Yesterday, on June 26th, a social media post reported an incident involving Regina paramedics. While responding to a call that originated from Regina Transit, Regina EMS paramedics were assaulted.
This is not an isolated incident. Our members have experienced and are experiencing increasing violence while attempting to provide assistance to those who need their care. This one is front and center today because instead of only appearing in an incident report, it was captured on video while it was happening and shared on social media. It has brutally brought to light the day-to-day reality of paramedics.
In recent days, another Regina paramedic was in the spotlight – retiring after 26 years ‘on car’ on the front lines. Why was attention drawn to this event? Many people retire after 25 or 26 years. Why is this newsworthy? Because rarely is a paramedic able to achieve that many years of service given the physical and mental health toll those years take. In a survey of HSAS paramedics, over 50% of respondents reported that they had lost time from work due to a workplace injury. This could include either a physical or occupational stress injury. That statistic is staggering. As first responders, paramedics see and experience trauma that most of us cannot and do not want to imagine. Additionally, it’s not uncommon for a paramedic to have undergone surgery for a workplace shoulder or back or other musculoskeletal injury at some point in their career. Any of these injuries could be career-ending.
So, when we are faced with images of assault on those whose passion is to help others, we need a response that does not accept the status quo, that doesn’t shrug and believe this type of risk is inevitable. We need to ask how we can move toward a better and safer process for responding to calls.