Paramedics: Lights and Sirens

After leaving the SADF (South African Defence Force) in which the author was an Ops Medic, he joins the Johannesburg Emergency Services and takes us on a trip that spans a thirty-five period in various services around Africa. The story starts with an insight into the emergency services environment and describes the day-to-day trials and tribulations encountered out on the streets and in the skies of Johannesburg and covering the complexities of working in remote sites.

The book covers controversial issues such as the CADS-computer aided dispatch centre-which caused severe damage to the integrity of the JEMS, the Café Zurich bombing and the viewing of the wreckage of the Helderberg disaster and more.

The book tells of many of the calls attended to by the author, both on the road as a paramedic and as an instructor with the Ambulance Training College and the Flight for Life helicopter service.

It portrays not only the frustrations against bureaucracy but also reveals the victories and the defeats in the fight against death, the sadness, the humiliation and the humour in working in such a diverse service.