Part 1: Pediatric patient safety needs in ambulances

[bkelley]

Lets solve a problem. 

What does a pediatric patient need, to be safe in our ambulances? For arguments sake... lets call a pediatric patient a child between 5 and 99 pounds. 

Parts to discuss: 

1. Ambulance environment (e.g. the equipment we carry, how we carry and secure it, our own bodies not restrained while we transport)

2. What do we do, or not do to make sure that a kid is as safe as possible in our ambulances (what if we wreck while transporting them?)

3. What does the kid expect from us? Do they consider their own safety or is that our job?

4. How can we meet their safety needs better?

[Just Plain Ruff]

Dang, how do we get this discussion posted out to as many people as we can and not just in our own little EMT City world.  We aren't as big as we used to be.  

Bkelley, this is awesome that we are discussing this, especially someone at a national level, hopefully more will come into this discussion.  

[bkelley]

Every new person thinking and talking, is one more than there was yesterday. 

[paramedicmike]

Not to detract from the importance of pediatric safety in transport ambulances perhaps we should backup a little further and start with general safety in ambulance transports.  I'm not discounting the importance of keeping kids safe while in our care.  However, let's be honest.  Ambulances aren't really the safest vehicles out there.  What do we need to do to keep *us* safe in an ambulance?  Then how does that translate into keeping kids safe.

If we start by looking at pediatric transport safety based on our current platforms we're really starting behind the proverbial eight ball.  Start by improving ambulance safety in general and you're half way there to improving pediatric safety.

[bkelley]

I can already tell that I am gonna like paramedicmike!

[Just Plain Ruff]

Nah, Mike doesn't know Poop from Shinola.  

[scubanurse]

Wait someone likes Mike??  weird.

I think Mike is right though, first we need to figure out how to keep providers safe in the back.  I've seen sick kiddos brought in with just the straps across their little bodies and that just doesn't cut it in an accident.

[paramedicmike]

45 minutes ago, Just Plain Ruff said:

Nah, Mike doesn't know Poop from Shinola.  

NSFW warning: Questionable language.

 

 

[Just Plain Ruff]

that scene is a great one from The Jerk,  what a great movie, they don't make em like that anymore.  

And when he walks through the shit and just keeps on going, that's classic.  

 

[Arctickat]

For child restraint systems we have the pedi-mate from Ferno, but that's only for short distance emerg calls. We keep certified child and infant car seats at the base for IFT.