EMDispatch
IAED EMD-Q/EMT
- 395
- 33
- 28
A little background first: Our service area is primarily rural. The closest portion of our area to a Level III center is a minimum 15 minutes, average distance is probably 25-30 minutes, and extremes being in excess of an 90. Also, we are fortunate enough to have 5 ALS staffed transports 24/7 with at least one placed on all medical calls.
Under approved procedures in MD, both dispatchers and LEOs are allowed to dispatch for a helicopter before a provider arrives on scene with specific patient information. Namely: - Trauma with an unconscious pt
- Trauma with ineffective breathing
I have done it once per a LEOs request, but overall we are cautious of doing it. A caller's information is usual not 100% let alone 80% of the actual picture of what is occurring at a scene. Generally I feel, and I'm sure others do, that it's a potential waste of a very valuable resource. In stead we generally will call aviation command (SYSCOM), and simply explain the nature of an incident, check on availability prior to EMS arrival. Which then leads to them going on standby and being ready the second we officially request them. About half the time, we'll do it under our own initiative, other half at the request of units en route.
We do have one call have in our system which we will do an automatic alert for. It is an LVAD patient who need to be flown to the facility that installed it. Depending on the SYSCOM operator, they hassle us about it since it is not one of the approved scenarios for their dispatch.
So here are my questions:
-As provider, would you prefer a dispatcher to start you aviation w/o your consultation?
- As a follow up, is it more beneficial for me to do that, or just pre-alert them?
-Does anybody else have a system in place for early helicopter dispatch, and what are the criteria they use?
-On a related note, does anyone have a good link for instructions on abdominal thrust CPR? I hope we never have to use it, but I'd rather keep a set around for that special caller, than be unable to do anything for them.
Under approved procedures in MD, both dispatchers and LEOs are allowed to dispatch for a helicopter before a provider arrives on scene with specific patient information. Namely: - Trauma with an unconscious pt
- Trauma with ineffective breathing
I have done it once per a LEOs request, but overall we are cautious of doing it. A caller's information is usual not 100% let alone 80% of the actual picture of what is occurring at a scene. Generally I feel, and I'm sure others do, that it's a potential waste of a very valuable resource. In stead we generally will call aviation command (SYSCOM), and simply explain the nature of an incident, check on availability prior to EMS arrival. Which then leads to them going on standby and being ready the second we officially request them. About half the time, we'll do it under our own initiative, other half at the request of units en route.
We do have one call have in our system which we will do an automatic alert for. It is an LVAD patient who need to be flown to the facility that installed it. Depending on the SYSCOM operator, they hassle us about it since it is not one of the approved scenarios for their dispatch.
So here are my questions:
-As provider, would you prefer a dispatcher to start you aviation w/o your consultation?
- As a follow up, is it more beneficial for me to do that, or just pre-alert them?
-Does anybody else have a system in place for early helicopter dispatch, and what are the criteria they use?
-On a related note, does anyone have a good link for instructions on abdominal thrust CPR? I hope we never have to use it, but I'd rather keep a set around for that special caller, than be unable to do anything for them.
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