# Needles Left at Accident Scene



## Jon (Dec 30, 2005)

*Needles Left at Accident Scene*


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December 29, 2005 - Tuesday afternoon, medics rushed to an accident scene on Aramingo Avenue. They frantically tried to save the life of someone involved in the accident. But they left behind hazardous medical waste.

McMullen says he made 15 phone calls to the city trying to get someone to clean up the mess. Wednesday afternoon, he saw kids playing with it. 

The kids could have been exposed to hepatitis, AIDS, or any number of blood born diseases. 
 Thursday morning, fire department personnel returned to the scene to retrieve the hazardous medical waste.

Rest HERE:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3767955


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## FFEMT1764 (Dec 30, 2005)

Eewww! Not cool! :sad: I always keep track of my needles.  I have had the unfortunate experience of sitting on someone else's forgetfulness of the 16 gauge variety- and let me tell you I was one unhappy person for 2 years! I hope this is a reminder for everyone to keep up with your dirty needles!


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## TTLWHKR (Dec 30, 2005)

Darn firemen... They just showed up to play with their hose.  

I doubt anyone will get fired, this probably happens all the time. What's the harm? Drug dealers do it all the time, the cops throw their crap down the storm drain, it washes into a river, and onto a beach.. They don't do anything about that... Of course, now you'll see people reporting EMS for everything.. OMG! They left a bandaid wrapper, that could get lodged in the throat of a bald eagle, etc..

And the kids?

They should find the kids.. Just in case. After testing them, they should be smacked on the side of the head, whoTF is stupid enough to play with a needle they find in the street? WTF are the parents teaching these kids?


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## FFEMT1764 (Dec 30, 2005)

TTLWHKR said:
			
		

> WTF are the parents teaching these kids?


 
That would assume that the parents gave a crap and were doing any parenting in the first place...but hey no one polices the parents like they should- punsih your kid go to jail, let you kid play with needles its ok as long as you dont punish them...gotta love the thinking there


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## Stevo (Dec 30, 2005)

how are the new jellco's a hazard ?


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## TTLWHKR (Dec 30, 2005)

Well, if the kids are really stupid, they could put them in their mouth.. and there could be blood on the exterior of the medical waste...:huh:


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## Stevo (Dec 30, 2005)

i suppose....

yanno, stories like this _public critique_ here really get my knickers in a knot.

one little thing wrong on a hot call, and it's 1000 'atta boys' to climb out of the hole again...

~S~


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## FFEMT1764 (Dec 30, 2005)

Yes well, as usual the public has no confidence in EMS, and they try to find a reason to talk down to our profession...that is until they have the big one, then they all want to be chummy.


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## daemonicusxx (Dec 31, 2005)

i love the goofball in the video. you know he just wants on TV, and is willing to do it in any way possible, including talking down on us, the ones that try to help.


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## Wingnut (Dec 31, 2005)

I can see easily how they could leave them, it's not great but it's not enough to get everyones panties in a wad. My kids are 3 & 5. If they even find one of my stitching needles on the floor, they don't touch it and come get one of us. 

And now the medics are going to suffer because of jackass parents.


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## CaptainPanic (Dec 31, 2005)

Uh-huh. I love the way that kids hae figured how to outsmart their parents by simply threatening to report them for abuse/neglect/endangerment. I dont like the fact that someone didnt have sharp container there on scene. (You know one that fits nicely in a jump kit) that way the sharps are taken care of.

And parents need to teach their kids as young as 2 to NEVER EVER pick up needles, trash, or anything that does not belong to them no matter where they are at. And if its a needle of the medical type, they need to report it to an adult right away and to not touch it under any circumstance.

In this instance - both parties are to blame.

-CP


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## pfmedic (Feb 25, 2006)

Im going with Wingnut here. How many of us have left something at a scene? I have left my shears after running a code in front of a bar during my clinicals. Im just a newbie and I have already done it once!

However,, maybe it's because Im a newbie and maybe it's because I suck... but the intermediate left her shears too. HAH!


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## Carpe Diem (Feb 26, 2006)

People really upset me with thier holier than thou attitudes, they look for any possible way to throw dirt the people that protect them. Kinda like shooting spiderman after he saved them from falling off a building, ya know what I mean? And about the kids playing with the needles, that really makes me wonder how shallow the gene pool really is. I have left stuff at the scene also,it wasnt a sharp, but hey it happens right?


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## pfmedic (Feb 27, 2006)

yep it certainly does!


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## JJR512 (Feb 27, 2006)

If a kid gets stuck with a needle left at the scene, the parents will say it was the EMT's fault for leaving it there, right? And we will say that the parents are trying to shift blame from themselves--for not teaching their kids to leave dirty needles alone--to the EMT, right? But then isn't the EMT doing the same thing he's accusing the parents of: Shifting blame around? Isn't it the EMT's fault that the needle is there; isn't this the most direct cause of the kid getting stuck with it, and _not_ that the parents failed to teach the kid not to play with dirty needles? As a parent, I don't believe I can conceive of every possible situation my kids could ever be in, so I can't tell them what to do or what not to do for every scenario. However, the EMT should not have left the needle there, and that's something the EMT should definitely know. Now, yes, mistakes do happen, and nobody's perfect. But when a mistake does happen, he who made the mistake should own up to it, learn from it, and endeavor not to let it happen again, and _not_ try to shift the blame around.

Besides, there's more than just kids to worry about. What if Fluffy, the beloved pet dog, who you can't really teach not to play with dirty needles, gets to it first? Just walking over it, Fluffy can get stuck. Fluffy might die, or might transmit some disease further. Is that Fluffy's fault? Is it Fluffy's parents' fault, or his owners'?


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## Ridryder911 (Feb 27, 2006)

It's called responsability. The EMT in attempt to gather as much as he/she can at the scene. Discard properly. The Firefighter to go over the scene to be sure there is no further hazards, the Police officer to do a walk around. 

Then the parents should be teaching the children to avoid sharp objects, (needles, knives, broken glass etc.) as well as bloody products. Again, repsonsability.... 

R/R 911


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## pfmedic (Feb 27, 2006)

I agree with everyones points on this. It appears IMHO to have been a failure of the system of safety. There were many "barriers" in place to correct the problem, and they failed. 

Also, yes, there should be no shifting of blame... it happened... there were other things on responders minds... that sucks. The parents get to sue and someone gets reprimanded.

Jeeze I hope I never leave anything really dangerous or controlled around. What an awful predicament for someone who is there to help, not cause further harm. Maybe I should get some sort of insurance ahaha!


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## Jon (Mar 1, 2006)

The FD has a system in place.... the Engine crew is supposed to clean up the scene if the medics leave in a rush.... from the article, it sounds like this was a near-code case and they hauled *** to the Trauma center.

Either PD or FD should have cleaned up the needles, at the very leas, called for the medic unit to come back from the hospital, and stayed until they did.


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## Carpe Diem (Mar 4, 2006)

That would have worked also.


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