akroeze Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I'm wondering what you folks would do in this case. You are at a residence of a male patient c/o mild SOB. You have assessed him and figure he definitely needs to get seen sooner rather than later but not a huge huge kill us getting there rush (put him at a 3/5 in "sick scale"). You tell him you want to bring him in and then he lets you know that his two young children (both 5 and under) are in the house. He is a single parent and has no family in the town. This is a rural community and the regional police advise they are 60mins away. How do you proceed? Do you take the kids with you? Do you wait for the Police? This is a slightly modified version of a call I had a bit ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itku2er Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Good question If He was in need of urgent care which you explained I would take the kids with you then have either a cop or social services meet you at the hospital. If he could wait for the 60 min and hope the cops don't get something on the way then wait. Maybe if he had a neighbor close or a freind closer than the cops I would consider calling them to see if they can take the kids. Terr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief1C Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Leave the noobie.. or transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramedicmike Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Kids come with. We have a built in child seat in the captain's chair. We also usually carry an extra child seat as a back up. Took a mom in one night in a scenario not that dissimilar to the originally presented situation. She had five kids. Husband was out of town on business. New to the area. No family. Didn't know anyone. So mom and five kids got a ride to the ER. Another time the local volly fire chief offered to stay with the kids. Dad was on his way home but would be a while. Mom agreed. Mom was a little odd. -be safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parabrandi Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 totally take the kids..no big deal. then they get to eat snacks and watch tv in the ER while dad gets treatment and the world keeps on spinnin'. We deal with this general situation pretty often in this neck of the woods....poor families, no vehicles, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 totally take the kids..no big deal. then they get to eat snacks and watch tv in the ER while dad gets treatment and the world keeps on spinnin'. We deal with this general situation pretty often in this neck of the woods....poor families, no vehicles, etc.Same here. If police unavailable to help transport them, the captain's chair has that built in child seat, like mentioned. I mean really, what other option do you have? Wait 60min for police? Don't transport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt322632 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Had a situation like this. Mom had a seizure, so the kids called 911. We get there, mom is alert and oriented now, was going to BLS her, have LEO come and take care of the kids. Mom had another seizure right in front of me, turned into an alright we're going now type thing. So we load up the ambulance with mom and her 3 kids. My chief kinda disapproved of the situation, and I can see his point of view, taking kids in an ambulance is a liability. However, am I supposed to wait on scene for an LEO that may take their sweet time because it's a literal babysitting job? Or do I give my patient the expedient care she deserves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akroeze Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 What is the legality of transporting these kids in their car seat but the car seat having to be on the bench because there is more than one? That is not proper position for it... against manufacturer's recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEorP Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 What is the legality of transporting these kids in their car seat but the car seat having to be on the bench because there is more than one? That is not proper position for it... against manufacturer's recommendations. In terms of legalities, I think we're sometimes stuck in a no-win situation. We could look at it from the other angle of how it might be seen if you waited on scene for the police and at minute 53 the patient's condition deteriorated significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rat115 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 We've had this happen, too. We've taken the kids in with us. We've also used our own families and friends a couple of times when there was some reason that we couldn't take the kids with us. One thing about a small town is that the people tend to be a bit more willing to drop things to help someone if they can (especially if the person is new to town). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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