Reassessing the Patient

[NYCEMS9115]

This is unacceptable:

http://m.ems1.com/ambulances-emergency-vehicles/articles/1040063-Man-dies-unnoticed-in-back-of-Kansas-City-ambulance/

How hard is it? How far are you from the patient to not noticed. What inappropriate thing were you doing (sleeping, texting, on the phone, movie watching, book reading, etc)? When transporting, the Technician needs to sit on the bench; never the "Captain's" chair. A simple occasional glance is sufficient for Non Emergency Transport where the patient is a "Walkie-Talkie." This patient appeared to be somewhat unstable and was being transferred for Continuity/Specialty care; where the ABCs, vitals, focus exam, detailed exam, and the interventions needed to be continuously reassessed.

[HellsBells]

So, as far as I can see this story just includes compliants from the family. Personally, I would wait to crucify this ambulance crew until the entire story becomes known.

[1EMT-P]

There are always two sides to every story, but usually vital signs are taken every 15-30 minutes on stable transports. I would be very interested in hearing the crews side of the story, for example how much experience did they have, how long had they been on duty, how many hours had they been awake, what was going on prior to the transport, what happened prior to & during the transport.