WIMMERA RESIDENTS ON ALERT FOR SCAMMERS Wimmera Health Care Group has issued a warning to locals that scammers have been phoning people pretending to be collecting funds and donations for the Wimmera Base Hospital. Recently a local business was contacted by a scammer, and the man asked for a $500 donation to the Wimmera Cancer Centre. The Health Care Group’s acting Chief Executive Mark Knights said the incident had been notified to Police, and wants the public to know that they would never cold call individuals or businesses asking for donations. Mr Knights said if anyone does receive a call they should not provide any personal or financial details, and they should contact the Horsham Police Station on 5382 9200. The Naracoorte branch of the SA Ambulance Service has had some new faces join the team recently, after the previous roster system was called into question. Six paramedics have been recruited internally; 4 moving to the area from metropolitan stations, one from Mount Gambier, and the sixth member Darren Tidswell has been made permanent after holding a temporary contract. The need to make changes came as a result of an incident last year where fatigue was blamed when an ambulance crashed into a parked ambulance. Previously the station was on a “day and on-call” roster, but now it will operate on a “24/7 active crewing” model. The new system ensures that staff are better rested and can perform their duties to their full potential, and thus far the change has been well received by staff.