggression towards SCDF responders, the law comes down hard on offenders. Those causing physical harm could face up to seven years in prison, a fine and/or caning; those committing criminal force face up to four years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.
WHEN SECONDS COUNT, BUT CARS DON’T MOVE
Sometimes there is a lack of consideration on the roads. Drivers may jam on the brakes in front of an ambulance or fail to make way despite having ample space in the next lane, causing a delay to the ambulance’s response.
WATCH: SCDF officers react to abusive calls, emotional cases and ambulance-blocking drivers (11:42)
“(This) could even result in an accident,” noted the operations centre’s commander, Colonel Dennis Quah. “Instead of us responding to the original incident, we’d have to actually dispatch another resource to the incident.”
Delays in giving way to emergency vehicles can cost precious seconds during the “golden hour”, the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury, when medical intervention will significantly increase the chances of survival.
This is also crucial in cases of cardiac arrest — the first chest compression can make all the difference in saving a life.
Failure to give way to emergency vehicles comes with a penalty: four demerit points and a fine of up to S$200.
Some drivers do give way, then slip back behind the ambulance, tailing it as though they are taking the “express lane”.
“This is very dangerous,” Nazri warned. “If the ambulance (driver) jams (on the) brakes, … you’re going to hit the ambulance, especially if you’re tailgating.”
Then there are non-emergencies, making up about 10 per cent of 995 calls each year, or 50 calls a day on average. They delay EMS’ response to real emergencies, where every second is critical.
Since last year, the SCDF operations centre has been screening 995 calls more thoroughly, dispatching ambulances only when there are genuine emergencies, such as breathlessness, excessive bleeding, loss of consciousness, major traumas, seizures and stroke.
Those with non-emergency issues, such as toothaches, constipation, coughs, diarrhoea, headaches, slight burns and toothaches, will not be prioritised or conveyed to hospital.
Related stories:
THE EMOTIONAL TOLL
While cases of abuse and delays caused by road hogs or non-emergencies frustrate SCDF officers, the feelings that are hardest to bury arise from genuine emergencies.
Zuhaili recalled an infant who had a leg trapped between the bars of her cot. On the way to the scene, the paramedics were told the child had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating.
“I got into the ambulance, and I continued doing (chest compressions) over and over again until we reached the hospital,” Zuhaili said.
She did not make it.
Advanced paramedic SGT3 Muhammad Zuhaili cited the three-month old baby as the one patient he would never forget.
For emergency medical technician WO1 Kee Seng Teck, who was on call with Zuhaili at the time, that case lingered in his memory too. “As a father of two … (seeing) these types of things, sometimes I feel very sad.”
Cases involving children seem to cut the deepest for call-takers too. Senior staff nurse and medical dispatch specialist Muthe’Ullah still recalls a call seven years ago, from a young girl who told him her mother was unconscious and not breathing.
Her father had already died, so when she asked if she would become an orphan, Muthe’Ullah struggled to hold back his tears.
“(I later) took a short break … and then just (shared) the whole call with my colleague,” he recounted. “Was there any way we could’ve done better?”
For many call-takers, the emotional weight does not just disappear overnight. “Our call-takers will relive the call over and over in their heads and (question) whether they could’ve done better,” Quah said.
“No matter how hard they try to be professional about it, they do carry that emotional baggage.”
SCDF operations centre commander Colonel Dennis Quah said it was important for personnel to support each other.
Support is available, though. The SCDF provides counsellors and psychologists to assist operators in need. “The last thing we want is for our operators to be numb to all these cases,” Quah added.
Each officer has his or her own way of coping. Nazri, for instance, turns to food to shake off anger at public abuse. Tan and Muthe’Ullah release that energy with a run and by confiding in a loved one, respectively.
“I know that today is a brand-new day, and there might be someone who needs my assistance. And I can’t be burdened by the past,” Muthe’Ullah reflected.
You may wish to also read:
Source: CNA/dp
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