dr-exmedic.com

I’ve alluded to the fact that fire-based EMS can theoretically be done well, but I have yet to see it in person, so here’s an absolutely nauseating example of what can happen when it’s not:  a crew (of two medics and a Basic, mind you) whose documentation has the patient going into a shockable rhythm, then never delivering a defibrillation.

The chief’s defense of these guys basically amounts to saying that the crew wasn’t medically incompetent, they were just documentationally incompetent.  While I know I’d certainly prefer this to be true, it’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of the providers.  It’s all I can do to not throw up while watching this video.

Interestingly, there’s no mention of a lawsuit being filed.

The only part of the story that’s pretty weak is when the reporter brings out the “scary” statistics on victim revival, but getting pulses on 1 victim out of 20 isn’t all that unusual–that’s pretty close to the national average for survival to discharge, which is usually quoted at about 5-8% (depending on the source), and certainly within the margin of error with such a small sample size.

My parents live about 10 minutes from Bainbridge.  I wonder if they’re likely to have the same problems should they need an ambulance.

(Hat tip to Mike for forwarding the story.)

Filed under: EMS