Prince Albert’s Parkland Ambulance is asking the public to be sure that someone needs medical assistance before they rush to the scene with lights and sirens.
A news release said paramedics respond to a number of “man down calls,” where someone is laying on the street or sitting in the grass, for example.
“This additional information is extremely helpful to responding paramedics and might reduce the need of a red lights and siren response by the ambulance vehicle. Lights and siren responses are the most dangerous forms of response for paramedics and the public at large,” said the news release, although “they are essential in many instances.”
Instead of automatically dialling 9-1-1, the release explained, stop and ask the person if they need medical attention if it’s safe to do so. If they do require assistance, you can provide the paramedics with their age, sex and even their condition.
Paramedics respond to vehicle collisions over weekend
Out of the 87 calls Parkland responded to this weekend up until noon on Sunday, two of them were vehicle collisions.
The first occurred at about 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Paramedics said there were no injuries as a result of the collision at the 3200 block of 2nd Avenue West.
A few hours later on Friday, at about 9:20 p.m., they responded to another collision on Highway 6 about 60 kilometres north of Smeaton. Paramedics reported there were no injuries.
