PARAMEDICS ON SCOOTERS 2

THE HERALD SUN
LETTERS

Ambulance  Victoria's  Tony Walker said scooters on trial had problems
but  the  idea worked. That they bought the wrong machines for the job
does   not  mean that Victoria doesn't need paramedics on motorcycles.
They operate successfully interstate and overseas.

The $3 million trial is about finding the problems and fixing them.

Fix the specially trained paramedics safety and pay concerns. Buy some
mid-sized  bike with big wheels and an electrical system that can cope
with  the lights, sirens and communications gear required.

Get  the two-wheeled ambos working in areas where full-size ambulances
are  scarce  or can't attend easily. An ambulance can't get to a heart
attack victim or a birth in a car on a freeway in peak hour quickly. A
paramedic on a motorcycle with the gear to save lives can.

Paramedics   on   motorcycles  shorten  response  times  and  free  up
ambulances  for  urgent  tasks. Learn from the first year of the trial
and fix the problems.

Damien Codognotto OAM
Independent Riders' Group
Melbourne

THE HERALD SUN
LETTERS

LIVES PUT AT RISK. Ambos forced to wait. (HS 28/11/2012) Our ambulance
service and hospital arrival areas are dangerously under-resourced.

When  hospitals  have  to  make  ambos  wait long periods to hand over
patients/victims   two   things   are   clear.  First,  hospitals  are
under-staffed. Two, our limited fleet of ambulances is limited further
by drop off delays.

One  way to shorten response times and free up full-size ambulances is
to  give  hospitals  what  they  need  to  facilitate quick, efficient
patient/victim  admissions.  Another  way is to put more paramedics on
motorcycles on the road.

The  current  trial of motorcycle paramedics in Melbourne is less than
it should be. A couple of scooters ridden by three or four ambos in an
area  with good coverage is not enough. Minister Davis should put more
bikes on more roads in areas where ambulance cover is less than in the
CBD.  Gridlocked  main  roads  and  freeways are places where the most
efficient ambulance has two wheels.

Paramedics  on motorcycles are cost-effective and efficient interstate
and overseas. They save lives.

Damien Codognotto OAM
Independent Riders' Group
Melbourne