84 YOF Cardiac Patient - Walk to Ambulance?

[FLEMTP]

If you were in Pttsburg you could add.

"through the snow, uphill both ways"

Nahh here in florida its down the beach and thru the tide.. both ways

 

[rhan101277]

Not only do I WALK my cardiac patient's to the stretcher... i make them JOG!!!!B)

Yeah you can verify your working field diagnosis by doing that B)

 

[ivanh3]

It seems real easy to jump on this one, but truthfully there is not enough information. How big was the restaurant? How far away was the ambulance? After this person's status improved, was there a specific complaint by the patient? Are we worried about triggering or worsening an MI? Was the patient exerting themselves? That is a big part of it. There have been several large studies trying to determine if "exertion" triggers an MI. Although this person might have had a lower threshold for exertion it is not an automatic assumption. If the medics were there to support the patient and prevent a fall, and there was not exertion, I do not see a problem.

 

[DrParasite]

at my service we walk A LOT of ALS dispatches. however, it is very rare that even in the ghetto that ALS patients (as in ones in need of ALS care) are walking to the ambulance, especially old ones.

now, if the patient had a normal 12 lead, was now complaint free, and is adamantly refusing to be carried... I'd still do my damnedest to carry her, especially in the restaurant which typically involved minimal stairs, so you just place the patient on the cot and wheel her out.

 

[Sasha]

It seems real easy to jump on this one, but truthfully there is not enough information. How big was the restaurant? How far away was the ambulance? After this person's status improved, was there a specific complaint by the patient? Are we worried about triggering or worsening an MI? Was the patient exerting themselves? That is a big part of it. There have been several large studies trying to determine if "exertion" triggers an MI. Although this person might have had a lower threshold for exertion it is not an automatic assumption. If the medics were there to support the patient and prevent a fall, and there was not exertion, I do not see a problem.

Really? If I have a patient, whether the chief complaint is a paper cut or chest pain, if they walk I bring the stretcher in as close as I can usually I can get it close enough to stand, pivot sit. Even if there is someone there to catch her should she decide to conk out again, I would definitely not chance walking a patient very far to the stretcher. Just me, would hate for her to fall and for some reason not catch her. Hello law suit, and hello looking like a butt.

 

[ivanh3]

Chest pain yes, but not minor stuff. In fact. I always began my shifts by making a large "X" on the edge of the bench seat with 2 inch tape. My cot was reserved for sick people. I never gave any patient, not one, any grief over calling an ambulance no matter how minor the complaint (some not as sick as "paper cut"), but those patients with minor complaints got to sit on the X. Stretcher not even pulled. It saves on turnaround time, gets the rig back in service faster, IMHO reduces back injuries/strains, and the big one: no negative impact on patient condition.

Again, as far as the question by the OP, there is just not enough info to determine if the crew was being lazy or if they had made a good judgment based on their assessment.

 

[rescue99]

It seems real easy to jump on this one, but truthfully there is not enough information. How big was the restaurant? How far away was the ambulance? After this person's status improved, was there a specific complaint by the patient? Are we worried about triggering or worsening an MI? Was the patient exerting themselves? That is a big part of it. There have been several large studies trying to determine if "exertion" triggers an MI. Although this person might have had a lower threshold for exertion it is not an automatic assumption. If the medics were there to support the patient and prevent a fall, and there was not exertion, I do not see a problem.

Ummm, stair chair? Walking simply put...wasn't a safe option. There is plenty of information to know not to walk her beyond a pivot/sit. Nothing justifies the laziness of this crew unless they have a piece of documentation to prove the patient was AOx4 and made an informed decision on her own.

 

[DrParasite]

Really? If I have a patient, whether the chief complaint is a paper cut or chest pain, if they walk I bring the stretcher in as close as I can usually I can get it close enough to stand, pivot sit.

you are going to carry a 300 lb person down 5 flights of stairs because of a papercut? wow. your back must hate you.

sick people get carried. if your arm is broken, your legs are still fine. ambulatory patients are just that, ambulatory.

if you are sick, we carry you out of the building, assist you to the cot, then wheel you to the rig.

if you are not sick, you walk to ambulance, sit on the bench, and are taken to the hospital. you might want into the ER, or ride in the wheelchair. there is no reason to wheel someone in who is just going to sit and wait in triage.

my service only does about 80,000 calls a year, in one of the busiest systems in the nation (per unit), and we haven't had any problems with people walking people to the ambulance. and when people do walk the sick people when they should be carrying (as rarely as this happens), they are dealt with severely by supervisors and coordinators.

 

[medic417]

Remember your ABC's - Ambulate Before Carry.

If they are healthy enough to walk they should walk. By moving them on the cot you open yourself to greater risk of injury and lawsuit. "Lawsuit" you ask? Yes as you have greater risk of dropping a patient or having cot tip over and BAM that minor illness/injury just became a life long gold mine for the ummmm victim.

The reason so many services want them on the cot and carried is to try and screw money out of the insurance, medicare, medicaid system.