Equipment on the cot?

[Scaramedic]

Anthony ask and ye' shall receive...

Stryker Accessories

EMP Storage Net

[AnthonyM83]

Ah perfect...not to see if management would buy some of those to 'test out'.

[strippel]

It all depends.

All of the obvious linen (sheet bath blanket, towel, pillow+case). Add blanket(s) when cold. All have a purpose.

(We usually don't have a pillow, they don't trust us with sharp objects.)

We run mostly ALS transport ambulances (some BLS depending on staffing), and calls are dispatched either ALS or BLS from the information given to the E911 dispatcher. We decide by the additional information given on response.

ALS sounding: Litter, ALS bag, monitor, o2 caddy.

BLS sounding: no litter, BP cuff. Or maybe BLS bag and o2.

Most of us follow the "proximity rule". Your comfort level on equipment is directly proportional to the distance you are away from your ambulance. BLS call in a row home, ambulance out front, BP cuff. BLS call to the 11th floor of the high rise, litter with all ALS gear.

We have Stryker Power litters, or Pro-Flexx with the "Catch-All" on the back. They get well used.

[hfdff422]

Serious calls get the shoulder breaker with all supplies and an Lifepack in hand, then the stretcher fetcher (driver) gets the cot and suction unit or backboard as needed. If it is a trauma, then the collars go instead of the Lifepack with the first in, and any thing that may be necessary (KED, etc.) goes with stretcher fetcher.

[Sassafras]

Zoll monitor, drug box (which includes IV supplies & bandages), airway bag (contains intubation equipment, adult and ped. O2 masks/cannulas/BVMs/nebulizers, OB kit, soft restraints, infant, ped., regular, & large BP cuffs, OAs, nasal trumpets...etc.), and of course one O2 tank. Everything goes in on every call.

[nypamedic43]

We dont take all of our equipment in on every call. Stretcher, linens, pillow and O2 usually go in. The O2 bottle has a carrier bag that has a zippered pouch that has an NRB, cannula, pulse oximeter, and nebulizer in it. On the head of the stretcher is a sling that has 4 pouches, 1 has med and large gloves, one is bp cuffs ( 2 sizes) and a stethoscope, 1 has bandaging supplies, and the 4th has the ALS pouch, that has lock kits, needles, glucometer, and albuterol. The 4th pouch also has 2-3 refusal forms and HIPPA signature cards. On cardiac calls or bad respiratory calls the Zoll monitor also goes in. Since most of the time our scene times are under 10 minutes, most the equipment stays in the truck, its just as easy to do what we need to do in the truck as it is in the nursing home or private residence.

[ncmedic309]

Zoll monitor, drug box (which includes IV supplies & bandages), airway bag (contains intubation equipment, adult and ped. O2 masks/cannulas/BVMs/nebulizers, OB kit, soft restraints, infant, ped., regular, & large BP cuffs, OAs, nasal trumpets...etc.), and of course one O2 tank. Everything goes in on every call.

Yep, same thing here, exact same set-up, on each and every call. I might opt to take in the portable sucition unit as well, we carry a manual one in our airway bag on every call, but if I know I'm going to need suction, I go ahead and take the other unit as well. I would like to be able to carry in our CPAP on every call, but the damn toolbox that it's kept in is freaking huge (which makes little sense due to the CPAP unit being rather compact?)

[cajunparamedic1]

The service I am employed by has a "minimum equipment at the patient's side" protocol. It is mandatory that the following equipment be at the patient's side on every call, no matter the cc: ALS Medic bag (meds, CBG monitor, IV supplies, EZ-IO, intubation supplies, BVM, O2 administration devices, etc), portable suction (manual device in ALS bag), O2, ECG monitor. We stage the equipment on the strecher after each call (securing it with the strecher straps) so that upon arrival at a scene we just remove the strecher from the unit and go to the patients side.

[Sassafras]

We dont take all of our equipment in on every call. Stretcher, linens, pillow and O2 usually go in. The O2 bottle has a carrier bag that has a zippered pouch that has an NRB, cannula, pulse oximeter, and nebulizer in it. On the head of the stretcher is a sling that has 4 pouches, 1 has med and large gloves, one is bp cuffs ( 2 sizes) and a stethoscope, 1 has bandaging supplies, and the 4th has the ALS pouch, that has lock kits, needles, glucometer, and albuterol. The 4th pouch also has 2-3 refusal forms and HIPPA signature cards. On cardiac calls or bad respiratory calls the Zoll monitor also goes in. Since most of the time our scene times are under 10 minutes, most the equipment stays in the truck, its just as easy to do what we need to do in the truck as it is in the nursing home or private residence.

1) So linens and a pillow take presedence over the majority of your medical equipment? Wow.

2) Yeah, I prefer to have my equipment beside me on all calls. Cardiac calls and bad resp. calls are not the only patients that require immediate help. Sure it's easy to start pt. care in the unit, but it's not always appropriate. I don't find that beginning pt. care in their home and then transferring everything to the ambulance to be exceptionally difficult. What happens if you're dispatched for a 56 y.o. male with a sudden onset of weakness, diaphoresis, and nausea (might not be dispatched as a "cardiac" call)? Does he have to wait until you and your partner are able to place him into your unit for a full evaluation? If so I find that absurd. Here's a good example of why you should always carry your equipment in. A while back, a couple of co-workers were called for a "general illness" on the 6th or 7th floor of a hotel (call made by person with the pt). The information they received from our dispatchers (which I can't specifically remember) was that this 30ish y.o. pt. was extremely stable, extremely BS, CAOx4, and c/o something like toe pain. The crew decided that all they needed was a BP cuff and the clipboard for a refusal. They got all the way up to the pt. and the pt. was in full cardiac arrest, witnessed by the fire dept. :shock: They wasted precious minutes by having to retrieve all of their equipment from the unit and the pt. ended up being pronounced at the hospital. Would the pt. have died anyway? Who knows? But they assumed they knew what they were walking into and they were wrong. Needless to say, the disciplinary action was severe (as it should have been). Being unprepared even one time is unacceptable. This job isn't about what's "easiest" for you. It's about what's best for the people we care for.

[Timmy]

Just a quick question, do you guys have all your bags and 02gear strapped onto the stretcher?