ALS using Lights and Sirens back to the hospital

[rdenman26]

Not if getting to the hospital two mins earlier means an intervention that prevents them from dying. However TV news seems to suggest that your traffic is worse than ours, so Im sure that would make a difference to how much time could be saved. When I worked in central london there was plenty of time whe no amount of noise and flashy lights were going to help, as there was no were for the other vehicles to move to. London is the only place I have been to where you can get stuck in a traffic jam at 3am.

[Dustdevil]

But that is what happens when EMS resources are dictated by private companies, who care about saving that all mighty dollar, and not public safety agencies, who care about spreading the resources out to strategic areas. :roll:

Dude, you're twenty years old. Just how many "public safety" agencies have you worked for? :roll:

And those private companies don't dictate the resources. The community dictates and the provider provides. If the community doesn't ask for more, that's their problem. Ignorance is just endemic to New Jersey. Thanks to all the volly squads, nobody there even thinks they need more, and they sure don't think it's worth paying for. They're not any more likely to pay a "public safety" agency for something they don't think they need than they are a private company. After all, all those volly squads are private companies too.

[AnthonyM83]

Except for one area, which is where the CEO lives, ambulances here are spread out based on call volume. A richer area doesn't get more ambulances, because the bottom line is maintaining the 911 contract with the county and that requires good response times. If you want to maintain income from the "profitable" areas you have to maintain resources in the non-profitible areas. The county has us charge for treatment the FF/Medics give...so there ARE some funds going on for them.

[Scaramedic]

Dude, you're twenty years old. Just how many "public safety" agencies have you worked for? :roll:

Dust he's from New Jersey, he could have volunteered at ten different volley ambulances at the same time all within a mile of his house.

[FireGuard69]

well I'd suspect that if the patient dies then that patient was going to die anyway no matter how fast you got them to the hospital. An extra two minutes is not going to make a whole hill of beans difference.

While I agree, try telling that to the headhunting lawers.

[tinman694]

ohh ohh..I have an answer to the whole problem!!!!!!

Lets take the Lights and Sirens off the Ambulances and have a giant WACKERS ONLY sale on ebay!!!

Then we could double our business model...selling off the useless gear on the big white box AND making more trauma clients to boot! Sounds like a GREAT idea to me!!!

Couldn't resist chiming in....

Anyone yell FIRE! in a crowded theatre lately???

There are studies on the effectiveness of going L&S and patient outcomes-do not have them immediately available, but there are a few (have them when I teach EVOC)

Main thing is this--if you are in control of the situation, you should not have to be in a rush....most calls (and I am referring to most...not all) are simply an EMS provider taking a chaotic situation and RAPIDLY moving it to the closest available hospital facility for someone else to worry about.

So...why did I spend those YEARS in school getting a paramedic degree to operate as a taxi service for someone else's emergency---thought the goal was to be smart hands for a physician to ensure the best care possible in the field for a sick/injured person(s)?

hmmmmm....and the debate rages on and on and on....

[spenac]

If your going to fast for the medic in the box to safely work you are doing no good for the patient. Even L&S should not mean running like a bat out of hell. Really the 1-3 minutes saved in most services is not going to change patient outcome so come off of it. Slow down, be safe, and go home to your familys(they need you more than the stranger in the box).