AEDs MIA

[mffrhorne]

An equipment audit at a major US airport revealed that there were six spare AEDs in the training locker and the training AEDs were missing. The mystery was solved when a check of the purchasing records revealed that the airport did not own any spare AEDs.

An Airport laborer had been ordered to stock all of the AEDs in the cabinets along the concourse of a renovated terminal and had placed the training AEDs in some of the cabinets. So who says bean counters only cause trouble?

My take home from this is that training AEDs should never be in the same storage location as the real ones. Positioning of public use AEDs should be done by responders and not untrained laborers. Newly installed AEDs should be checked immediately after installation by someone other than the installer.

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Tom H

[Kaisu]

That would suck big time.... run for the AED and its a trainer.... I often think of that in airports when I am not on duty... without my lifepak...

[dera]

Training AEDs need to be with training materials. As you said, they should NEVER be placed with the regular AEDs, to stop just such a mistake. Also, why was an airport laborer installing them in the cabinets, rather than an EMS person from the airport?

[DFIB]

The larger question is If as a liscensed medical provider, EMT and above you are in the airport and assist with a AMI by using the AED that comes from the locker at the airport and it does not deliver a charge are you held liable?

[Kaisu]

More useful to this thread is the understanding that untrained people cannot be expected to know that there are differences between a trainer AED and a working one. Institutions just don't get it when it comes to health and safety issues. I once ran on a 17 year old unresponsive for 8 hours because the minimum wage personnel entrusted with their safety didn't realize that unresponsiveness (albeit with pulse and respirations) is a life threat.

The economic downturn and people expecting to do more with less has resulted in a lack of funding for a lot of programs. Health and Safety looks like something that can be cut when bean counters sit down to balance the budget. Without a strong advocate for these things, stuff like this happens.

Pretty bad news for the person that has a witnessed arrest with a shockable rhythm and a non-functioning AED. Unfortunately, unless risk management personnel are aware of the issue; or if the financial repercussions are not clear, then someone has to die before something like this is rectified.

[ERDoc]

The larger question is If as a liscensed medical provider, EMT and above you are in the airport and assist with a AMI by using the AED that comes from the locker at the airport and it does not deliver a charge are you held liable?

This is America, you can sue anyone for anything. I don't know if I'd be suing it for an MI, but probably for VF/VT.

[DFIB]

This is America, you can sue anyone for anything. I don't know if I'd be suing it for an MI, but probably for VF/VT.

Gracias

[tcripp]

The larger question is If as a liscensed medical provider, EMT and above you are in the airport and assist with a AMI by using the AED that comes from the locker at the airport and it does not deliver a charge are you held liable?

ERDoc is right, on both accounts. But, in the grand scheme, you'd most likely fall under a Good Samaritan law (you aren't on duty and therefore don't have a duty to act). You are using equipment in good faith as per your training and you did not intend any harm. And, since the dude(ette) is already dead, you didn't make the situation any worse.

**disclaimer is that this has occurred in a state that honors the Good Samaritan Law.

[Richard B the EMT]

A bit late, but a training Defib unit should be so marked, and in big letters. As for installation, I consider myself as a decdent EMT, perhaps not spectacular, but a lousy cabinet installer and drywall person.

SOME medical person should have followed the installer around, verifying that the unit now in the cabinet is NOT a trainer, and is functional. Just me thinking out loud.

[rock_shoes]

ERDoc is right, on both accounts. But, in the grand scheme, you'd most likely fall under a Good Samaritan law (you aren't on duty and therefore don't have a duty to act). You are using equipment in good faith as per your training and you did not intend any harm. And, since the dude(ette) is already dead, you didn't make the situation any worse.

**disclaimer is that this has occurred in a state that honors the Good Samaritan Law.

In my own experience the expectations for "Good Samaritan Laws" are that you act to the level of your training/knowledge relevant to the situation (with allowances made for the availability of appropriate equipment, personal safety, etc.). IE if you're an EMT who witnesses a cardiac arrest and you make an attempt to intervene, it's expected that you do so in a manner that correlates with the actions that would be undertaken by any reasonable person with similar training under similar circumstances.

Edited September 13, 2011 by rock_shoes