http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/two-detroit-ems-workers-terminated-20110126-wpms

That one strikes me personally. How dare they accuse EMS of not doing their job, when they did EVERYTHING RIGHT.

Their system is BROKEN, and the EMS crew was punished for trying to FIX it.


Can you move out?
~Nate

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EMS operator should have been fired. Never, ever, give someone something by mouth in an emergency situation.

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It's the ago old story: The city can never admit blame or look bad, so there has to be a scapegoat.

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This thread, pisses me off. As a former Fire Fighter and EMS helper, I am sick and tired of people that give their opinion on what should have been done in this situation. When you stare death in the face, like I have as a EMS back up, don't judge what the Poor UNDER PAID EMS workers do.

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Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

What it looks like happened is the 9-1-1 operator took the call, dispatched the ambulance and stayed (supposition at this time) on the phone with the eldery lady on the scene with the dying man.

Somewhere between the initial call to 9-1-1 and the ambulance's arrival, the lady gave the man some OJ and a couple of teaspoons of sugar...then the guy hits the ground, ending up on his back with a mouthful of sugar.

The EMTs arrive and start working on him as if he's in cardiac arrest, which he apparently was. But in THAT PROCESS, they find his mouth stuffed full of sugar...time to back up and get the airway cleared.

ANYONE WHO HAS HAD CPR TRAINING KNOWS YOU MUST CLEAR AN OBSTRUCTED AIRWAY BEFORE DOING THE CHEST COMPRESSIONS.

Otherwise, anything in the airway will get sucked down into the lungs and then, you've got a real nasty situation...no doubt about it.

Where the blame should be pointing to, from this perspective, is towards the 9-1-1 operator and not getting enough information before asking the person on site to do something...something like giving the guy something to drink and/or swallow...including the sugar.

Somehow, either the lady didn't recognize, or understand, that the guy was having a heart attack...or he went into defib after the OJ/Sugar treatment.

Either way, someone should have relayed that to the EMTs and kept them updated right up to the time that the EMTs got to the residence.

Yeah...the system's broke. The ones at the top need to get THEIR @55es kicked out of the way and quite blaming those in the know...those in the trenches.

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Yeah, ABC. Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

Without an airway you don't breathe, if you can't breathe someone needs to try and breathe for you, if you don't breathe it doesn't matter if you have circulation.

But we were taught in OEC school to never give someone anything by mouth in an emergency situation.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

If I remember THAT PART correctly, you only administer fluids/solids (as in a hard piece of candy) ONLY IF THE PATIENT IS CONSCIOUS, COGNIZANT AND IS CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE ITEM. If there's any question, you always check the airway, clear away/out any material and with the airway clear, THEN you can begin the artificial resperations...but not until everything else has been checked.

And it don't take more than a few seconds...10 seconds, tops.

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

This story sucks, I have family and friends that are EMS. It's a hard thankless job.