Free ambulance ride instead of taxi.

[BronxMedic]

Again I say to you how do you prove this?

The fact that Mom's breathing problems only occurred on the same day and at the same time he had an appointment was a pretty good indicator.

Yes she was ok by the time she arrived at the hospital (as you said you had to treat her) no wheeze and no SOB.

I'm sorry if I was unclear. When I say treat I mean give her a full ALS assessment. She had clear L/S, no SOB, a normal ECG and a SPO2 OF 99% on RA. There was nothing that could be treated because there was nothing wrong with her.

And I apologize if I came off as a cynical asshole. I have no objection whatsoever to treating frequent fliers. I have one gent in his mid 40's that calls at least once a month believing he's having an MI. The slightest muscle twinge has him rushing to call 911. I have a mental picture of his perfectly normal 12 lead memorized because I've seen it so often. And every single time I take it every bit as as seriously as any other chest pain call because, who knows, maybe this time he IS having an MI.

He is a hypochondriac, and dealing with them is part of the job. The other jerk is a different story, however. He's abusing the system (and his mother) to score a free ride. And although I always try to maintain my professionalism, it really pisses me off. :evil:

maybe the hospital should say that when he escorts his mum into the ER he needs to stay with her until she is discharged, seeing she is not 'with it' that way he would not be able to attend the dental appointment. That would help the problem would it not?

That's a pretty good suggestion, and probably would help.

stay safe

You as well.

[bamamedic44]

Unfortunately,,this is all part of EMS,,they call,we haul,and thats all. I get so sick of the frequent fliers,they know all they have to do is call and we come. Most of them are just pain med seekers. So I just follow protocol to the letter.Have headache,could be a bleed,,Iv must be obtained...lol.(gotta love a saline lock) They will try every excuse in the world to try and talk me out of starting an IV on the way to the hospital. My response is,"If you are so sick that you call for an ambulance,then I must treat you,its my job". I am careful how I talk to them,I remain as professional as I can. I do everything that is called for.lol. And we have a way of letting the nurses know what we have before we get there. Alot of them are put in triage,or filed way in the back. Believe it or not,some of the idiots are learning. They see me and all of a sudden have a ride with a relative..cracks me up. If I had a dime for every looser I have picked up over the years I would be rich by now. Bullcrap is the biggest part of this job,abuse of the system and taxi rides go hand in hand. But I will say I am keeping my IV skills well honed.lol

The abuse of the whole system just makes me sick,and people who really need us wonder why their insurance premiums are so high,,if they only knew.

[EMS49393]

Unfortunately,,this is all part of EMS,,they call,we haul,and thats all. I get so sick of the frequent fliers,they know all they have to do is call and we come. Most of them are just pain med seekers. So I just follow protocol to the letter.Have headache,could be a bleed,,Iv must be obtained...lol.(gotta love a saline lock) They will try every excuse in the world to try and talk me out of starting an IV on the way to the hospital. My response is,"If you are so sick that you call for an ambulance,then I must treat you,its my job". I am careful how I talk to them,I remain as professional as I can. I do everything that is called for.lol. And we have a way of letting the nurses know what we have before we get there. Alot of them are put in triage,or filed way in the back. Believe it or not,some of the idiots are learning. They see me and all of a sudden have a ride with a relative..cracks me up. If I had a dime for every looser I have picked up over the years I would be rich by now. Bullcrap is the biggest part of this job,abuse of the system and taxi rides go hand in hand. But I will say I am keeping my IV skills well honed.lol

The abuse of the whole system just makes me sick,and people who really need us wonder why their insurance premiums are so high,,if they only knew.

Wow, burned out much?

"Stabbing" a person with an IV when it's not necessary or done in a harsh way is UNETHICAL. Doing anything to a patient out of spite is unethical. One of the paramedics in the city I used to live in got tired of hauling the same drunk patient several times a month. The next time he ran on him, he purposely blunted an IV catheter, a 14 gauge catheter, before starting the IV on this man. His partner witnessed it, and the nurses at the hospital were in absolute awe at how battered the IV site appeared. Last I heard, his license had been suspended pending revocation.

It's okay to piss and whine about patients to other providers, or to you spouse, etc. However, we must remember why we are paramedics... to help, not hurt people that call us.