By Charlene Tebbutt

Local paramedics show support for colleague

Sep 1, 2018 | 2:00 PM

Flags outside Parkland Ambulance in Prince Albert were at half-mast this week in a show of support following the recent suicide of a colleague from Regina.  

A celebration of life was held earlier this week in Regina in memory of Paramedic Robbie Curtis. The 37-year-old man worked as a paramedic for 18 years and struggled with PTSD before taking his own life. It’s an issue that many paramedics and emergency services personnel can face, said Lyle Karasiuk with Parkland Ambulance.

Statistics from the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, which works to provide support for emergency services personnel, show paramedics have a high rate of suicide across the country. Karasiuk says being a paramedic can be traumatic and stressful.

“Let’s be blunt about it, as paramedics, each and every day we’re called to help people who are in their worst situation,” he told paNOW. “So those emotions and certainly injuries, play a large part in a paramedic’s life.”

Perceptions around mental health and PTSD are changing, Karasiuk adds, and support for paramedics has improved vastly over the years. Parkland Ambulance supports an open dialogue for any staff who may need extra help, but Karasiuk says there are other things family and colleagues can do to check in on the health and well-being of emergency services personnel beyond simply asking if they are okay.

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“Most people will simply say ‘I’m fine,’ and we need to cross that barrier,” he said. “We do our very, very best to bring them to the forefront, to be open, to try to be accepting and try to say, it’s OK to feel sad and it’s OK when things go wrong to cry. That’s a normal human reaction.”

Watching for signs of changes in a colleague’s diet, behaviour or social interactions can also be indicators that someone might be struggling, Karasiuk noted. He said people shouldn’t be afraid to reach out and offer support.

“Moving from that [traumatic] incident to the next stage, it’s not about forgetting the incident happened,” Karasiuk added. “It’s about how do I manage that incident and how do I move to the next level so that the cumulative incidents don’t become the nightmares that keep me up at night.”

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt