What to do erstwhile attacking a patient they came to help? How do we halt aggression if not force is crucial – as the instructors say – but how to act? The Military method Academy has organised training from self-defense for medics. “This is simply a reaction to many reports of attacks on medical personnel,” says Colonel Rafał Parczewski, Head of the WAT Military Training College.
A fewer hours free of charge under the motto “Medical rescuer, by saving others, remember to take care of your safety” they were held at the Military method Academy for the first time. About 20 people were active – paramedics and nurses from various localities in Mazowsze and Elk.
– We work straight with patients under different conditions, both outpatient and domestic, and acts of aggression are situations we can meet. Therefore, it is good to train in a fast consequence to the threat – says Joanna Włodarz, the associate of the training. In turn, rescuer Michalina Wojtas admits that she was dealing with a dangerous patient. The patient refused to accept transport to another room, became aggressive, threw various items at the medical staff. It was essential to call the police.
It was these situations that made WAT decide to aid rescuers prepare for specified threats. The main point of the training organised by the university was training with basic martial arts techniques and self-defense. The students, divided into groups, practiced various scenarios in which they impersonated themselves as a victim of assault. They learned what to do erstwhile attacking a individual under the influence of drugs that will not feel pain. How to behave erstwhile an aggressor tries to strangle them, bite them or turn them to the ground. The medics besides trained behaviour in the situation of an ambulance attack.
– We taught them the basic reflexes of self-defense, so that everyone knows how to act erstwhile the situation becomes dangerous. We presented, for example, how to decision to an incapacitating position or a grip that will guarantee the safety of paramedics – said Captain Stanisław Ślusakowicz, head coach of the Military Sports Section WAT. “We wanted to share our knowledge, show the paramedics what we know best,” added the officer.
The students besides learned how to proceed in a wedge situation – then it is most crucial to control 2 places on the attacker's body: hips and head. The instructors besides showed them the basic grips around the attacker's head or legs, which can distract him and take control of the situation.
During the discussion preceding the exercise, paramedics had the chance to watch and effort on a vest equipped with soft ballistics, utilized by military medics on missions in the conflict area. According to the students, working in specified a vest during the full shift would be hard due to the weight and thermal discomfort. But everyone agreed that it was good for specified a vest to be equipped with an ambulance. It provides protection against, among another things, gunshots or sharp-force trauma.
Information on attacks on medics appears more and more frequently. There have been respective specified attacks in fresh months. Yesterday, in 1 of Kraków hospitals, a man dissatisfied with the treatment injured a deadly doctor. late in Warsaw, paramedics called to an unconscious patient were attacked by his father. 3 months ago in Siedlce, a drunk man threw a knife at a paramedic who was helping him. 1 of them died. In turn, in Yellow (West Pomeranian), a group of 20 people were jerking paramedics who tried to aid a beaten man.
This kind of training, as conducted by WAT, is designed to aid doctors learn self-defense. – Military method Academy primarily educates, conduct investigation and make innovative technologies for the armed forces and Polish economy. But WAT besides responds to crucial social problems. The aim of the action was to train medical rescuers to rise their safety in the course of performing hard tasks related to saving human life," says Ewa Jankiewicz, WAT spokesman.
