News24 reports that Western Cape health department paramedics are getting anti-hijacking training after a crew was robbed while attending to a patient in Khayelitsha in December.  

In a separate incident on Monday, a group of armed men attacked paramedics employed by Cape Flats-based private ambulance service Melomed24.  Paramedics were targeted 80 times between September 2015 and September 2016.  “We have introduced situational awareness training, including anti-hijacking training, for all staff and we also have targeted training around hotspots and incident management,” department spokesperson Zimkhitha Mquteni said in a statement on Monday.  Ambulance windows have been tinted and covered with a smash-and-grab safety film.

• Read this report by James de Villiers in full at News24
• See too, Enough is enough, say Cape Town paramedics, at Cape Argus
• And also, Communities urged to help prevent attacks on paramedics, EWN

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page