A friend of mine in another state works for a private service ambulance. Now I didn't believe this till I saw the memo. The owners state that you are no longer allowed to have food in the front of the ambulance, but you are not allowed to go into a resturant and eat. WTF? Also, it not necessary to check out your unit, because they are now being checked out by management, and you are to go available immediately.
Any thoughts, comments, rude remarks?
It sounds like that company got cited for some violations or at least were warned. And I guess I can add a few more things to my list of suggestions for what should be taught in an EMT class. Some of these issues should have been included in blood borne pathogens and infectious disease procaution lectures since these are from Federal and State regulations.
OSHA has regulations concerning food and beverages in an ambulances. There must be a clear division of the patient care and front compartment. If there is a passage between the two areas, food is not allowed. Due to the hours EMT(P)s work, companies have looked the other way with the knowledge there will be a stiff penalty for the company if caught. Unfortunately, some do not clean up after themselves and make eating in the ambulance very obvious as well as creating a major issue of cleanliness and a concern for the health of both the providers and patients.
The second part about management checking your unit also may indicate another problem where someone is being made directly accountable for what is on the ambulance. It could also mean some were "lingering" with their checks of the trucks and not going into service in a timely manner.
This is what happens when a company expects a little responsibility from its employees and gets disappointed.
I could also address the restaurant issue but I think if you put some thought into that you might come up with the reasons where that also can be abused.
Sometimes a company must do what they have to in order to get the attention of the employees. The company should have referenced the State and Federal regulations in the memo as well as providing education for the employees although these are very basic things that should have been covered in class and/or during orientation.
That regulation regarding food in the ambulance has been around since at least the mid-90's. I remember it being a big deal because some of the females I worked with became upset because it became against policy to apply lipstick or chapstick in the ambulance as well. Again, this was during the mid-90's.
Well if the weather is nice eating outside is always nice.....
It is true what Vent and DT has said, as much as a PIA it can be the bottom line is to protect youselves and stay safe and well. There was a post a while back about were MRSA was found on the ambulance, just image what else is growing......... eeehhhoo!! :blink:
I agree completely, with the food/contamination issue.
I think there is more to this issue than I am being told.
As far as the checks go, I was told that it was to get crews on the street faster, but where is the liability? If someone gets sued because they didn't have the equipment, who is liable, the crew or management. I told my friend, that I still have a responsibilty to make sure my unit is ready for service, regardless what anyone says. Am I wrong?
As far as the checks go, I was told that it was to get crews on the street faster, but where is the liability? If someone gets sued because they didn't have the equipment, who is liable, the crew or management. I told my friend, that I still have a responsibilty to make sure my unit is ready for service, regardless what anyone says. Am I wrong?
This still doesn't mean you shouldn't do a quick check yourself to see that things are in order.
By management checking out the units, I would hope that to mean a Paramedic in a supervisory position. If this is being done because some were careless in checking out their trucks causing an issue for liability concern or taking 2 hours at the station to do so, then yes, management may have hold someone responsible to see consistency is maintained. This person may also have been informed that if there are any more screw ups they may join the unemployment line. If the tone of the memo was as you implied, there seems to be some serious concerns involving lax oversight and some employees not taking responsibility for safety issues and their trucks.
Well, I can't speak about the quality of the employees, but I do know that not all the supervisors are medics, and I do believe that they are checking out medic trucks.
The more I think about this, the more I am wondering about the service in general, from management on down.
Thanks for all the input.
You see, I'm not faced with food problem because the only time we are in the truck,is when we are on a call. It is very rare that we are so busy, we don't get back to station to eat. Now I know that metropolitan areas are usually in the truck all shift. Are they allowed to get out and eat, or get it on the go.I know they have to stay available at all times, but I would really like some answers to this one.
I guess they expect you to eat on the hood of the truck? Is this a private service? I always thought that they were legally liable to give you some kind of meal break.
Eric,
As someone who is in the rig all shift, yes, we're allowed to go in somewhere and grab food. We ARE allowed to eat in the front, but, unless the weather is bad, or we're being run hard and have to literally eat on the mood, we tend to sit/stand outside the rig to eat.
Regarding rig checks. Our rigs are supposed to be checked/stocked and fueled by our vehicle stock techs, and they we're supposed to go through and quickly make sure everything's actually there. If the tech did his job, our chute time is easily under 15 minutes. It doesn't happen, though, and yeah, it can sometimes take us a really long time to get out, especially if we're having to raid other rigs.
depending on the particulars, i would seriously consider finding new employment.
on the food issue:
if you are in the truck field posting for the whole shift, and are not allowed to sit down and dine, i would walk away. ive worked for companies that did not allow you to sit down in a liquor pouring establishment. a deli or pizza place sure, but if they serve booze its take out only.
if you post at the house and actually see the house more than at the beginning and end of the shift, then its a moot point. you get to hang out at the station. i don't know anybody who'd rather eat in the bus and not the ready room.
i don't put much stock in the "lack of cleanliness" angle pertaining to eating in the truck. lets say I'm eating a sandwich. i unwrap it and eat it directly from the deli paper. I'm not rubbing it all over the truck and then eating it. if you're worried about airborne pathogens, well eating or not eating isn't going to help you there. no i think its pretty much crap. Ive eaten hundreds of times in the truck. still kicking.
furthermore, if you work in a system where you dont get a guaranteed meal break where you cannot be disturbed for a call, and you dont average enough down time to eat at the station, then its basically a requirment to eat in the truck. i dont know about anywhere else in the country, but id like to see you all try to eat your luch resting on the hood of a truck in boston next month.
on the truck checklist issue:
i will check my own truck out thank you. i don't normally trust anybody else to do it. if people are screwing around during the time they are supposed to be doing pre shift stuff, then punish them.
i could get onboard with the idea of stock technicians, but only if they actually do their jobs. spot checking their work with the understanding the deficiencies are grounds for immediate dismissal would be my way of handling the matter. the people i don't trust to do the job are the lap dogs of penny pinching always looking to cut corners private ambulance service owners.
Same here up in Nor Cal, we're allowed to eat during shifts and go buy food.
We're allowed to eat in front and inside, unless we're being call left and right.
As for rig checks, some county/station we don't have stock techs. We have to do it ourselves everytime we're about to head out.
“You are allowed one squirt gun full of WATER from the SINK.”
Like many others that rule was put into place because somebody forced it to be after abuse.
The design of the vehicle needs to take into account what the needs of the crew are. Only on type II ambulances have I not seen at least a door separating the compartments. But it sounds to me like somebody just left the truck a mess. Can’t say for sure obviously.
I spent time at a service that had “locked out compartments.” Everything except the jump bag had a plastic lock on it. If you broke a seal, you restocked, placed a new seal and signed for it. Sometime during the shift a restocking clerk. (usually an EMT on overtime) Came and made sure everything except the drugs were stocked, not expired, and locked. Drugs were checked by the supervisor. (always a senior medic) So all you had to do was come in, make sure everything was locked, have a once over of the jump bag and drug kit, sign for it, and you were ready for shift. It was nice, reduced my paperwork burden. The company was 1st rate, so if another employee did something, it was dependable.
There were some shifts when it was next shift before it happened, but those were rare.
If you are eating in the patient compartment, you are wrong. Especially if there is a patient in it.
Same here up in Nor Cal, we're allowed to eat during shifts and go buy food.
We're allowed to eat in front and inside, unless we're being call left and right.
CAL/OSHA has the regulations for food inside an ambulance. You might want to be familiar with them just to make sure you are in compliance. With the changes in Medicare, you really don't want to get a penalty for your company.
Generally, we get plenty of opportunity to eat without eating in the rig. If not, we are at least allowed to get food from somewhere as long as we don't eat in the rig. We are usually allowed to have some type of beverage in the rig and I tend to get ones that have some kind of cap or lid to prevent spillage.
As far as rig checks, we check everything. Including the on car drugs. These are part of our daily checks. We aren't allowed to restock them. One of the Paramedics is in charge of drug inventory (narcotics). As the supply representative for our station, I have the responsibility of ordering any suppies needed. But, it is NOT my responsibility to stock a rig I am not working on. Rig checks are the responsibility of the crew using that rig.
And, I suppose I'm being a little sensitive, but in my opinion being a paramedic doesn't instantly make you more responsible than an EMT. This is more in regards to Supervisory positions than to actual scope of practice.
I'm sure some Paramedic is gonna see this and get their knickers in a knot. But, I know quite a few paramedics that I wouldn't trust to do much more than what the protocols state they can do for pt treatment.
Generally, we get plenty of opportunity to eat without eating in the rig. If not, we are at least allowed to get food from somewhere as long as we don't eat in the rig. We are usually allowed to have some type of beverage in the rig and I tend to get ones that have some kind of cap or lid to prevent spillage.
As far as rig checks, we check everything. Including the on car drugs. These are part of our daily checks. We aren't allowed to restock them. One of the Paramedics is in charge of drug inventory (narcotics). As the supply representative for our station, I have the responsibility of ordering any suppies needed. But, it is NOT my responsibility to stock a rig I am not working on. Rig checks are the responsibility of the crew using that rig.
And, I suppose I'm being a little sensitive, but in my opinion being a paramedic doesn't instantly make you more responsible than an EMT. This is more in regards to Supervisory positions than to actual scope of practice.
I'm sure some Paramedic is gonna see this and get their knickers in a knot. But, I know quite a few paramedics that I wouldn't trust to do much more than what the protocols state they can do for pt treatment.
Though I should qualify that a supervisor has more credibility when they are at the same or higher level of training than the people they are supervising.
However, I am the ONLY person who works in my zone (4 or 5 actual services in our Regional Health Authority) who actually has any leadership training. It was a requirement for promotion in the military. As well, I am the oldest member at our station.
I only bring up the point because my station is considering making our other Paramedic a supervisor even though the entire rest of the staff and even hospital personnel feel this is the worst course of action possible. My level of training should have, in my opinion, very little bearing on whether or not I can effectively supervise a group of people.
We have 2 Paramedics at our station. 1 is our District Manager. The entire rest of our staff is EMT or EMR.
I don't believe I ever made the comment that a paramedic would make a better supervisor than an EMT-B, or far that matter B,A,I, or whatever is the certification. My concern is that I would not feel comfortable with someone else checking out my unit, and saying it is fit to go. No matter what anyone says I feel that it is always the crews ultimate responsibilty to make sure the unit is ready to go.
