Was I wrong to open my mouth in this case??

[Connie31079]

OK, let me start from the beginning.....

Last week, reported to work for a 12 hr. day shift. My partner and myself did the truck check, she checked the defib, I checked everything else, made sure everything was good to go, we logged into service.

Fifteen minutes later, tones go for a call, general malaise, nausea, vomiting and diarreah. No problem, we respond.

On-scene, I personally always take in my Lifepak 12, because it has the built-in pulse oximeter on it, and I always like to check that on a patient, along with vitals, regardless of the chief complaint.

At this time, I noticed the defib cable was "pulled out" of it's normal position on the defibrillator, and was only attached by the internal wires, which we aren't supposed to see!

Made a mental note to report that to my supervisor upon completion of the call.

By the way, monitor worked fine, no patient compromise in any way, as a result of finding the defib in this condition.

Got back to base, and to be quite honest with you, it slipped my mind to report this to the supervisor until the end of the shift, at which time an incident report was filled, and reported.

Now, I'm facing a possible suspension because of "not reporting this sooner, which could have resulted in a critical equipment failure."

I'd like to reiteriate patient care was not compromised!! The defib/monitor worked just fine when it was used that day!!

Now, to make things a bit more interesting, a firefighter came to the base for a visit the other day, and saw the incident report that I had to fill out regarding this. He chuckled to himself and said out loud "Oh, was that only reported on Tuesday? Because I was on an MVA the previous Friday night, and saw that the defib cables were hanging out then, too. Actually, I was told to push it back into place."

Needless to say, my jaw dropped to the floor. Here I am, being railroaded into thinking I'm responsible for not reporting this "critical equipment failure" until the end of my shift on Tuesday, and now exists the possbilility that the problem may have occured FOUR DAYS BEFORE, and it was never reported to the supervisor.

So, I wrote a letter to my supervisor, and asked him to investigate. Now, a medic who worked that Friday night in question is angry at me for writing a letter to our supervisor about it, claiming that the defib was just fine on that night in question.

So, who's lying? The medic or the firefighter?? And why should I have to face possible reprimand and suspension over it all, when it may not be my responsibility in the first place???

[Dustdevil]

Welcome to EMS!

It is not at all uncommon for he who reports a problem to be stuck holding the bag for the problem. The truth shall not always set you free. Your honesty gets you reamed, while the others who just ignored the problem and played dumb get off scot free. Yep, typical EMS politics.

I remember many, many years ago I went to dispatching for a semester while I was in college. One of the duties of the night dispatcher was to tally up the petty cash expenditure log each night. It was a simple matter of subtracting the days receipts from the previous day's balance. Simple enough, right? Well, one night I did that and did so perfectly. The problem was, the girl who did it the previous night came up with the incorrect balance. Therefore, I started off with that incorrect balance and got an incorrect result. Guess who got reamed for it? Yep, me. Not the bimbo with the big boobs who farked it up to begin with. They said I should have caught her mistake. :roll:

If they try to discipline you, take it to the union.

[Connie31079]

Thanks Dust!

Finally, someone who understands where I'm coming from! I appreciate the support!

[hammerpcp]

You aren't the only one. As happens occasionally, Dust is right, this is typical EMS politics. Doing the right thing will get you no where. Which inevitably leads to a decision that may be hard for some, but not worth a second thought for most. Do you stand by your values or do you play the game?

[Nate]

They are probably looking at it from the stand point that you should have told them sooner incase something would have came up. However, at my station we carry a spare set of gear for the paramedic (including an LP10 :? )

I think they have gone off the deep end though.

[AnthonyM83]

Haven't been employed in the field, so won't comment on that part, but if the Friday shift medic complains to you again, I'd ask him: wouldn't it have been really stupid of me not to mention what that FF said since I'm facing possible suspension.

It's not like you're specifically blaming him, either...apparently several people didn't notice the mistake also, and he wasn't necessarily the first who didn't notice or the one who made the mistake. You're just passing on info to defend yourself.

BTW, did they discipline your partner since she's the one who checked the machine even before you?...so technically she should have reported it even earlier than you, right? (Using management's logic that is)

[nsmedic393]

A couple of questions;

Did you defib your patient? Did you know for certain that the defib would work properly if needed on the next call?

I'm just trying to play devils advocate (not dustdevil's) here but the LP12 is a critical piece of gear. With the defib wires exposed there would be a possibility that the wires could have been damaged. Perhaps they might have delivered a shock or two before shorting out, there is no way to know. With the defib being our only tool proven to work in sudden cardiac arrest I think you should have made it a priority to report the problem and make sure you were swapped out for a good defib.

Do I think you deserve a suspension? no. Do I think you should have reported that the problem may have existed prior to your shift? yes. Do I think its an excuse for you not reporting the problem, no.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I'm sorry but I think I stand behind management.

You noticed the faulty wiring and didn't report it. Even though it did not affect that patient's care you were on when you noticed it, it DEFINATELY, I repeat Definately could have affected the next patient who might have been in need of your defib/monitor.

What if the person who needed the monitor/defib was a 3 month old patient.

I cannot condone your actions, you saw a problem yet did NOT report it so I stand behind Management's decision.

PUt yourself in the shoes of a patient, take your father for instance, your machine didn't work or had a faulty wiring that you knew about but didn't report.

Think of it in that term.

You can fight your suspension, bring up the FF's comments yet in the end, you and your partner were wholly responsible for this turn of events.

If I was a supervisor, you'd have gotten 3 days off for it.

This could possibly be reported to the FDA as a adverse event and that is not a good thing.

[AnthonyM83]

If I was a supervisor, you'd have gotten 3 days off for it.

This could possibly be reported to the FDA as a adverse event and that is not a good thing.

I agree with your logic, but would your also 3-day suspend every person who was assigned that equipment in the last four days b/c they all should have seen the problem during their equipment check, right...

[Wackie]

I agree with your logic, but would your also 3-day suspend every person who was assigned that equipment in the last four days b/c they all should have seen the problem during their equipment check, right...

I would say if they fessed up, yes. If they play stupid then it's hearsay and you can't really go by that.