That is correct. Two ALS ambulances are sent, one by the fire department and the other is the private contractor. The fire department does not transport unless last ditch effort. This is not the norm throughout the entire county, but only in certain cities/parts.
so why not just have the FD transport? patient is at the hospital quicker, the city can get the insurance revenue, and no need to even have a private service, except during peak times. sounds grossly inefficient. in fact, if my loved one had a medical emergency, and the FD ambulance just sat outside while my loved one was dying, I'd file a lawsuit in an instant (and of course, every emergency is life threatening, so there is some hyperbole, but you get the idea).
To be fair, it is less of a waste than sending a fire engine.
without getting off on too much of a tangent, no it's not, at least not in all situations. And I won't even go into the waste of having ALS suppression units or ALS FD first responders......
If I have a three man engine company, and two hop on the ambulance for an EMS run, than that engine company is pretty much OOS until they return. If it's a 4 man engine company, that engine company is running short (can't do much as a single FF, since the driver is chained to the pump panel). if it's a 5 or 6 man company, than i'm jealous of your staffing numbers.
So if I send the engine with 3 people, yes, that engine is OOS for other calls, but once the ambulance arrives, the engine can go back in service, and is ready for the next cal. If I send all 4, same results.
If the engine has 4 guys, and I put two of them on a QRV/Brush truck/mini pumper, the engine might stay in service (short), and the first response vehicle is cheaper than an engine. Should a second EMS call occur in their first due, the engine can response. And when Joe Public asks why they aren't taking their loved one to the hospital, "it's not a vehicle designed for patient transport."
My department run a 3 man engine in the city to all calls. At our station in the county, we send a QRV for EMS calls with 2 personnel, and the captain stays behind in case their is another call. if another EMS call comes in, he or she will take the brush truck. We are a BLS department, while EMS is entirely ALS. So having us run an ambulance, especially outside of the urban area, doesn't really make a lot of sense.
While an ambulance is cheaper than an engine, a pickup truck or SUV is a much cheaper first responder vehicle than a fully stocked ambulance.
I'm not sure if they get charged or not. Part of the contract requires the private ambulance contractor to restock the fire department so the patient gets charged for any equipment the fire department uses even if the treatment isn't continued by the private contractor ambulance. I know they get charged for fire's treatment when the private ambulance transport, but not sure if they still do when the fire department transports.
restocking the FD is pretty common, esp for disposable equipment (NRBs and such). I'd be curious to see how they document a chart, and justify billing for a service that they didn't provide (since the FD did it, not them), especially if its not a treatment they are continuing, like continuing to apply oxygen via NRB. but that's a different topic altogether..
