taking stuff from hospitals ?(lets be honest)

[Just Plain Ruff]

Ok, let's take this good discussion one step futher.

How do you deal with the crew that you take the rig over from who habitually leaves the Rig empty? Do you write it up? do you confront the crew?

What is your service's policy on getting in an unstocked unit?

What is the policy that you get in a rig that is unstocked and go on the streets? Does your service have a disciplinary policy in place that punishes those who leave their rigs consistently understocked?

[EmergencyMedicalTigger]

What do you guys do if you run out of a med half-way through shift? Do you get it from the hospital or does a supervisor bring it to you?

We have cabinets at some of the hospitals where we can restock most of the common things used on calls including most meds. The supervisor has to bring us the stuff that's in the paramedic lock box, of course, such as, Morphine, Vec, Valium, Etiomidate, Fentanyl, etc. *personal gripe on* Now it depends on if you have a responsible supervisor if this gets done. For instance, we went almost four days without RSI drugs b/c our Lt. didn't restock us-even though he sleeps at our station at night! He didn't like my partner at the time and didn't restock our drugs until I was working with my regular partner who he's all buddy buddy on my next shift.*personal gripe off* So far I haven't been put in the position of being on a call w/out having something I needed, but have come close when crews were too lazy to restock the truck after calls at the hospital.

[JakeEMTP]

We restock the ambulance after every call from the hospital. If we require narcotics, they are available through the hospital pharmacy. A bit of a stroll, but that's ok, I need the exercise. I should add, we are a county based system. I imagine there is some agreement between us and the hospital.

[CBEMT]

Ok, let's take this good discussion one step futher.

How do you deal with the crew that you take the rig over from who habitually leaves the Rig empty? Do you write it up? do you confront the crew?

What is your service's policy on getting in an unstocked unit?

What is the policy that you get in a rig that is unstocked and go on the streets? Does your service have a disciplinary policy in place that punishes those who leave their rigs consistently understocked?

Anything that's missing, I write in big bold letters at the top of our checksheet which is handed into the supervisor before I take my first run. What happens after that depends on which supervisor it is (some don't even read the checksheets), and which crew are the miscreants (ie favoritism). I've been written up for forgetting to gas up my truck at the end of a shift a few years back, but when I report a used IV needle left on the bench seat, nothing happens. Running over a brand-new stepstool with a wheelchair vain, however, will buy you an immediate suspension, even with no disciplinary history.

My other policy is to make sure that I tell as many people as possible who the scofflaws are.

As for hitting the streets with stuff missing, there is no recorse for me to get out of a run even when I'm not done with my check yet. In the old days, if something was missing I was told to just get it from a hospital later. "Ok, so what happens when I need it before I get to a hospital?" *blank stare*

Another trend of the Bad Old Days was: "I need gloves." "Take them from a hospital like everybody else." "So, on these two dialysis runs I just got, I'm supposed to do.... what." "Use the nursing home's gloves."

Nowadays, as long as you get to the main station before the one guy with keys to the supply room leaves for the day, you can get whatever you need. If you have the kind of day where you get a run handed to you along with your keys and don't see the station until the end of shift, you either steal or pray that you won't need whatever you have.

One thing I've proven is that you can write up the same dead portable suction on the same truck for 3 months and nothing will happen. The state inspector never tries to turn it on, so as long as it sits there taking up space it's all good.

[fire911medic]

Let's see, as far as stealing, only the nurse's pens....I'm terrible for that, but they steal mine just a frequently. However, we routinely swap out linens, BVM's, even O2 tanks if we're really low their great about giving us one in case we get another call before we get back to the station - which frequently happens, and even with a spare, I like knowing I've got O2 for a long extrication if needed or whatever. I am bad though to steal blankets as we never seem to have enough around and I refuse to have a patient freezing. Other things though, are off limits, though they are great to give us stuff if we need it, especially the specialty stuff. It's pretty cool we have good relationship with local hospitals.

[dahlio]

In NJ here, we have a good relationship with hospitals as far as linen goes. Take as much, leave as much. Many times I've put new linens on, that weren't even from the hospital we were at. As far as O2 goes and all, we over stock on things like that. When we bring in someone that is board and collared, we get them back within a few days, and they usually get picked up whenever the next crew goes to the hospital. The nice part is that they are nice and clean, and they have good systems to easily check if we left equipment. It's also a shame to see a squad's backboard lying there, and the're 45 minutes away, and probably went to the hospital once, since a nearby one is a trauma center. They'll probably never see that board again.

[akroeze]

I routinely see linen marked from services as far away as Toronto (roughly 12 hours away).