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THERE is no filter for paramedics on the frontline in the war against ice (methamphetamine).
Paramedics are more often than not the first point of call to a variety of traumatic scenarios and in the wake of what is being described as an "ice epidemic", local paramedics shared some insight into working on the frontline.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Geoff Senior from Kiama Station said ice-related callouts were more prevalent than ever and were permeating into regional areas.
"In any self-inflicted situation there is a human cost and we see the result of these things and the effects they have on the people themselves and their family," he said.
"We're on the frontline of acute care in the public arena and we are there in an uncontrolled environment. It is unfiltered, raw human nature."
A Victorian report, Trends in Alcohol and Drug Related Ambulance Attendances 2013-13, showed that ice-related callouts in regional parts of the state had risen by 198 per cent.
In August, a Barrack Heights man was sentenced to 12 months behind bars after an ice-fuelled attack left a female paramedic seriously injured.
Inspector Senior said there were several challenges paramedics faced when dealing with ice users.
"A lot of the time they can be agitated, they are sleep deprived and can go from being lucid, to lashing out and being aggressive, then revert back to that lucid state."
Recently NSW Ambulance implemented mandatory anti-violence training and a zero tolerance approach to violence for paramedics in response to an increase in assaults.
"We have double teams, assistance radios and exit strategies and if a paramedic feels their safety is at risk they can get back in the ambulance and drive off," Inspector Senior said.