ER24 Information Packet

ER24 Information Packet
Accommodation
You will be staying at the following B&B:
Biscuit Bed and Breakfast owned by Wayne and Ansi.
http://www.biscuitbandb.co.za/home.html
29 8th Avenue
Northmead
Benoni
Gauteng
South Africa
Google maps for this location:
http://goo.gl/maps/xkAIq
You can arrange for Wayne to pick you up from the airport and also drop you off. This service is
included in your tuition.
Additional services can be bought from the B&B for taxi service to the ER24 headquarters and for
additional food beyond the breakfast.
!
!
ER24 contact
You will need to stop by the ER24 headquarters on the first day of your rotation.
Your ER24 liaison officer is: Kim Habib.
You can either get there by hire car or ask Wayne at the B&B to arrange for a car to take you.
Wayne can let you know the extra cost for his services.
When you arrive at the headquarters park in the places marked ER24 visitor. They are located
down at the bottom of the car park.
Go into the ER24 main office and ask for Kim Habib from the training academy. She will give you
an overview of your placements and she will be the person who you contact whilst in South Africa.
ER24 main office: +27 11 8037707
http://goo.gl/maps/ydO1o
Special tip: Your stay will be improved if you can bring some sort of nice wine, scotch or
whiskey when you meet the ER24 office staff.
ER24 placement location
You will be working out of the Benoni station. Make sure that you can it on google maps prior to
your arrival.
Benoni Ambulance Station
77 5th ave, Benoni, Gauteng
http://goo.gl/maps/QsngQ
Clinic shifts
ER24 generally run shifts from 7am to 7pm. You can choose when you would like to work.
Most students will opt to arrive at 7am and stay as late as midnight or even do a double shift
depending on how busy things are. Working night shift may be more appealing to you. It is
completely up to you.
Ambulance Options
ILS ambulances have more calls but they are not working at the paramedic level. You will
be able to cannulate while working with them but not intubate. You can ride with the ILS crew until
an ALS call is made and then once you arrive on scene you go work with the ALS paramedic.
CCA Paramedic. This is a response car and not an ambulance. You will not get as many
calls on this car but they will all be ALS level calls.
Food
You will be able to eat with the ER24 ambulance staff. They stop for food and drive at local
options. You will be able to eat with them.
!
!
THE CITY
Johannesburg also known as Joburg, is the largest city in South Africa, by population.
Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having
the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa.
CLIMATE
Johannesburg is situated on the Highveld plateau, and has a subtropical highland climate.
The city enjoys a sunny climate, with the summer months (October to April) characterized by hot
days followed by afternoon thundershowers and cool evenings, and the winter months (May to
September) by dry, sunny days followed by cold nights.
Temperatures in Johannesburg are usually fairly mild due to the city’s high elevation, with
an average maximum daytime temperature in January of 25.6 °C (78.1 °F), dropping to an
average maximum of around 16 °C (61 °F) in June. Winter is the sunniest time of the year, with
mild days and cool nights, dropping to 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in June and July. The temperature
occasionally drops to below freezing at night, causing frost.
The Airport:
Johannesburg is served principally by OR Tambo International Airport (formerly
Johannesburg International Airport and before that was known as Jan Smuts Airport) for both
domestic and international flights. Lanseria Airport, located to the north-west of the city and closer
to the business hub of Sandton, is used for commercial flights to Cape Town, Durban, Port
Elizabeth, Botswana, and Sun City.
OR Tambo is a large airport, akin to Heathrow in the UK. There are many signs directing
you around the terminals and there are numerous information points stationed around so it is easy
to find your way around.
There are official “helpers” in the airport who will help you locate services or even carry your bags
for you. They wear yellow tabards with the airport logo on it so can easily be identified. PLEASE
NOTE they will expect some form of payment after they have helped you, tip what you feel
appropriate.
Car Hire:
Driving is by far the easiest way to move around Johannesburg. Car hire prices vary from
company to company so shop around. It often works out cheaper if you book the car through the
country you reside in and arrange to pick it up at the airport. Students have been known to save
over €100 by doing this. When you hire a car we also recommend that you hire a Sat-Nav to avoid
getting lost.
!
!
DRIVING IN JOHANNESBURG
Johannesburg has a vast network of freeways that are, for the most part, well signposted.
The major problem whilst driving is other road users. There is little regard for laws and cars will
both overtake and undertake at great speed. The safest practice is to let people move around you
and not to try and move out of their way. They are aggressive drivers but not aggressive with it.
Emergency Vehicles:
There are numerous emergency vehicles in the city all with different purposes and different
coloured lights. You will also find an amazing amount of tow trucks stationed along the freeways,
waiting for accidents to happen!
The emergency lights are as follows:
Red = Ambulance
Blue/Red = Fire Department
Blue = City Police
Blue/Orange = Metro Police
Orange = Freeway service vehicles and tow trucks
Safety:
Although driving is the safest form of transport you still need to be conscious of your surroundings.
Unfortunately car Hi-Jacking’s are a common occurrence in certain areas of the city.
Here are some tips to help ensure your safety but this list is by no means exhaustive:
. Always drive with the car doors locked.
. Ensure all bags are kept in the boot.
. Keep the windows rolled up.
. When at traffic lights look for suspicious people.
. Do not stop for accidents, call the police instead.
. When stopped in traffic, leave a gap of one car length in front of you in case you need to move
quickly.
. Remove items from view and ensure the car is locked when leaving.
Be aware that a lot of the police are often corrupt. If you are pulled over for any reason do not be
surprised if they ask how much money you have. This is their way of asking for a bribe. Be
particularly cautious of the police at night. Imposters have been known to operate and pull people
over resulting in muggings and hi-jacking’s. If in any doubt, do not stop but drive to the nearest
police station.
Let common sense and instinct guide you on safety and you won’t go far wrong.
!
!
Paramedic student paperwork
You will be required to fill out the skills sheet found at the back of this document. You can copy
this and keep it with you. For every skill that you do and assist the paramedic with please
document the type of patient, the skills completed and disposition of the casualty. Have the ER24
paramedic sign off on the far right column.
Scan and email this clinical sign off sheet when you return after your deployment.
Feedback forms:
You will be sent a feedback form for you to fill out. Please take your time to let us know how we
can improve your experience.
If you have any questions please give me a call. I look forward to hearing how your adventure
went. +353.87.152.3426
Good luck.
Aebhric O’Kelly
Managing Director
Merit Training
!
!
Student Name:
Location:
Dates of Clinical Attachment:
Skills to be completed
Day$1
Day$2
Day$3
Day$4
$Day$5
Day$6
Day$7
Day$8
Day$9
Day$10
Day$11
Day$12
Day$13
Day$14
Day$15
Paramedic Skills Evaluation form
Number of times that skills was
completed
Name, Registration number and
Signature of Assessor and date
Ambulance Station/Hospital
Student Name:
Location:
Dates of Clinical Attachment:
Skills to be completed
Day$18
Day$19
Day$20
Day$21
Day$22
Day$23
Day$24
Day$25
Day$26
Day$27
Day$28
Day$29
Day$30
Paramedic Skills Evaluation form
Number of times that skills was
completed
Name, Registration number and
Signature of Assessor and date
Ambulance Station/Hospital