Head of the Ambulance Department at Vanadzor Medical Center, Samvel Sahakyan, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that their paramedics often have to do things that are not part of their duties.

As case in point, an elderly woman recently had called an ambulance, and asked the paramedic who had arrived to give her water, and, subsequently, to cover her back with a blanket, so as not to catch cold.

“A sick elderly from one of the villages called,” said Sahakyan. “They [i.e. the ambulance staff] went to provide medical assistance, asked, ‘Dear grandma, what happened?’ She said, ‘Dear child, my house is cold, I can’t cover my back [with a blanket]. Cover my back; go.’”