flhtci01
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the number of EMS personnel deaths will finally force the powers that be to study the efficacy of using helicopters for transport of pts.
How many people have to die before people in charge start to rethink the ways they do things?
Is "saving" 30 or 40 minutes of transport time worth the lives of EMS providers and a patient?
John E.
Very sad to see anyone the recent loss of life to EMS personnel.
I don't know if it is lack of training fatigue or just not enough support. I read an article where many ems helos only have one pilot and are on 24 hour shifts. Its stupid and ridiculous.
You should always have a copilot especially if it is someone life in your hands.Helicopters are safe machines. In my opinion I think the EMS personnel are just getting overworked and don't have the training or support they need. Its all about making the mighty buck.
As mycrofft said about the outlying emergency centers. Level 1 and so forth. Its all about money. Taxpayers are not going to support unless something happens in there lives. The nearest level on to me is almost 130 miles away while there are 3 level 2s and a level 3 and 4 within 45 miles.
I know that all EMS helicopters should have 2 pilots and they shouldn't be allowed over 8 hours a shift.
There are always going to be more accidents with a higher patient demand.
Just a clip here about ambulances not helos;
There were a total of 41 ambulance accidents reported on EMSResponder.com from June 2006 through April 2007. These accidents resulted in a total of five reported deaths and at least 43 injuries to EMS responders. While this summary does not encompass every accident that occurred during this time period, as not all accidents were covered by local media, it does offer a snapshot of the most serious incidents. This summary includes only ground ambulance crashes in the U.S., and does not include accidents involving personal vehicles of EMS personnel, other rescue apparatus, or air ambulance crashes.
There are hundreds of ambulance related accidents and many deaths. That clip is just one year and is no means accurate. Its sad all around.
Helicopters do save lives. It you can get a patient to a level 1 or 2 fast 20-40 minutes make a world of difference.