Mental Medic Monologues

Mountain MVA Bonanza

2012-02-24T23:20:00.001+02:00

2 MVA's involving bikers occurred less than 15min apart from each other not even a 100m apart on Sunday 19 February 2012 in the Franschhoek Pass. The first biker had a wobble going into a bend causing him to side swipe an oncoming car. He fractured both hands in the process. Moments later a vehicle stopped and informed me of a second one with the bikers still lying on the car around the corner.

Thankfully ER24 arrived and started loading the first biker so that I could investigate what was going on around the corner. When I got there I found a couple lying on the bonnet of the car. The wife was complaining of chest pain and had difficulty in breathing, whilst her husband had suffered a severe compound fracture to his right tib/fib. Both patient were in severe shock and confused.

Due to the situation and location, we requested the services of the Medicopter 2 to assist as we did not have ALS on scene with us. We stabilised the couple and the wife was loaded in with the first biker, whilst her husband was airlifted to an appropriate facility.

Thanks for the great service, if that was not enough, as I arrived back at the base, adjacent to the complex I found a demolition worker who had fallen off a 4m high scaffolding tower and had sustained multiple fractures in the process. Once again ER24 came through to assist and then was able to take the rest of the day off to enjoy my birthday with friends.

Journey to Gold

2012-02-23T23:13:00.001+02:00

My 11yr old, Maya took the gold medal in a single handed swoop and jumping 2cm short of the current SA Record, watch this space people, Springbokkie here we come!!

5 BLS Required for Event Standby in Stellenbosch 10/02/2012 from 11:30 - 21:30

2012-02-05T17:10:00.001+02:00

This is the Prestige Inter-schools Athletics Meeting hosted by DF Malan, with Paul Roos, Paarl Gym and Bloemhof in attendance. 10hrs long, 4000 people, all track and field events.

Event resources will include Doctor, 2 x Ambulances, 1 x ALS, 2 x ILS, 6 x BLS & first aiders. Take note it is this Friday the 10th February 2012, if you are interested, contact me asap to book your spot! 074 363 7744 or via email on enquiries@medicare-emr.co.za

Look forward to hearing from you.
Medicare EMR

Public Warning Regarding Water Quality at Beaches

2012-02-05T14:36:00.001+02:00

Deadly bug hits beaches By Lyse Comins

A Durban doctor, who contracted a deadly flesh-eating bacteria through a cut on his leg while surf-skiing in the ocean, is lucky to be alive and not to have lost the limb. Dr Peter Breedt of Hillcrest, a surf-ski enthusiast, is one of several people who have got sick after surfing or swimming at city beaches in recent months.

And, as we enter one of the hottest months of the year, one of the country’s leading water-quality experts, microbiologist Professor Eugene Cloete, dean of Stellenbosch University’s Science Department, has warned about the dangers of swimming in the sea if one has cuts, wounds or chronic liver disease.

Breedt said that, together with a medical colleague, he had diagnosed that the naturally occurring bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, had eaten away the tissue of his foot after he had gone paddle-skiing from Ushaka Beach to the Bluff and back, in November. His wound has still not healed. “I had a little scratch on my leg and I went surf-skiing. The water was really smelly with a sulphur kind of smell,” Dr Breedt said.

“I have spoken to surgeons who say they see it quite often and that you can get it from swimming in river mouths,” Breedt said. Breedt said he started feeling sick and a black area developed on his foot six hours after surf skiing. “I took lots of antibiotics and had three operations to cut away the dead skin and I had skin grafts,” Breedt said. “It’s hard to believe that from being healthy one minute I could get so sick.”

Breedt said he believed he was alive because he was a doctor and had acted quickly. Professor Cloete described Vibrio vulnificus as one of the most dangerous pathogens that occur in the ocean – it grows where salt concentrations are high and temperatures warm. “The vibrio genos can grow in salt water when the ambient temperature is between 15°C and 35°C. It has been found in shellfish and in undercooked oysters.

“However, if you get it into a wound it causes septicaemia and shock and if it gets into the bloodstream you will get very sick.” Cloete said the mortality rate was up to 50 percent if the bacteria entered the bloodstream and treatment within 48 hours was vital.

“If you go beyond 48 hours the fatality rate increases,” Cloete said. "If you have got sores you should not be going into the sea because you are exposing the body to potential contamination, not only to vibrio vulnificus but to a number of organisms. I would not go into the sea with cuts, and if you scratch yourself on the rocks you could be exposed.

“People with chronic liver disease are more vulnerable because (if swallowed) it can enter the blood through the gastro-intestinal tract.” Cloete said he was not sure if the minimum infective dose had been established but if swallowed the bacteria would cause diarrhoea and vomiting.

“It is more rare than other water-borne diseases and not even as common as salmonella and e.coli. But we might think it is rare because it is not well reported.”

The only other reported case of vibrio vulnificus infection in Durban was in 2002 when fisherman Eric Erasmus died after he contracted the bacteria while collecting sand prawns in Durban harbour. Author RW Johnson had his leg amputated in 2009 after cutting himself on a rock, but the bacteria, aeromonas hydrophila, was believed to have been responsible for his infection.

eThekweni Municipality deputy head of water and sanitation, technical support, Frank Stevens, said the water was tested five times a month at 33 beaches, including Wedge, North Beach and uShaka. He said the city spent R3 million annually on monitoring.

Stevens said vibrio vulnificus was found globally and was not part of normal beach water testing anywhere in the world. “The public should avoid swimming in close proximity to river mouths and stormwater outlets within 24 hours of a storm event. Heavy storms, such as were experienced in December, are likely to impact beach water quality until such time as the river returns to its normal flow,” Stevens said.

He said the city measured e.coli and enterococcus following US and EU standards.
“The quality has generally been good but unacceptable levels are experienced from time-to-time, usually due to high-rainfall events which result in, for example, flushing of paved areas and the surcharge of manholes,” Stevens said.

When levels were unacceptable the public was warned on boards at the beach and on the city’s website, he said. Sewage from waste water works was controlled in terms of the Green Drop programme in which the city was the best performing metro, he said.

“Stormwater is a problem faced in every city. First-flush interventions have been put in place but do not solve the problem. All citizens need to take their actions into consideration,” Stevens said.

Three of a group of five surfers, who swam in the sea at Wedges Beach last week, said they had become violently ill with gastroenteritis. Lee van Vuuren said the water was murky but they had not thought much of it until they woke up the next day vomiting.

Another surfer who got sick, Craig Knott, said: “We surf quite a bit in and around the piers and the water quality has not been great for quite some time but supposedly it’s just the storm water drains running but it’s almost like sewage in some cases – and smells.” Dean Sepprings said he had had contracted an ear infection and a post-nasal drip. Evan Basson said he had also become ill. “I can’t say it is the water but it was strange that we all swam and got sick,” Basson said.

Hillcrest mother Trisha Sandeman said she swam at the beach two weeks ago and had accidentally swallowed sea water.

“I am fit and I eat well and the following day I felt like I was coming down with a cold and my throat was inflamed. I had terrible sinuses and was off work and have only recovered now,” she said this week.

A Durban surfer, who asked not to be named, said earache had become common among local surfers and there was concern about sea water quality. “I personally have been very sick and had diarrhoea and a bad stomach,” she said. - Independent on Saturday
04 February | 10:23
http://m.iol.co.za/

God Bless to another Fallen Hero!

2012-01-01T14:01:00.003+02:00

Its with great sadness I announce a fellow EMS colleague has passed away this morning in the Boland in the Line of Duty in an MVA. My sincere condolences go out to the family, friends and colleagues during this terrible time. Out of respect I cannot post any further details re the MVA until its been made public. All I ask is my fellow friends on this site to take a few seconds out of their day and say a little prayer.

God Bless to another Fallen Hero!

2012-01-01T14:01:00.001+02:00

Here's my Christmas Wish...

2011-12-24T17:56:00.001+02:00

The Christmas Spirit - Our Local Guitar Hero

2011-12-24T17:33:00.001+02:00

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VID-20111223-00008.3GP

2011-12-24T06:00:00.001+02:00

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Legend @Peter Abrahams mixing it up at the Brandy Portfolio Festival

2011-12-05T01:09:00.001+02:00

Legend @Peter Abrahams mixing it up at the Brandy Portfolio

2011-12-04T20:14:00.001+02:00

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Horrific MVA

2011-12-01T16:31:00.001+02:00

Adventurous Pioneer Looking for New Owner

2011-11-28T20:14:00.001+02:00

Female, the leader of the litter the first to adventure out the box, lovely playful and very inquisitive.

Little Ballerina Looking for New Owner

2011-11-28T18:57:00.001+02:00

Female with sweet personality, playful, dreamy eyes, black nose, paws and cute

Half Breed Ginja Ninja Looking for New Owner

2011-11-28T18:34:00.001+02:00

Male with lovely personality, playful, loves attention and talks alot

https://www.mediafire.com/damadmedic

2011-11-24T02:51:00.003+02:00

Free mixes up for grabs...

https://www.mediafire.com/damadmedic

2011-11-24T02:51:00.001+02:00

Free mixes up for grabs...

Evita replies to Malema's request for respect...

2011-11-17T11:07:00.001+02:00

Julias Malema said on Tuesday: i want the SA people to treat me with the same respect as they did with Nelson Mandela. Evita Bezuidenhout replied: brilliant, lets start with the 27years in jail....Whahhaahaaaa

Snake Awareness & Treatment Protocols Course on 21//11/2011

2011-11-15T20:17:00.001+02:00

Snake Awareness & Treatment Protocols Course on 21//11/2011

With the snake season upon us, we are having a course on snakes and the treatment protocols in event of been bitten. The course includes a live show, slide show and theory. If you are interested in joining us, please contact me via email or cell on 074 363 7744.

The course is been presented by @Medicare EMR & @HOW Wildlife Rescue

Here is a great opportunity to help save lives...

2011-11-15T20:05:00.001+02:00

Yet another great initiative that The Franschhoek Lions Club has come up with. Currently in South Africa we are experiencing major shortages in various blood groups. If the stock levels in the SA Blood Bank are not replenished, our Doctors and hospitals will have a very difficult time saving lives.

So Medicare EMR would like to challenge all of you to take a moment and think about this situation we all find ourselves in. We all know what carnage the seasonal periods bring on the South African roads. So spare a thought for your loved ones and the same will be done for you. As it is said, "Do unto others as you want done unto you".

So Lead By Example and Others Will Follow! See You There!

Here is a great opportunity to help save lives...

2011-11-09T16:17:00.001+02:00

South African Medical Journal, Vol 101, No 10 (2011) - Dr Alan MacMahon raises concerns re HPCSA

2011-10-28T03:21:00.001+02:00

To the Editor: In a media release dated 30 August 2011, the
Professional Board for Emergency Care of the Health Professions
Council of South Africa states: ‘The HPCSA remains committed to the
discontinuation of the Basic Ambulance Assistants (BAAs), Ambulance
Emergency Assistants (AEAs) and paramedic Registers, thereby halting the current short courses offered.’ The closure of the registers is pending the promulgation of the relevant regulations by the Minister
of Health.

While the proposed discontinuation of the registers is to be welcomed,
the subsequent halting of the short courses is disturbing because it
displays a woeful lack of insight by the Professional Board into the
real world of operating ambulance services in South Africa.

As far back as 1982 I and other medical colleagues appealed to the
HPCSA to register advanced trained ambulance persons from the
provincial ambulance colleges in the Cape Province and Natal. The
reason for our request was that for the first time ambulance personnel
had been trained to administer specific drugs such as adrenaline and
atropine to patients.

We did not suggest registration of the basic or intermediate courses,
which even today form the backbone of trained ambulance personnel
delivering a service throughout the country.

It was predictable that to open registers for thousands of personnel
with short courses would lead to an unmanageable administrative
nightmare, especially when associated with collection of fees – and to
what purpose? Effectively the short courses are upgraded first aid
courses with the accent on ambulance operations in order to provide a
professional service to the public – certainly an asset and not a
hazard.

To discontinue these short courses as opposed to the registers will be
catastrophic to all the state-operated Emergency Ambulance Services,
which to a greater or lesser extent depend on these personnel. While
the registers should be discontinued, the courses should continue as
at present, subject to HPCSA accreditation of training facilities.

If all short courses were to be halted, what remains? (i) A 3-year
degree course offered only by the universities of technology, and (ii)
the 2-year ECT (Emergency Care Technikon) course.

Apart from the additional financial burden of effectively employing
only ambulance personnel with diplomas or degrees in the state health
service, it is tantamount to a waste of state resources, as no more
than 5% of patients require advanced life support.

The remaining courses are also more theory than practical, so even at
greater cost it is more unlikely that the public will be better
served!

Is this the role of the HPCSA?

A G Mac Mahon

Somewhere in there is my Katja

2011-10-26T19:27:00.001+02:00

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Garth van Zyl
Special Ops & Development
Medicare EMR
24hrs 074 363 7744

The official handover of the ECG

2011-09-13T11:49:00.001+02:00

Thanks to the efforts of the Lions Club Franschhoek, we now have a monitor in the valley! Thank you to all who participated, sponsored and donated their time and money for this great cause!

Hello World Of New Era

2011-08-29T20:02:00.001+02:00