Psychiatric Ambulance

It must have been hell for them to set it up and contract with local municipalities and the agencies that have the certificate-of-need.
 
Interesting idea. I wonder what kind of additional training they are giving the crews?
 
TheLocalMedic said:
Interesting idea. I wonder what kind of additional training they are giving the crews?
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If its along the lines of EMT training/EMS standards, not enough...:rolleyes:

Like most I would assume it to be the bare minimum to turn a profit.
 
NYMedic828 said:
If its along the lines of EMT training/EMS standards, not enough...:rolleyes:

Like most I would assume it to be the bare minimum to turn a profit.
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Here's hoping they had additional training!

Looks like the facility is a not-for-profit, so that might suggest more concern than for a bottom line, but, who can know?
 
I have a somewhat similar job. The company that I work for is contracted with the local hospital to do all of their psychiatric transports, which is a lot. The hospital is the only in the county and does not have a psychiatric unit, so any patient requiring additional psychiatric help needs to be transported out. We handle quite a lot of these runs and are the sole provider for psychiatric transports with the hospitals.
 
and Hale, what additional training have you received?

Many hospitals have a contracted service provider, that allows them to ship out patients that they can't provide services for, and psych is no different than peds or ICU. I have handled more psych transports than I care to admit, and most go very smoothly. Doesn't make me an expert though, and just because you handle psych transfer doesn't mean you have any specialized training.

If I were to hazard a guess (and this is only a guess, nothing more), I would think the ambulance is an extension of the outreach counselors. So if the counselors are on location requesting transport, instead of calling 911 and requesting an ambulance, they call their own service. Probably no more training than the basic EMT.

I would be curious how they handle violent psych patients, and involuntary committals without involving local law enforcement. Typically the LEO enforces the committal papers, using restraints if needed.

As for the CON, at least in Jersey, it's not an issue. it's a private transport company handling a call private call. They don't even need any approval from the local agencies, as long as it doesn't go through the 911 system.
 
We do not recieve any additional training, which I do believe should be provided. However, the cost of continuing education classes is covered if we chose to further our education in the matter.
 
Thanks for sharing that link. I will take that 12 hour course. In my area we have tons of psych calls, mostly substance abuse. I see some situations where first responders aren't playing too nice with the psych patients.
 
BillyBonebrake said:
I see some situations where first responders aren't playing too nice with the psych patients.
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Yup, I've seen this too -- it's really quite embarrassing for the responders, I think. Psych patients are patients like any other, but they often are treated as "crazies." Granted, that may be true, but they are deserving of the same level of care that you'd provide to any other patient.
 
DrParasite said:
and Hale, what additional training have you received?

Many hospitals have a contracted service provider, that allows them to ship out patients that they can't provide services for, and psych is no different than peds or ICU. I have handled more psych transports than I care to admit, and most go very smoothly. Doesn't make me an expert though, and just because you handle psych transfer doesn't mean you have any specialized training.

If I were to hazard a guess (and this is only a guess, nothing more), I would think the ambulance is an extension of the outreach counselors. So if the counselors are on location requesting transport, instead of calling 911 and requesting an ambulance, they call their own service. Probably no more training than the basic EMT.

I would be curious how they handle violent psych patients, and involuntary committals without involving local law enforcement. Typically the LEO enforces the committal papers, using restraints if needed.

As for the CON, at least in Jersey, it's not an issue. it's a private transport company handling a call private call. They don't even need any approval from the local agencies, as long as it doesn't go through the 911 system.
Click to expand...

As you say, psych transfers are bread and butter calls for many agencies. I've done many, and all but one or two were entirely uneventful from a patient perspective. Usually we have more issues with paperwork than anything else.

We are also called occasionally by the city's homeless outreach team to deal with clients of theirs who are experiencing a psychiatric emergency. We can take them without the police being present, but the times I have been involved in these calls we have called the police simply because we didn't have the manpower to safely get the patient into the ambulance. Funny how when the cops show up some people calm right down...

If someone is deemed a danger to their self and are not of fit mind to refuse treatment, we can transport them. Anyone that does so would be foolish to not involve law enforcement though, the more present the better.
 
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