What is your most ridiculous call?

[chaz90]

Hmm, I had one guy who called because he couldn't see well out of one eye. Using my outstanding paramedicking skills, I deduced that this was due to the loss of a contact from the eye in question. Best part is we ended up transporting anyway.

 

[CALEMT]

@DesertEMT66 It was the old person in La Quinta call

 

[DesertMedic66]

@DesertEMT66 It was the old person in La Quinta call

Please say the patient didn't get transported.

 

[Clipper1]

Hmm, I had one guy who called because he couldn't see well out of one eye. Using my outstanding paramedicking skills, I deduced that this was due to the loss of a contact from the eye in question. Best part is we ended up transporting anyway.

Did you share what you thought was the problem with the patient? Did you offer to help him call someone to drive him to get another contact? Was this an implantable contact. Sometimes there is a simple solution. People do panic especially if their eyesight is 20/200 and beyond. Even with one lenses still in it can cause a distortion which would make it unsafe for them to drive by themselves. Even dialing a phone could be challenging.

 

[Clipper1]

Had a transport call the other day, luckily it got cancelled on us. Patiet originally called 911 for transport, but he wanted to go to a hospital 100 miles away. They tell him they can't do that, he needs to call a transport company for something like that. So he called our company, guy had no insurance, no job, living with his momma on her welfare and subsidized housing. Was told by dispatch that if he didn't have a PCS from a doctor authorizing the transport, we couldn't take him, unless he wanted to pre pay prior to us transporting.
His complaint, he was 600+lbs, and his testicles were 65lbs, he wanted to be transported for evaluation.
1). This probably didn't happen overnight, what, all of a sudden, made this an emergency at 0100hr on Memorial day???

2). how do people get into the 600+lb range living on welfare and food stamps??? We must be giving them way to much food stamp money to get that big.

3). How does he know his testicle weighed 65lbs???? How do you weigh an attached testicle????

4). When you weigh 600+lbs, you can't reach your testicle, he must have a really good friend to do the weigh-in.

5). I think it would have been an emergency to me when a testicle starts getting into the 1lb range(and that's a hell of a stretch).

It the scrotal enlargement was an acute situation, it definitely needed to be evaluated ASAP. We use bedscales or lifts with scales in facilities to determine the weight change. We can also estimate by measurements. Of course if this was a herniation, the overall body weight would not change but the size would. This could also be an emergency situation depending upon the blood supply. More than likely the patient was diabetic so the pain may not be the same as for a healthy 18 year. This post also sounds like socioeconomic and racial profiling.

I am seeing some of these posts as having a reasonable medical situation which should be seen or at least some direction given for better resources and a chance to educate.

 

[CALEMT]

Please say the patient didn't get transported.

Pt AMA and we canceled AMR

 

[Wheel]

It the scrotal enlargement was an acute situation, it definitely needed to be evaluated ASAP. We use bedscales or lifts with scales in facilities to determine the weight change. We can also estimate by measurements. Of course if this was a herniation, the overall body weight would not change but the size would. This could also be an emergency situation depending upon the blood supply. More than likely the patient was diabetic so the pain may not be the same as for a healthy 18 year. This post also sounds like socioeconomic and racial profiling.

I am seeing some of these posts as having a reasonable medical situation which should be seen or at least some direction given for better resources and a chance to educate.

I don't see any part of his post that mentioned race. I don't think you can infer racial profiling from it unless you are assuming something about either the OP or the patient.

 

[chaz90]

Did you share what you thought was the problem with the patient? Did you offer to help him call someone to drive him to get another contact? Was this an implantable contact. Sometimes there is a simple solution. People do panic especially if their eyesight is 20/200 and beyond. Even with one lenses still in it can cause a distortion which would make it unsafe for them to drive by themselves. Even dialing a phone could be challenging.

I know you're playing Devil's advocate, but this should fit anyone's definition of a ridiculous call that did not need to involve the 911 system or any healthcare provider. The man was in full control of his faculties, had standard contacts, and had no difficulty dialing a phone as he simply flagged down someone who was walking by. We of course offered that he was welcome to call someone else for a ride to wherever he kept his contacts/glasses. He was a frequent flyer in our system who just used this as the convenient excuse du jour to call an ambulance, and we still treated him with respect, decency, and gave him a comfortable ride to the hospital after he rejected other options.

 

[Clipper1]

I don't see any part of his post that mentioned race. I don't think you can infer racial profiling from it unless you are assuming something about either the OP or the patient.

But you do agree about his comments on the socioeconomic status of this patient was a considerable part of his post? This should be used as an assessment of providing additional services if needed and not a reason to not provide care at all. People who may be in the low end of the socioeconomic scale are in an at risk group for a number of reasons.

It is also not uncommon for someone with medical needs to live with a family member that might keep them out of a long term facility which can cost even more for their care. We promote home care situations with a family member as a care provider as much as possible.

To stay on topic, I guess my most ridiculous call in the ED would be the EMTs who show up on different shifts wanting pain meds for a back ache and refuse to fill out the paperwork. They want a off the record visit. We have two EMTs who frequent the ED doing this. Fill out the paperwork and you will be seen and maybe even sooner because you are an EMT.

 

[Handsome Robb]

Clipper, I agree it was the majority of his post but if we're going to start making exceptions for certain people because they're at a lower socioeconomic class where do you draw the line? How do you say we do this for this person but not for this one?

I have no doubt they would have transported that man to a closer facility without an issue. With that said, he wanted it "his way" and there is no reason that company should be responsible for catering to his needs as well as paying for it...

You want to go to a certain hospital that's very far away? No problem but there are SOPs/SOGs and company Policies that have to be followed.

 

[Wheel]

Clipper, I agree it was the majority of his post but if we're going to start making exceptions for certain people because they're at a lower socioeconomic class where do you draw the line? How do you say we do this for this person but not for this one?

I have no doubt they would have transported that man to a closer facility without an issue. With that said, he wanted it "his way" and there is no reason that company should be responsible for catering to his needs as well as paying for it...

You want to go to a certain hospital that's very far away? No problem but there are SOPs/SOGs and company Policies that have to be followed.

Absolutely this. Unless you have a specialist specifically for your problem at another hospital or the closest facility can't adequately handle your problem, then our policy is to go to the closest appropriate facility. Personal preference is taken into account, but we aren't going to go out of our way (and leave our coverage area) to take you wherever you want without some kind of justification.

 

[exodus]

@DesertEMT66 It was the old person in La Quinta call

I checked the call log for our youngish person in La Quinta. We transported her the 29,30'th, 2'nd, 3'rd, 4'th, 5'th, and the 6'th. And now it's weekend.

 

[CALEMT]

I checked the call log for our youngish person in La Quinta. We transported her the 29,30'th, 2'nd, 3'rd, 4'th, 5'th, and the 6'th. And now it's weekend.

Wow, I wonder if she knows a taxi is cheaper than a ambulance

 

[AlphaOmega]

Well...that escalated quickly.

 

[exodus]

Wow, I wonder if she knows a taxi is cheaper than a ambulance

Not when you have insurance -_-

 

[CALEMT]

Not when you have insurance -_-

Nice...

 

[Handsome Robb]

Wow, I wonder if she knows a taxi is cheaper than a ambulance

You have to pay a taxi at the time of service...those cabbies are sneaked too. They'll catch ya if you try to dip on them.

I checked the call log for our youngish person in La Quinta. We transported her the 29,30'th, 2'nd, 3'rd, 4'th, 5'th, and the 6'th. And now it's weekend.

We have people like that. You out them into the computer and it pops up with like 20-30 transports within the last 60 days....pretty ridiculous.

 

[CALEMT]

You have to pay a taxi at the time of service...those cabbies are sneaked too. They'll catch ya if you try to dip on them.



We have people like that. You out them into the computer and it pops up with like 20-30 transports within the last 60 days....pretty ridiculous.

Frequent flyers... gotta love em

 

[AlphaOmega]

Frequent flyers... gotta love em

Hey bpw, dont knock it...those miles really add up! Lol

 

[DesertMedic66]

I checked the call log for our youngish person in La Quinta. We transported her the 29,30'th, 2'nd, 3'rd, 4'th, 5'th, and the 6'th. And now it's weekend.

I could have sworn I heard about this the other day