Michael Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Does anything change if the overdose is of, say, Vitamin C? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 yeah michael, it's guaranteed they won't catch a cold for the next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 won't catch Good that the War on Drugs won't have that dreaded chilling effect on them, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Totally depends. What kind of overdose? What was his behavior like? How far is he going? If he's just down the street and no violent behavior, just confused, we'd probably drive down to make contact because it's the same as if we had been dispatched to the sidewalk or inside a house. It would be just as if the call came out for an overdose on the sidewalk. We rely on dispatch to decide if we should stage, otherwise we go unless we find a reason not too (did he run into the backyard where we could be cornered? Weapon? Aggressive behavior? Age and stature? Is it some guy getting belligerent or a 90lb kid just walking around like a zombie?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asysin2leads Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 In NYC EMS, this is known as a "10-96 prior to our arrival". I don't chase overdoses. The only overdose I can even treat effectively is an opiate overdose, and they don't run anywhere. Secondly, if he's running, he's breathing, which means EMS is pretty much useless to him. This is a psychiatric call, and its what we pay the police for. If the guy gets hit by a car, its better than us getting in a wreck chasing him. Plus we could use it as an anti-drug campaign, too. NEXT QUESTION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjaemtff Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 Ok so the story, dispatched a few weeks ago for an overdose, it was for two drugs i dont remember them..i believe one may have been soma or something like that. But the crew was advised that the person had left the residence in a vehicle, was travling in the direction of the hospital but was unsure of where they were going. The call was about 7-8 miles from the station, the vehicle was reported seen about 3-4 miles from the station, the crew went and tried to track down the person. Never did find them. But when they got back and I got angry with them for going...they couldn't figure out why... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 What were they going to do upon locating the patient? Pull him over and make contact? Bad idea. Notify PD? Still not great b/c of liability in going around looking for patient (though in reality liability/danger in that situation is low)...but at least not totally acting like cops. Maybe because we roll 8 people deep on every call (2 squad Medic/FF's, 4 engine FFs, and 2 ambulance EMTs), I might be too used to situations that would be considered inappropriate elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scaramedic Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Maybe because we roll 8 people deep on every call (2 squad Medic/FF's, 4 engine FFs, and 2 ambulance EMTs), I might be too used to situations that would be considered inappropriate elsewhere. Not slamming you Anthony but, that's just plain stupid. Especially coming from LA-LA land where their telling us we should all be walking everywhere and cooking over dried turds like they did in the middle ages. Talk about a carbon footprint. Does L.A. county buy carbon credits and plant some trees to make up for this idiocy? It's sad to see L.A. county hasn't changed the system Johnny and Roy worked in. WTF do you need FF's for, is the patient on fire? Bad system. I don't know how you can stand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freaknuggetz_chick Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 what good is it to go looking if you dont know what the vehicle looks like? does the patient want to be found? thats justa ridiculous situation. yes, i have been dispatched to meet vehicles, but with the make, or at least general type, colout, route, and ensured 4 way flashers on. totally different situation. again, i repreat, get cops, sit and wait (or go back available, as per protocol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Not slamming you Anthony but, that's just plain stupid. -cut- It's sad to see L.A. county hasn't changed the system Johnny and Roy worked in. WTF do you need FF's for, is the patient on fire? Bad system. I don't know how you can stand it. And it LOOKS plain stupid...especially when there's also a medic intern plus an EMT trainee....that's 10 people in a living room at times. Sometimes I just wait outside, but I also want to hear what goes on for the times they send the patient with us BLS-only when it's really ALS criteria. It's frustrating, but at least I'm getting call volume experience. Once I'm a medic, I'll afford enough gas to commute out of county for work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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