Violence Against EMS Providers: What Can We Do About It?

You have to consider that the ER staff is going to have many more people immediately available to quell someone who goes bonkers, versus say two petite women on an ambulance in the middle of nowhere.
 
shfd739 said:
Doing a quick google search I'm not finding much about this as far as assault being mentioned.

What happened?
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http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...ing-with-agitated-teenage-psychiatric-patient

I certainly don't know the details, but it appears as though:

  • A 19 y/o male patient with a psychiatric history was referred to the local psychiatric clearing house/evaluation center.
  • The patient was then to be transported from the evaluation center to a hospital by a BLS unit.
  • Some time during the transport the patient apparently started punching the EMT and kicked the male EMT in the genitalia. A struggle ensued.
  • The EMT collapsed, was administered O2, rushed to a nearby ER, and died of accidental death caused by "acute congestive heart failure".
I have issues with how this played out, I do, but my biggest issue was with how management was on TV just hours later stating that it was a complete accident and that the EMT just fell to the ground. Yes, when someone is assaulted and killed they often fall to the ground.

I'm not the "eye for an eye" kind of guy, and I'm certainly not the prosecutor, but something should have been done, and I can't help but feel as though something would have been done if the EMT was a police officer or public employee.

It's just a matter of time before another provider is injured, and no one seems to want to take responsibility.
 
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DrParasite said:
I know ER staff (Nurses and techs) where it is considered "an accepted risk of the job" as well.
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I think we need to compare apples to apples. When a patient goes bonkers in the ER you have far more resources to address the issue than you would when a patient assaults a lone provider in the back of an ambulance. In a hospital there is ample room to retreat. Where is an EMT going to retreat in the back of a Type II vanbulance?

I used to always smile when I'd arrive to my psych patient in the ER that was strapped to the bed with locking leather restraints. They'd unlock the restraints, the patient would hop on my cot, and somehow things were safe and good. Things usually were safe and good, but when things went bad they really went bad.
 
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This was very informative, thank you. I happened to be one of the many that find it as an acceptable part of the job but I'll bring this up to my supervisor and see what he has to say on the subject.
 
MexDefender said:
This was very informative, thank you. I happened to be one of the many that find it as an acceptable part of the job but I'll bring this up to my supervisor and see what he has to say on the subject.
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It is not an acceptable part of the job. It is however something that can happen while working in EMS. Just because it does happen does not make it acceptable, I would be curious to here your rationale.
 
Tigger said:
It is not an acceptable part of the job. It is however something that can happen while working in EMS. Just because it does happen does not make it acceptable, I would be curious to here your rationale.
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From school to work people say the same line... it's part of the job. so of course I just assumed there is nothing I personally could do about it but after reading this I will try to bring it up.

A paramedic who told me a couple assault stories just shrugged and said the same thing and the basic agreed (and that was with a major ambulance service) until now I had never seen another person in EMS say this isn't acceptable. I agree it isn't now but before I just hive mind the entire subject.
 
MMiz said:
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...ing-with-agitated-teenage-psychiatric-patient

I certainly don't know the details, but it appears as though:

  • A 19 y/o male patient with a psychiatric history was referred to the local psychiatric clearing house/evaluation center.
  • The patient was then to be transported from the evaluation center to a hospital by a BLS unit.
  • Some time during the transport the patient apparently started punching the EMT and kicked the male EMT in the genitalia. A struggle ensued.
  • The EMT collapsed, was administered O2, rushed to a nearby ER, and died of accidental death caused by "acute congestive heart failure".
I have issues with how this played out, I do, but my biggest issue was with how management was on TV just hours later stating that it was a complete accident and that the EMT just fell to the ground. Yes, when someone is assaulted and killed they often fall to the ground.

I'm not the "eye for an eye" kind of guy, and I'm certainly not the prosecutor, but something should have been done, and I can't help but feel as though something would have been done if the EMT was a police officer or public employee.

It's just a matter of time before another provider is injured, and no one seems to want to take responsibility.
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He had an enlarged heart apparently. And the stress caused failure.

Basically management doesn't want people to think the company is in the business of going after patients. Sending the message that they can do whatever they want to us, and face no consequences.
 
MexDefender said:
From school to work people say the same line... it's part of the job. so of course I just assumed there is nothing I personally could do about it but after reading this I will try to bring it up.

A paramedic who told me a couple assault stories just shrugged and said the same thing and the basic agreed (and that was with a major ambulance service) until now I had never seen another person in EMS say this isn't acceptable. I agree it isn't now but before I just hive mind the entire subject.
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It is part of the job, there is no doubt about that. Everyone eventually gets hit by a patient for a variety reason. That is not in itself unacceptable, ill persons cannot always control themselves and healthy persons lose control of their emotions. To sit there and take it and do nothing about, that is what is not acceptable.
 
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