Last night I was priveleged to attend the annual gala dinner for the ambulance service and it struck me what an important gauge of our society it is. Surely, one of the measures of our level of civilisation is how quickly and well we respond when someone is in trauma...and the emergencies that our ambulance service deal with are the most obvious examples of this.
It's amazing when you think how the 'stretcher bearer' transportation service of yesteryear has been transformed into the modern paramedic who, often, can have a trauma victim stabilised and pain-free before they arrive at hospital.
The danger these professionals deal with was highlighted by two factors. Firstly, the event last night was run by a foundation named after the late Kenneth James McPherson, a paramedic who died in the course of his duty. Secondly, that the Commissioner was unable to be present because he was visiting the base where another paramedic had, two days earlier, suffered severe injuries in a 16M fall during a rescue. On top of the natural hazards, they have to increasingly deal with violent, injured people and other aggression.
Okay, we hear occasionally in the news of the times when an ambulance was late to an emergency; but this only makes the news because it's unusual. In general, we can rely on a speedy, professional response should we be unfortunate enough to need emergency medical aid. A measure of our civilisation...let's not take it for granted.
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