[Moses]

Here I go...

The local Firefighters/Paramedics make me nuts. Despite irrefutable data that shows rapid initiation of transport is safest, they continue screwing around in the field taking a medical history, doing a physical evaluation and initiating treatment. All of this crap should be done in the truck en route to the hospital.

A girl who works for me lost a dear friend a month ago because of EMS on site delay. He was 46 years old and had chest pain. He lived 1 mile from a hospital that had a cardiac cath lab that most likely would have saved his life. He was alert and responsive when they arrived at his home. They took a history, did an ECG. Started an IV, even started a PICC line... On the floor in his bedroom. He died an hour after they arrived. They never got him on the truck.

This nightmare is played out every day across the country. All studies of emergency medical response indicate that "scoop and go" is the safest protocol. LA County hospital even showed that gunshot victims were more likely to survive if they were dropped off at the hospital by their friends than delivered by EMS.

When I worked in NY. I had to help train paramedics. It was pretty awful. Some of those guys seemed determined to delay transport so they could play doctor for a while in the field.

ALL of the EMS diagnostic and treatment modalities should be undertaken in the truck on the way to the hospital. The sad truth is that public safety might be better served if the ambulances were manned by longshoremen instead of EMS crews.

Rant over. Sorry if I offended anyone.