Medics’ competence questioned

Are Empangeni’s Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) competent? According to witnesses, including medics and members of the public, the three EMRS officers who attended to the murder scene of Juan Champ at Absa Empangeni last Monday, did not administer CPR. The first witness to arrive on scene said Champ was still alive when she got there. ‘I sat with his head in my lap and called for help, but at no stage did anyone from the bank come out to assist. ‘They only said that an ambulance had been called. ‘When it arrived the three medics tried to stop the bleeding and struggled to give the man oxygen. ‘Luckily another private ambulance service arrived and took over and were very professional. ‘But when the EMRS medics were asked to administer CPR, they either could not or would not. ‘A man from the public said he could do CPR and he began assisting,’ she said. According to qualified medics who were on the scene, the EMRS medics were guilty of gross negligence. ‘They did not administer CPR when instructed to and they did not seem to know their equipment,’ said one medic. At the time of going to print, we were still awaiting comment from Absa on their procedures during security emergencies.