EMS workers cope with trauma of Hampstead crash scene
Posted Feb 8, 2012 03:41:58 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Scenes like the crash in Hampstead can have an emotional toll on even the most seasoned emergency responder.
Director of Emergency Medical Services for Waterloo Region, John Prno, says paramedics are made aware of the type of emotions that are possible and are taught coping mechanisms. However, he says it’s really not something you can train for. “This is a once in a career or once in a lifetime event,” he says. “That’s going to be difficult for anybody. It doesn’t matter how hardened, how much experience you have, this is an extremely difficult call to deal with.”
Eight EMS workers from Waterloo Region were sent to the Hampstead crash scene.
Prno says there are programs in place to help them deal with the emotional fallout. “We have an employee assistance program that includes professional counselling,” he explains. “In this case, we…put that in place immediately. We knew we had eight employees that were involved in that incident. We arranged to have a councillor here when they returned from the scene.”
He says they also monitor how employees are dealing with the stress and make sure they have all the support they need.
