Lock the ambulance doors.

[paramedicmike]

Seems this ambulance (click me) was stolen from in front of the patient's house when the crew went inside.  Fortunately, at least according to the story, there was no negative outcome.  However, there was an unnecessary delay.  A delay that could have very easily been prevented.

If your service doesn't have kill switches that allow you to take the keys and lock the doors *every* time you leave the ambulance your service is wrong.

If your service has these features and you don't use them you are wrong.

Lock the damn doors.

And be safe out there.

[ERDoc]

On a positive note, the crew was referred to as EMTs and not ambulance drivers.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Now that's a good start, seems like the news media is learning, but..... maybe they were prepped for the article.  

but in all seriousness,  at one of my services, we had the ability to lock the doors, and then push a button some where on the ambulance to unlock the doors when we returned to the ambulance.  About 5% of our crews ever locked it that way, guess which of the 5% or the 95% I fell into?

[Violyn]

We were required to keep the rig running. Our rigs were so old they were afraid they wouldn't start again. There is no way they would install kill switches. We were lucky if fleet showed up when the rigs overheated.

[Arctickat]

 

On a positive note, the crew was referred to as EMTs and not ambulance drivers.

I have said this before and I will say it again. When we do good things, we're ambulance drivers. When we screw up we're EMT/Paramedics.