Paramedics have been called to help more people lately who did not, in fact, need the help. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Man-Down Calls

Karasiuk: Local paramedics arriving at empty scenes too often

Mar 22, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Calling paramedics when you see someone who appears to need help is by no means a moral failing, but it is posing some problems for in Prince Albert lately. According to a release from Parkland Ambulance, they’re seeing an increase in what they call “man down” calls.

On these calls, paramedics may be dispatched to help someone on the street who doesn’t necessarily need it. Often times, by the time the ambulance arrives, both the person who called for it and the person it was intended to help have left the area.

“Maybe in the split second of time they’re passing corner X and corner Y, somebody has a slip and fall and they see them on the corner and that person is lying down,” said Lyle Karasiuk, director of public affairs for Parkland Ambulance. “Without stopping to offer assistance, without stopping to ask ‘Are you okay?,’ someone sees them…then they call for help.”

Calling for an ambulance when it’s an extremely cold night and someone is outdoors is one thing, or even, according to Karasiuk, calling when you see someone in a bus shelter at an hour at which buses don’t run. Doing so in daylight hours on a warm day, however, has become more common lately.

“Without knowing any more information, an ambulance is sent to that location,” said Karasiuk. “But when we get there, there’s nobody there. We look around the area, there’s nobody there.”

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Karasiuk said he understands people may not feel safe approaching someone they don’t know. He also said, however, there are ways to check on someone without compromising your own safety.

“Maybe, from the safety of your car, just open your window and yell ‘Hey, sir, do you need help?’” Karasiuk said. “If that person doesn’t then you’ve done your part and nobody else needs to know.”

“Sometimes, we feel they need help,” Karasiuk added. “They probably do need help, but they don’t need the help of emergency services like our paramedics.”

Karasiuk also said paramedics will have to search the area sometimes to find the person they were called out to help, and often have to rely on bystanders to know where they went if they’ve left the area.

Paramedics will never say no when people call but they are asking for help so they can have accurate information on the scene whether the person in need is there or not.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP