The Gauteng Department of Heath has confirmed that a patient was killed by members of the community in a mob justice incident that saw an emergency vehicle stoned by an angry mob on Monday.
It is reported that the community pounced on a patient who was inside the vehicle after he was accused of committing crime in the area of Mshongoville, Attridgeville Pretoria.
The victim of the mob justice incident died while inside the vehicle following the stoning incident while members of the EMS who were caught in the crossfire sustained injuries.
The department has condemned the incident which also resulted in severe damage to its newly-acquired ambulance.
According to department spokesperson Motaletale Modiba, the vehicle is part of the fleet that was procured during the 2021/22 financial year.
The department said it was pursuing multiple efforts and strategies to combat incidents of violence against its paramedics.
Modiba said to date, the department had recorded at least 12 attacks on its officials who had suffered injuries at the hands of communities and criminals within communities.
These include attempted rape and hijacking of its cars. He said the department used standard operating procedures (SOP) to curb incidents against its members.
"The Gauteng EMS uses SOP on management and prevention of possible paramedic attacks and uses police escorts in high risk areas or potential areas of incidents of EMS attacks.
"The roll-out of safety and security equipment on personnel and vehicles is at its final stages. The roll-out of panic button devices linked to all ambulances and response cars linked to security services in identified areas is also being finalised, " Modiba said.
In order to help officials recover from incidents of violence against them, the department said it offered psychological support to its employees.
"There are post- incident follow-ups with our service providers. We have also extended the services of the employee health wellness programme (EHWP) to 24 hours for all EMS personnel for trauma diffusion, counselling and referral to social workers as well as continuous monitoring of officials when they return to normal duties," he said.
The Star