BS calls

[ERDoc]

Well, a thread that had potential to be fun and good for a laugh has once again become a bitchy, nit-picking session. Oh well, it was worth a try PCP.

[rock_shoes]

Double dog dare accepted, my answeres are below each question. If your system does not have a tiered response or enough units on the road, then that is your systems fault, do not blame the patient. Your job is to treat the patient in front of you. And let's be honest, this is about you having to get out of bed and run a call, its not about the supposed cardiac arrest down the street. Your system should post units so that all areas are covered while any truck is on a call, and you should have enough trucks to handle your peak call volume.

Have you ever actually worked on an ambulance? Are you being ignorant and self-righteous because you simply don't know any better? A ruptured bowel or acute appendicitis for example would present with significantly more on assessment than abdominal wall muscle type pain. Do you feel that every patient should be transported no matter what because you lack confidence in your ability to perform an assessment?

The chronic drug abuser is another example. This person doesn't require ambulance transport. They require referral to an appropriate drug counseling service if and only if they have reached the point they're willing to accept such help. You seem to have this undying belief that every problem can be solved by playing taxi to the hospital. Guess what. That's not how things work. There was a time when the majority of people calling emergency services actually required their attendance. Those days have passed. A huge part of re-educating the public as to the purpose EMS serves is going to be refusing transport to those who abuse the system before those abuses cause the system to collapse. We can’t afford to have the initial gate-keepers to the system come in the ER after the first tier has already been abused. Allowing things to spiral out of control like that drastically increasing the cost of EMS is an absolute disservice to the public.

[flamingemt2011]

Never said any required ambulance transport, just pointing out that they are a patient. And you are quite wrong about signs and symptoms, I have treated many patients in the field and ER that presented with very benign symptoms, or weird symptoms that did not match the text book. But since I have ruined you guys bitchfest, I will not respond to this thread anymore, please go ahead and complain about the patients who pay your salary. Kind of ironic DOC, only patient bitching allowed ????

[basejump]

That's the thing, there are so many BS calls in the city along with the occasional 'real' call. Resources 'per capita' if you will are just as stretched. Mind you, we have maybe 25 on the road and that's less than minimum staffing requirements. Still, a larger city with more units on the road does more bullshit.

Anyhow, flamingemt ... what about the woman who bends down to pet a kitten while walking near her apartment at night; gets scratched by said kitten and phones 911 because she has no bandaids? That's bullshit.

What about the chronic narcotic abuser who is new to the city, who 'heard from a friend' that calling 911 and telling the ambulance that their doc in another province said to call 911 if they ran out of morphine and that the ambulance would give them morphine?

What about the ever helpful drive-by caller who phones 911 in the middle of summer for a person lying on a bench near a busy street, who doesn't have time to stop to see if this person is breathing? Only to have the ambulance get there for the typical drunk guy sleeping on a bench because he's homeless and has nowhere else to sleep?

What about the person who phones 911 in the middle of the night living RIGHT BESIDE A DRUG STORE because they can't sleep and their Imovane isn't working?

What about the 18 year old male who vomitted 2 days prior to calling the ambulance, who only called because their abdomen is still "just a little bit sore" from wretching?

What about the person who calls 911 because the medication they were given is "working too well" and all their symptoms disappeared and they thought they should see a doctor about it?

What about the girl who gets a flu shot, then phones 911 because her arm is a "little bit sore" the next day? No other side effects. Just a sore arm.

I could go on for hours ... There certainly ARE bullshit calls out there. It's even more frustrating when you're sitting there on one of them hearing a cardiac arrest getting dispatched to a PRU (single member) because there are no units available. To deny that there are these types of calls is like denying one's shit doesn't stink.

I agree with you.

For everything else there is healthLINK and PADIS, they should distribute cards/pampletes for every bus in the city. What it boils down to is the EMS professionals clinical experience, and post assesment, are we able to pick out the BS calls and say to the patient follow up with healthLINK or your GP or are we just opening up the doors for litigation,possibly error,poor judgement and insufficient patient care. It does get tiring when you get a call for a drunk patient,you roll up to find a patient,post assesment appears to be healthy (no real emergency)all vitals normal etc etc etc, wanting to goto the bottle recycling depot.

Have a great weekend.

Edited November 11, 2011 by basejump

[ERDoc]

Kind of ironic DOC, only patient bitching allowed ????

You've shown your true colors too many times. You are not even worth a response anymore. Good luck with your life.

[Richard B the EMT]

As already stated, it ain't your emergency.

Different jurisdictions allow for legal actions being taken against the system abusers, others, even with systems with assorted types of calls and set priorities for those calls, will always send an ambulance (even if the crew doesn't take the patient, still have to check out the situation). FDNY EMS responds to all, but cannot charge system abusers.

[tniuqs]

snip

Holy plagerism Batman, just when you go and try to help out a troubled emt from going down in flames try to argue the other side of the coin ... I sure wish I could change my rep votes now.

[stcommodore]

My last call was for hiccups.

[ERDoc]

Let's also keep in mind that there is a difference between a medical issue and an emergency medical issue. stcommodore brings up hiccups. They are in no way an emergency and do not require the limited resources of an ambulance and an ER bed. If they are persistent they certain require a workup.

[akflightmedic]

The more I read, the more I equate Flaming = Sockpuppet = Ventmedic