What to do about ambulance attacks?

Western Cape's Emergency Medical Services believes that calls for personnel not to operate in crime-ridden areas were "premature". And the head of the service has rejected Premier Helen Zille's appeal to have soldiers escort ambulance staff.

Authorities were responding to a statement by the Health & Other Services Personnel Trade Union of SA yesterday that said its members were considering withdrawing services in the wake of a violent attack on personnel.

Western Cape EMS director Shaheem de Vries told The Times that several things would need to happen before EMS clinical staff downed tools, or boycotted "red zone" areas.

These included a complete systems failure and a change in the organisation's position on how widespread the problem actually is.

"I understand the position but I think it is premature and it doesn't reflect our labour caucus," De Vries said.

"It's an emotional response to a challenging problem. The position reflects a poor understanding of the mindset of personnel."

Hospersa's statement comes as attacks on EMS personnel across the country have increased.

An attack on Wednesday left an eight-year-old boy dead after the ambulance transporting him was held up at gunpoint.

Zille called for the SANDF to be brought in to escort EMS personnel in the province.

But De Vries believed such a move would not solve the problem, especially for the people left in those communities.

"Staff aren't being specifically targeted and they are not the sole focus of attacks, but rather collateral damage of persistent crime in those areas.

"Sending in the SANDF won't change that," he said.