RESPONSE TO SOMEONE’S CRY FOR HELP
Your ambulance crew’s response may be met with a vast variety of emotions, dangers, incredible surprises, hostility, gratefulness, and complaints. No matter what you have been told to expect by your local dispatcher, a variety of shockers may await you. You need to understand that the person who dialed 911 was scared, possibly crying, and feeling helpless.
Stress and fear tend to make even reasonable time seem a whole lot longer. Unfortunately, in New York, upstate rural communities often suffer from a lack of volunteerism and may not have paid services on easy standby. It can seem like a crisis when already short-staffed areas receive multiple calls. Even in large urban areas, response times may be longer simply because of congestion and traffic delays.
The person in pain, and their family, will often complain that you took too long to arrive. Unfortunately, sometimes they are right… but they do not understand that you might be a second (or third) crew to be called because the primary crew is already transporting a patient. When you show up, they might be grateful, or they might be frustrated. They are in pain and scared.
You assess and load your patient. You are told that family will be coming with you… you say, “Okay, just one-person, front seat.” And the argument starts, they want to sit in the back, or they may want more than one family member present. If you are taking an adult patient, anyone accompanying should be relegated to the front seat – there is a seatbelt there, the accompanying party will not get in the way of treatment. If the patient is a young child, you MIGHT consider letting an adult sit in the back of the rig with you… but they MUST wear a seatbelt and remain seated on the bench seat, and most importantly, they cannot interfere with your treatment. Sometimes there is a request to also transport a legitimate support animal – do so ONLY if the animal is calm and can be constrained (leash and seat belt or family member) during the ride. If your patient’s condition is profoundly serious, it might be reason not to transport someone else on the rig.
Another scenario may await you – you are loaded and ready to go to the nearest hospital that will meet the urgent needs of your patient. But an argument ensues when you are told that their FAVORITE doctor is at another hospital (several miles away) – the same services are available at YOUR planned destination. Time factors, area availability, and insurance coverage are all at risk if you do not stick to your plan. You arrive at YOUR BEST CHOICE hospital, and your patient (and family members) are annoyed with you. But you have followed best case protocol.
Remember that fear and emotions tend to lead folks into a quagmire of reactions. So long as you have followed protocol and were professional, friendly, and helpful to your patient and his/her family, then you did right.
I'm a former NYS EMT and still part of an EMS & FD family. I like to think I can write ;)
