Paramedics refuse to take 2yr old to hospital

[BeavisMom62]

FREE! WOw...that's cool. Here an abulance ride is about $500.00 and that's just a ride with EMT's no drugs of any kind.

If you take a paramedic that will cost ya about $800-900 dollars! They can start an IV

I thought the same thing Linda, pretty cool! Apparently lots of people aren't aware that you or your insurance or whatever has to pay for ambulance services. I work for a neurologist and about 90% of our patients are car accident victims. Alot of them are surprised that there is a charge and that ultimately, if they or their insurance doesn't pay, it comes out of their settlement.

 

[eleven]

The answer to your question is simple. To avoid waiting in the ER for 12 hours. If you arrive by ambulance, you get preferential treatment.

Not true at all. MANY people THINK that is the case. All patients who present to the Emergency Department are triaged, which, in laymans terms, is the method of determining who is the sickest and/or most injured and must be treated first. This includes ALL patients, no matter if they arrive via ambulance or private vehicle.

I work in a busy Emergency Department, and there are many people who assume that they will bypass a long wait simply if they arrive via ambulance. Oftentimes, those who arrive by ambulance just to avoid the wait end up going out to the waiting room with the rest of the patients who have to wait their turn, because their triage evaluation has determined that their acuity does not warrant being seen immediately.

 

[Alaska4959]

We pay for Police and Fire in our property taxes here and then also have to pay if we call for an ambulance. Hubby had a stroke the end of August. Not massive but he woke up knowing something was wrong. I could see immediately that he was showing signs of a stroke. I drove him to the Dr. who agreed he might have had a stroke. He scheduled an MRI for THE NEXT DAY and had me take hubby home. Drove him to MRI next morning then drove him home. That afternoon, got a frantic call from Dr. that yes, he did have a stroke, and I was to call an ambulance IMMEDIATELY to take him to the hospital. I asked if I could drive him because he was already emotional enough from the stroke and an ambulance pulling into the driveway would freak him out more. Dr. said NO, HE MUST GO IN AN AMBULANCE because they would hook him up to IV on the way. When I called for the ambulance they did agree to not use siren. Twenty-five minutes later (I could have had him to hospital in 15) a fire truck arrives with an EMT who did nothing until the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later. They did nothing but talk to him all the way to the hospital. Did not even take his vital signs much less start an IV. I followed in my car but got to the hospital first. Fortunately, he is fine now but I almost had a heart attack when I saw that the insurance company had paid $350.00 for the ambulance ride and $95.00 for the fire truck to show up.

 

[southcitymom]

When my son broke his collar bone, I took him to the ER myself. When I got there they told me I should have called an ambulance due to bone fragments that could have pierced his lungs or caused further damage. I never would have thought it could be a life or death type of situation, but apparently it could collaspe a lung.

Interesting. My 2-year-old broke his collarbone while at daycare - jumping off the top of the slide. They knew something was wrong when he wouldn't settle down and called me right away. I took him to an urgent care around the corner because my ped was closed. He was seen immediately, X-Rayed and treated. No one there ever said it was an ambulance situation. It never crossed my mind to call an ambulance.

 

[txsvicki]

I've made six trips to the children's ER with various grandchildren and I was only there a couple of hours each time. It shouldn't matter if an ambulance brings a kid in or not, a child with a possible broken bone is seen ahead of less serious injuries. I called an ambulance for one of them because of a sudden bad headache. He was crying and carrying on which frightened me. I don't think we were seen any quicker though, but it wasn't an injury only turned out to be a beginning ear infection/virus.

 

[Lyn1001]

Not true at all. MANY people THINK that is the case. All patients who present to the Emergency Department are triaged, which, in laymans terms, is the method of determining who is the sickest and/or most injured and must be treated first. This includes ALL patients, no matter if they arrive via ambulance or private vehicle.

I work in a busy Emergency Department, and there are many people who assume that they will bypass a long wait simply if they arrive via ambulance. Oftentimes, those who arrive by ambulance just to avoid the wait end up going out to the waiting room with the rest of the patients who have to wait their turn, because their triage evaluation has determined that their acuity does not warrant being seen immediately.

I have personal experience with being taken by ambulance and being put in the waiting room. I was having trouble breathing and almost passed out at work. I did not want an ambulance, but the company called one. The paramedics kind of blew me off and when I was triaged I was sent to the waiting room. I finally left after a few hours and feeling better.

 

[SuziQ]

Years ago, when I broke my rotator cuff, the ER doc chastised me for not calling 911 right away. He said EMT's could get to me faster than my neighbors got me to the hospital. His reasoning is alot of accidents that involved broken bones also have a head injury involved. I said I didn't hit my head. He said that with the pain of breaking a bone, most people don't realize they have hit thier head.

Also, the days of free ambulance service is over in most cities.

 

[mymeow]

SNIP

Not true at all. MANY people THINK that is the case. All patients who present to the Emergency Department are triaged.

Thanks for stating this, Eleven. I also knew this from working in a hospital but experienced this first hand 2 weeks ago when my mother fell off my stoop while visiting. I called the local EMS and they immobilized her ankle, transported her via ambulance, but she waited for HOURS in the ED just the same as others that arrived by car. I was really glad it wasn't serious and that made the waiting tolerable.

 

[Truthful Lies]

I am still a tomboy and am covered with bruises from head to toe most of the time lol.
If you are taken to ER by ambulance, you go in right away. If you walk into ER you have to wait in order of severity. Maybe they didn't want to wait.
Just thinking out loud here, I have no idea..but wonder why they didn't just take him in.

Just FYI... Going by ambulance gives you no priority over walk-in patients...they still triage.

You may get to wait on the gurney, instead of the lobby, but patients are not given preferential triage because they came in an ambulance...ever.


I think it's fair =P Sickest first, no matter how they got there.

Edit: didn't see that others had posted the same info =)

 

[Leve]

On day one of the older men I worked with came up to talk to me. He was drooling out one side of his mouth, he wasn't moving one arm, and he was slurring his words. I asked if he was okay and he said he felt fine. Long story short the owner called an ambulance and they came in a checked him - they wanted to take him in but he said it'd cost to much and his wife came and took him to the ER instead. He had had a stroke.

You can sign off on ambulance service if you want. Maybe the paramedics assured the parents the child wasn't in grave danger - checking vitals, pupils, ect and the parents made the decision to take him in themselves.

 

[raeann]

It is quite likely that the parents asked about the charges and were told that either their insurance company would be billed ( and might refuse payment for an un-needed transport) or were told that if they had no insurance they would be billed. They then could have signed off on the transport and are now making a fuss hoping that the hospital or ambulance service will write off the bill in order to avoid the controversy. This sort of thing happens almost daily in an emergency room setting.

 

[Elphaba]

A DC man in our area lost his life thanks to an ambulance crew putting their opinion above taking the man in to be checked by a dr. He was having chest pains and the ambulance crew convinced his family that the man had a case of acid reflux and therefore would not be taking him in... that he only needed to take an antacid. The man died after the ambulance left.

http://www.emsresponder.com/web/online/Top-EMS-News/Questions-Surround-Washington-DC-Mans-Death/1$8594


State regulations on how far an EMT/Paramedic can take their responsibility in making a final diagnosis, varies from state to state. It is going to be left up to the state to figure out if the ambulance crew that refused to take the child with the broken collarbone in, was in the wrong. If their powers are limited in the state making them only relayers and first responders that are only allowed to stabilize, not to do final diagnosis, then the parents of the child could walk away with a hefty pay out based on malpractice. But, like I said: it depends on how the state defines the role of a EMT/Paramedic.

 

[ShowerSinger]

No excuse. This family lost a loved one, and most definitely will sue. So sad...lawyers gonna start swarming...No win here.....................