a "incident"

[medicnick83]

This past weekend I worked a volunteer shift and had a "incident" and I wanted to see what you guys think about it.

The call came in for a MVA, truck and bike - 2 patients and the address was given to another ambulance, since we figured we were closer to the call, we asked if we could goto the call instead (this would've been our first call for the shift so we were keen to do it) the call was then given to us and the other ambulance was stood down.

We headed in the direction, but because of traffic, we ended up having to take a slightly longer route (but we talking +20 seconds) onto the time.

But the ambulance that was stood down, headed to the call anyways (we expected that to happen as we know the ambulance crew)

Suffice to say, they arrived at the call and came over the radio saying the following;

"X has arrived at the scene, we took a slow drive to the location and still arrived first at the location, Control, can you find out if ambulance Y took a long scenic drive to get here because they are not here yet?"

We arrived basically 5 seconds (we were obviously responding!) not even after they did.

Man I was sooooooooooooo angry at the person in question - I was FUMING!

I got out the ambulance after telling control that we arrived, walked towards the ambulance and asked him in a raised tone (because he was inside the ambulance - we could border line say I was shouting) "WAS THAT NECESSARY?" to which he nodded his head YES with a smile.

Now I consider this guy "a friend"

That made me even more angry to think that a friend would do that!

To make matters worse, they just turned around and left the scene - they didn't bother to come help us or see if we needed help.

Now the issue I have here is...

Why did he do that, that was uncalled for - however, he is known for doing this and other things to people, he will steal calls, dodge certain calls etc but since we are a volunteer ambulance on shift, why did he have to go and say that over the radio?

I was told later that I should maybe consider apologizing to him, but I bluntly refuse too!
I honestly believe I didn't do anything wrong - I never swore at him, I never did anything disrespectful, I just asked a question and he knows I'm pissed at him but he has this "attitude" where he probably believes he didn't do anything wrong when I'm sure you guys can agree he did.

Comments?
Thoughts?
Suggestions?

 

[FourLoko]

get over it?

 

[Martyn]

Just one question, what type of rig were you on ALS or BLS and what were they on? If they were ALS and, as I think you said , they did nothing just pull up then drive off could that be grounds for abandonment? Especially if they were an ALS rig and if you were on a BLS rig

 

[DrParasite]

I'd jumped calls before. we have units that jump hot jobs before anyone is even dispatched (they overhead it on the police scanner). it happens, unless it's a hot job and you are over eager to work, don't stress it.

Actually had a medic unit say they wanted the next ALS job that came in. didn't matter where it was in the city, or what it was, or if they were closest, they were bored and wanted the next job that came in. so we gave it to them.

I've also been cancelled from major calls (cardiac arrests, MVAs, major traumas, etc) on border jobs and mutual aid jobs (when we had other units available) and taken an available ride to the scene to see if the crew needed any help. not committed to the scene, just available.

if the other crew wants to beat you to the scene, fine, let them write the chart. you can assist, deal with the patient, and let them handle all the documentation. tell dispatch over the radio "sorry we got struck in traffic, we will cancel since they are already there" who cares, your not officially "there," only the other crew is. take the cancel, be available, help out, load the patient into their truck and get dinner.

and if they need help, or another truck, like magic you are there backing them up.

seriously not worth stressing.

 

[DrParasite]

I was told later that I should maybe consider apologizing to him, but I bluntly refuse too!

umm, based on what you just said, what do you need to apologize for? taking 20 seconds longer? :censored::censored::censored::censored: happens.

unless there is more to the story, you have nothing to apologize for. if anything, they might owe you an apology, or at least have a senior man pull your buddy aside and tell him to stop acting like an unprofessional jerk.

 

[mycrofft]

Either forget it or go to a supervisor .

That sort of radio traffics is very unprofessional and could, if monitored, be injurious to the company.

 

[Handsome Robb]

All I will say is yelling at him out in the public eye is pretty unprofessional. Was he right for what he said on the radio? Absolutely not. My opinion is there are mistakes on both sides here. I'd say talk it out, learn from it and move on.

 

[medic417]

Time for both of you to grow up.

 

[fast65]

Time for both of you to grow up.

Agreed. The actions of both of you were pretty unprofessional from where I'm standing.

 

[Nervegas]

I go where the voices tell me to go...

 

[Chimpie]

Should he had said that on the radio? No.
Should you have questioned it (yelled it) on scene? No.

You're both in the wrong here. The better thing to do was/is to pull him off to the side and talk to him. Say something like, "When you said that over the radio, you made me feel..." He can't debate how he made you feel. He can debate whether it was professional or not, he can debate whether it put the company in danger or not, he can debate whether leaving the scene before checking on the patient was right or not, but he can't debate how you felt.

 

[abckidsmom]

Say something like, "When you said that over the radio, you made me feel..."

I thought that was a top-secret female argument device. What the heck? The secret's out?

 

[Aidey]

Yup, it's out. That is how they came up with "I'm sorry you feel that way".

 

[abckidsmom]

Yup, it's out. That is how they came up with "I'm sorry you feel that way".

"I'm sorry you feel that way" is the lamest, most non-apologetic apology in the history of apologies.

 

[medic417]

I thought that was a top-secret female argument device. What the heck? The secret's out?

I guess it's time we pull chimpies man card. How far back does that set evolution theory?:unsure:

 

[tssemt2010]

extremely unprofessional on both of your parts, one, he shouldnt have said that over the radio, and two you shouldnt have gone up to him while on scene and confronted him about it, that can wait for another time. time to put on the big boy pants, welcome to EMS

 

[medicdan]

Agreed ^. Ultimately, we're are working to provide care. If one vehicle can arrive to a scene faster and provide care more expediently, great. That leaves you available for other (perhaps more interesting) calls. If you ask yourself "What is in the patient's best interest?" you generally make the right calls. Was this patient a priority? Would the patient's condition change if you took an extra 30 seconds to drive safely to the scene and forgo a shouting match?

Perhaps your first mistake is assuming that you were closer to the call than the other ambulance. I presume your dispatchers have GPS on the rigs and know where everyone is in relation to the call locations. If the other crew was able to get to the call without lights or sirens in the same time as you with them, it's likely they were closer to start with, and you shouldn't have jumped it in the first place.

In EMS, I promise there will always be more calls, it's not worth having a shouting match on public frequencies or in the streets to fight over them.

 

[BLS Systems Limited]

Well, from here it sounds like an incredible lack of teamwork in a profession where that's the death knell for the company. As Mycrofft stated above, its bad business. If I was the owner of the company, I would tell you to cool your jets (unless you really needed that call for QA purposes or some other professional reason), but I would definitely reprimand your colleague for airing unnecessary comments about the company.

 

[NomadicMedic]

If I was the supe, you'd both get a written warning and if possible, I'd be happy to give you both an unpaid vacation.

Grow up and act like professionals.

 

[firetender]

Now the issue I have here is...

Why did he do that, that was uncalled for - however, he is known for doing this and other things to people, he will steal calls, dodge certain calls etc but since we are a volunteer ambulance on shift, why did he have to go and say that over the radio?

He'll steal calls? That's kind of like jumping, isn't it? I mean, really, what was the real difference in distance/time between you and he? And, as is plastered all over the site, how much difference would that possibly make to patient outcome?

He said what he said for the same reason you behaved the way you did. In this instance, you're both cut from the same cloth.

Learn from it.