Investigation reveals ‘dangerous’ Boston ambulance shortage

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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From: http://www.fox25boston.com/news/som...-finds-dangerous-ambulance-shortage/651046875

Some highlights:

The review found:
  • City ambulances with delayed response times to 911 calls going back years – including a 2-year-old East Boston girl seizing for nearly 20 minutes as her family waited for an ambulance to arrive.
  • First responders ordered to function like a shared taxi or bus service – stopping to pick up two patients from two separate calls in the same ambulance on their way to the hospital.
  • There are times when no city ambulances are available to respond to serious emergencies at all
Over a four-month review, 25 Investigates found that Holt’s experience is hardly an isolated incident.

The city’s own records show Boston EMS hasn’t met its goal of responding to the most critical calls in six minutes or less since 2013.
“Why would you ever put more than one person in an ambulance [who were not involved in the same incident]?” Investigative Reporter Eric Rasmussen asked Chief Hooley.

Hooley insisted incidents of two strangers sharing an ambulance are rare, saying, “It’s about trying to be a little more efficient.”

All I have to say is wow. and I thought DC EMS was bad.....
 

Bullets

Forum Knucklehead
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All I have to say is wow. and I thought DC EMS was bad.....
Oh come on, you worked UMDNJ EMS. I know you guys would get routed on the way to the ER
 
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OP
DrParasite

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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We might have gotten flagged down for assistance by bystanders for unrelated calls enroute to the hospital, but in the last 10 years, dispatch has NEVER directed any field crew to divert from transporting to the hospital to stop and handle another call.

Now I have heard stories (from old timers, and people who are now supervisors and looking to retire) about this type of thing happening in the 90s and this type of thing happening at several cities in NJ.... but not the past decade.
 

VentMonkey

Family Guy
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Why not just give John Q. Public the well overdue dose of reality that they need, which is a universally abundant abuse of prehospital providers? Why is this option still so taboo?

I’m glad the gentleman’s daughter is ok, but seizing what felt like 20 minutes, vs. an actual status seizure are a smidge different. Had it been the other surely it would have, or could have ended up much worse, but with that, I highly doubt the fact that an off-duty EMT was there in the meantime made all the difference.

There’s nothing shockingly new in an over-utilized system exposed by the media as a travesty, yet when does it fall under a restructuring and re-educating bracket?

What will adding more ambulances do to solve system-wide abuse? (Raises hand) Further enable.
 
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