28-old woman serves as Turkey’s first motorcycle emergency paramedic
ESKİŞEHİR
Sabiha Sözer, 28-years-old, serves as Turkey’s first and only motorcycle emergency paramedic in the northwestern province of Eskişehir.
The local authority in charge of the ambulance services in the province launched this department with 12 personnel less than a month ago to provide medical assistance in a much faster way or in cases where ambulances cannot reach the emergency scenes due to traffic jam or narrow roads.
The response time of the motorcycle emergency paramedic unit could be as short as 3 minutes and one member of the unit is Sabiha Sözer.
“Since the service was launched 20 days ago, we have responded to 170 emergency cases,” Sözer said, who has been working as a medical technician.
“We have all the necessary equipment on our motorcycles that an ambulance has. The only difference is that we move around on two wheels,” she said, explaining the effectiveness of the service they provide.
Sözer noted that traffic is a real problem in Eskişehir which may cause problems for regular ambulances. “But we can arrive at the scene much faster than an ambulance.”
However, she admits having problems on the roads. “There are some motorists that do not know who we are, and they do not clear the road for us.”
Sözer rides motorcycles when off duty. “I am proud of what I am doing. Especially since I am doing two things I love the most at the same time: Working as a paramedic and riding a motorcycle.”
