By Tammy O'Reilly
THE two paramedics filmed in downtown Johannesburg abandoning a homeless man - who was found dead a day later - have been formally dismissed, with immediate effect, from the Emergency Management Services. The verdict, finalised on Wednesday 17 November after a formal tribunal hearing into their conduct held exactly one week earlier, found Adriaan Jacobus Craukamp and Johan Erasmus guilty of negligence.
The two were initially suspended following an internal enquiry but have now been officially relieved of their duties.
On Tuesday, September 21 Craukamp and Erasmus were dispatched to President Street in Johannesburg to attend to a homeless man who had collapsed on the pavement.
CCTV cameras in the area captured the paramedics propping the patient against a wall and leaving without either examining or transporting him to a hospital.
The following morning the man was found dead. He was identified after nearly a month of investigations as 55-year-old Simon Smangaliso Radebe, whose family lived in Soweto.
"Generally the dismissal is being seen as fair punishment", according to EMS spokesperson, Malcolm Midgley. "Chief Audrey Gule (head of the EMS) wants to take a standpoint and show that behaviour like this will not be tolerated," he added.
"The bottom line is that paramedics are meant to save lives. However, in this situation there was found to be clear misconduct and patient abuse on the part of the paramedics," Midgely said.
Apart from failing to transport the patient to hospital, the paramedics also did not properly dispose of a set of gloves they had used. In response to this, Director of Communications for the City of Johannesburg, Gabu Tugwane, said: "There were operational set standards for the personnel to follow and there is no indication that these procedures were observed in this particular incident."
Tugwane added the verdict was sending out a clear message that the City would not tolerate any prejudice in its service delivery.
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