A window was smashed on an ambulance in Saskatoon on Sunday as first responders were dealing with a patient in serious condition.
Medavie Health Services West said paramedics were around 20th Street between Second and Third Avenue between 5:50 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. when their driver-side window was smashed out while they were attending to the patient.
“We are asking for anyone who has information on this incident to contact Saskatoon Police Services,” states Troy Davies, director of public affairs.
“Thankfully, due to some favourable weather conditions, this did not affect our ability to treat a very serious patient, but this is a stressor that paramedics shouldn’t be dealing with.”
This is the second incident reported within two weeks regarding ambulances in Saskatoon, as a 45-year-old man was arrested for attempting to steal an ambulance on Halloween night.
“Paramedics with Medavie Health Services West reported that they had been attending to the patient of an unrelated incident alongside the ambulance when an uninvolved man got in and began to drive away, running over a paramedic’s foot,” Saskatoon Police Service stated.
Kyle Sereda, acting chief of Medavie Health Services West said two of their paramedics were involved in an act of violence during a response for help.
“It is an unfortunate circumstance because we’re seeing this more and more towards our paramedics. We’re here to help and if we’re injured and can’t get to the call, we can’t help those that are calling us,” Sereda said.
“This is an increasing trend. Our paramedics are our number one priority … if we can’t get to people, we’re no good.”
Sereda said despite having protocols and policies in place, they are still seeing that violence towards paramedics on the street.
Adam Fedrau with the Saskatoon Paramedic Association said situations like this could end up so much worse, adding that these are becoming much more frequent events.
“They’re just becoming almost an everyday occurrence, unfortunately,” Fedrau said.
He gave examples of paramedics responding to calls that he considered benign things that can turn unexpectedly into violent events.
Fedrau said the threshold for calling the police is just getting lower and lower, saying these situations can be triggered from mental health struggles, substance abuse, or just frustration from wait times.
“People are waiting on ambulances sometimes just because of the pressures on the system right now.”
He called this a system-wide problem that just seems to keep compounding.
— with files from Jeanelle Mandes
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