Cape Town - One of three paramedics who survived a brazen attack at gunpoint while treating a 5-year-old girl in the back of an ambulance in Khayelitsha early on Wednesday says they will “definitely consider only going in (to the area) with police escorts in future”.
Held at gunpoint, three ER24 paramedics saved the life of the girl, who was having a seizure.
It was just after midnight when the doors of the ambulance were wrenched open from the outside, and the paramedics and the girl’s mother were robbed of their cellphones and wallets. They also stole the vehicle’s GPS system.
One of the assailants demanded the keys to a rapid-response vehicle that was also at the scene, but instead of unlocking the door, he managed to trigger the alarm, resulting in them fleeing the scene.
ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said the paramedics were “fairly shaken”, but were coping as it “takes a lot to shock a paramedic”.
Sheldon Poisson, Gustav Lund and Grant Josephs were the medics in attendance. Poisson said the child had an epileptic seizure and could have died had things turned out differently.
He explained that although ER24 is a private company, they respond to unbillable calls like those in the townships when Metro EMS “is spread a bit thin on the ground”.
Poisson said the assailants were calm and focused and he got the impression they were experienced criminals. “We often get calls there (in Khayelitsha) at 2am or 3am, and I have never felt safe there. Other colleagues have been robbed and attacked there,” he said.
“I am now dreading month-end in the townships because everything is exponentially worse when people have been paid and are drinking. We will definitely consider only going in with police escorts.
“The sad thing is that the people who will suffer the most from this sort of crime is the community of Khayelitsha itself. “One day, one of those criminals might need help themselves and no one will come.” But traumatic as the incident was, there is a bigger issue at stake here. This is not an isolated case – paramedics are regularly robbed and threatened, and it has been happening since at least 2007, when a defibrillator was stolen from a Metro ambulance on a response call in Parklands.
Vermaak said ER24 had had many such incidents before, where phones, wallets and GPS devices were stolen, and sometimes jumpbags as well. He said it was difficult to understand where the market for paramedic equipment was, as it would only be of use to medically trained people.
Vehicles have also been stolen, so ER24 now orders the vans in their trademark red direct from the car dealership. Even if the branding is removed the vehicles are still red, making them a little easier to find. Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said: “It is an absolute disgrace... I simply have no words to describe the complete and utter lack of humanity displayed by these individuals who could have caused the death of a young girl simply because they placed a higher value on cellphones than somebody’s life.
“This type of behaviour sends the wrong message to private companies like ER24, who provide a valuable community service, but will be less willing to respond to emergency call-outs in areas in which they have been robbed.
“I am asking anyone with information on the two criminals to please report it to the local police stations in Khayelitsha or directly to my office on 021 483 4332.”
Cape Times