Abusive and threatening behaviour towards emergency medical technicians (EMTs) at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) is on the increase.“Very commonly when we arrive at a scene people are already angry and are yelling at us, ‘What took you so long?’ We are thinking, ‘Hey, we risked our lives travelling at speed to get here. We’ve run ten to 20 people off the road and we’ve arrived within five minutes,” said Walter Brangman, an EMT with special training in inserting IVs.David Pilgrim said the increase in violent crimes on the Island has been mirrored with an increase in both verbal and physical abuse to EMTs.The violence impedes their ability to give care, he added.“Our safety then is also at risk,” said Mr Pilgrim. “When someone is threatening you and trying to punch you out as well, then you are not able to concentrate on the patient. You are doing a disservice to that patient.”Clinical nurse manager of the EMTs, April Smith, said the violence has become so bad that she’s actually been told not to leave the ambulance.“One time I went out with David and he said: ‘April stay in the ambulance until I tell you it’s ok. You can render your care in there’. Because we were in a situation where it was hostile, he said, ‘Stay there, we’ll bring the patient to you’.”Tense situations are not limited to the scene of violent crimes, the EMTs said. The length of time it takes the ambulance to reach the injured party is often the trigger for the abuse. KEMH reports that its EMTs respond to about 5,000 calls a year an average of 13 calls a day. EMTs were unable to say the average time it takes them to get to the scene after a call. However they said a common opinion of persons at the scene was that the wait was too long. One reason for the wait is that EMTs have to wait for Police to give them the all-clear signal when the intended destination is a crime scene.“We don’t want to send the EMTs into a scene that is hostile,” said Ms Smith. “In the case of a shooting for example, if the shooter is still on the scene he may aim at the victim again and the EMT tending to that victim is then at risk.”Another reason there may seem to be a delay in an ambulance arriving is that 911 calls do not go directly to the hospital’s Emergency Department.“911 calls go first to [Police Communications and Operations Department] then are transferred to Fire dispatch which controls fire and EMS medical.“They [Fire dispatch] take all the information [and] then it gets to us by third party,” said Mr Pilgrim. This chain of communication, although fast, has delay built-in. EMTs who spoke with Body & Soul last week agreed that they can be slowed by this process especially in terms of directions.Ms Smith said getting directions third-hand is not ideal but callers could help by giving their name and phone number at the start of the call. “This helps in case the call is disconnected. Someone can call back. [They can] also call for directions because when we get into an area with no house numbers, you can at least call someone and say: ‘hey we are here, come meet us’.”The EMTs also stressed the need for callers to be specific in their directions. “Someone will call and say please send an ambulance to 146 North Shore Road,” said Mr Brangman. “They expect you to know exactly where that is they haven’t even given the parish.”