ALS Intercept vehicles and crew

[Just Plain Ruff]

I've got a question -

For those of you whose services have supervisors in suv's and or roving als intercept quick response vehicles -

Let's say you intercept a bls crew workiing a code. You assume patient care and off you go to the hospital.

What do you do with your vehicle?

Where do you park it to keep it safe?

If you have parked it, has it ever been broken into?

What are your procedures in addressing the above questions?

[HellsBells]

its interesting that you bring this point up; as I was just looking at a new memo from our fire dept. concerning this issue.

It basically says that if the fire dept. is on scene at a call where all EMS personnel leave, but a unit is left behind it will be taken back to the station of the responding pumper unit and secured there until EMS can pick it up.

[fiznat]

It really depends on where we are, to be honest. A lot of the time we will leave the car at the scene, lock it, and come back to get it later. If we are in a bad part of town, though, another truck will come by and one of the crewmembers will take the car to the receiving hospital. If the call is bad enough and there is no time to arrange this or we forget, the car will get locked and left. Never had a car broken into as far as I can remember, although I'm sure it's happened.

[tskstorm]

I've got a question -

For those of you whose services have supervisors in suv's and or roving als intercept quick response vehicles -

Let's say you intercept a bls crew workiing a code. You assume patient care and off you go to the hospital.

What do you do with your vehicle?

Where do you park it to keep it safe?

If you have parked it, has it ever been broken into?

What are your procedures in addressing the above questions?

Our ALS intercept official policy says, one BLS person drives the ambulance, with the medic in back and other BLS person drives fly car behind.

How often that happens is slim to none, because there usually aren't 2 cleared drivers so they either A. leave the non-driver in the fly car till we return, B. Wait on scene till a supervisor comes, C. Lock it and leave it.

[CBEMT]

There are two jurisdictions near me that run medic flycars. One runs the unit with one medic, the other with two. Their situations typically fall into one of a few categories:

A. There is enough manpower on the transport unit to allow both medics to go with the patient and one member of the ambulance drives the flycar (this is always the situation in the 1-medic agency), or

B. There is only one person on the transport unit but the patient's condition does not require both medics, so either:

1. One medic stays on the flycar AND stays in town to cover any other calls, or

2. One medic stays on the flycar and follows the ambulance.

So far as I know, neither agency has ever run into a situation requiring the flycar stay behind unattended.

[dahlio]

How it works in my area:

2 Medics on a truck/chase unit. One will board the BLS unit, and the EMT and Paramedic treat the patient. If the patient truly warrants two Paramedics, then the EMT from the BLS truck will drive the other vehicle, leaving both EMT's driving, and both Paramedics treating.

In situations where Paramedics need to split up (each go on to a different BLS ambulance, usually severe car accidents), the same happens, one of the EMT's will drive the chase vehicle. I've never seen a unit left on a scene.

[rdenman26]

Depends on the situation. If a parmedic intercepts a crew and can deal with the patinet them selves then the spare crew will drive to the hospital. Otherwise the car will be locked and left (with out leaving the drugs in it) and collected later. Luckely I have never had a car vandalised or stolen. But it has happended when the medics are in a patients house treating them.

[Medic26]

What do you do with your vehicle? Where do you park it to keep it safe?

Park it somewhere off the roadway, lock it, take the keys with me.

If you have parked it, has it ever been broken into?

Only by another crew who spent a few minutes whipping up a prank for me to return too. Some of the older medics had spare keys made for the trucks when they kept locking themselves out with power locks.

What are your procedures in addressing the above questions? We really don't have anything in writing, just how its been done. I suppose there was a memo years ago.

I have not met many BLS units that didn't have a spare person who could get out and drive my unit. I have many times opened the back doors and siad "two people need to get out and it won't be me", obviously these are extreme cases but 4 or 5 providers in the back is a little much. I like to try and keep myself with 2 or 3 at most of the BLS crew in these cases.

[Spock]

When I worked on a hospital response truck the only time I had to beach the truck was when the ambulance showed up with only one person. That happened quite a bit. The police would make sure it was in a safe spot and keep an eye on it until the ambulance returned me to the truck.

We rarely have to leave the supervisors Suburban or the rescue truck because there is usually a FD QRS vehicle with two firefighters on these calls and they will take the truck back to their station. When I respond in my own car to calls I can count on the FD taking my car to their station. I just give the Chief my keys and he takes care of it. If I do have to leave my car at the scene we tell the police and again they will watch the car. We have never had a problem and an added benefit is most of the police in this area know me and my car. Never can tell when that may come in handy!

Live long and prosper.

Spock

[strippel]

In our system, it rarely happens.

We have a volunteer QRS (which rarely gets out because it's... volunteer, and the rest of the system is paid). If they have to beach their Subaru, then so be it. It's out in the country.

If our supervisor backs up a truck, someone is usually found to drive it in. If we are in the suburbs, either on a serious medical, or crash, volunteer fire is there. They get excited driving the Excursion. If we are in the city, PD or union fire more than willingly will drive it to the hospital. Both hospitals are in the city, so they can remain available. We have even had the mayor (who was riding with PD) drive the supervisor truck in. If that doesn't happen, another crew will stealth over, and pick up the truck.

There are two services in our county that chase. They leave the paramedic SUV where ever it sits.