Choking pt becomes unconscious...inserting an airway?

[Tigger]

AFAIK most services' in Australasia have moved laryngoscopy for airway obstruction down to base level; honestly it's not hard to do, and the disposable laryngascopes are pretty cheap. It's literally just literally having to look in the larynx for e.g. a big piece of sandwich and hook it out with a pair of forces. For the want of maybe $50 can literally be the difference between life and death.

I can't see a reason not to do it so you blokes might want to follow suit.

I have an immense amount of respect for NZ EMS, but didn't you once say that the services would not be willing to spend money on CPAP, which is cheaper per unit than that? CPAP is much more likely to be used than direct laryngoscopy. Our base level EMT education does not even cover supraglotic airways (I realize that many programs do however) so sadly I don't think will be coming to most EMT's scope anytime soon.

 

[SpecialK]

I have an immense amount of respect for NZ EMS, but didn't you once say that the services would not be willing to spend money on CPAP, which is cheaper per unit than that? CPAP is much more likely to be used than direct laryngoscopy.

No, I sad it's a case of not having the money to spend on some form of CPAP considering the cost of replacement consumables and oxygen.

A $50 disposable set of laryngoscope and forceps which statistically, per ambulance, will take five to seven years to be used (if my math is correct - about five per year nationally) is much different than the cost of replacing expandables and the oxygen they will consume when you consider 500,000 patients a year.

Hopefully this will change in the next couple of years.

 

[Tigger]

No, I sad it's a case of not having the money to spend on some form of CPAP considering the cost of replacement consumables and oxygen.

A $50 disposable set of laryngoscope and forceps which statistically, per ambulance, will take five to seven years to be used (if my math is correct - about five per year nationally) is much different than the cost of replacing expandables and the oxygen they will consume when you consider 500,000 patients a year.

Hopefully this will change in the next couple of years.

I should hope, every remotely modern EMS system should have CPAP widely available.

 

[SpecialK]

I should hope, every remotely modern EMS system should have CPAP widely available.

Me too ... but the Crown could honestly care less it seems. They recently ponied up a couple million for full crewing, but eh, with Emergency Medical Assistants who are barely allowed to do anything without direct supervision.