Echo Units

[MMiz]

Around here two Paramedics are required for an ALS unit. I believe the idea behind it is that two brains are better than one. I regularly see medics discuss treatments when working a patient, and it's not uncommon for one medic to get an IV or tube if the other fails.

But... In addition to providing multiple ambulances to a city our service covers, we also provide three paramedic-in-tahoe units. A single Paramedic and ALS unit are dispatched simultaneously. Unfortunately that single Paramedic can't carry drugs, an IV kit, or use manual defrillation, even though they carry a LifePak 12.

They are limited to the AED mode until ALS arrives, and only ALS service they may provide is placing an ET tube.

This seems crazy to me. Why not provide the units certain drugs that could save a life?

Our average ALS-on-scene response time is a little over three minutes. We cover 36 square miles, so it's great, but wouldn't it be even better to allow the single Paramedic units to start treatment immediately?

 

[Jon]

Yeah... that seems silly.

Why not have BLS providers doing the quick-response work? Around here a medic with medic gear in a car or tahoe IS our ALS... our ONLY ALS.

 

[MMiz]

When I worked BLS, that's the unit I'd work. They'd through our BLS ambulance into the mix. They got Tahoes and we got the Type IIs. I liked it, but it didn't last for long.

Management decided that BLS needed to be 100% focused on BLS. Every so often we'd pass up a BLS call because we were responding as the first-responder unit. When the new operations supervisor took office he put an end to that.