Training Ambulance Personnel

Training Ambulance Personnel

“Dear Dr. Steincrohn: Here is my reason for writing to you- It’s possible that any one of us may sometime be the victim of an accident. Usually ambulance personnel are the first to come between us and the doctors. I have been w’on• dering if these men are specially trained in first aid and med*ical ‘principles. I think its important. It seems to me that rough handling right after an accident can sometime mean the difference between life and death. Or am I wrong? ' Signed Mr.

Answer: During my first year of practice I was called to see a man who had suffered a heart attack. When the ambulance came I decided to “ride ambulance” with the patient to the hospital. I have never met—before or since—such a speed hungry driver. I kept telling him to slow down, he would nod in affirmative and soon the siren would be wailing and within a short time the speed indicator would be saying 65 and 70. We had two hair- breath, near-misses at intersections-.

Since then I have been aware of the importance of the need for special training of ambulance workers. I believe that the first thing drivers need to learn is that arriving at the hospital a few seconds early or late usually does not affect the chances of the patient. However, needless speeding and reckles driving of an ambulance often invite mass mutilation and killing.

Most ambulance attendants I have met have been co-operative and helpful. But in many cases, lack of training (no fault of theirs) prevented them from doing as much for the patient as they might.

Ambulance service in most communities is provided by one or more of the following agencies; funeral directors, police rescue squads, hospitals or independent operators. In - too many communities there are no provisions for formal » training of personnel. Some do not even get first aid training! You can see, therefore, that the two men who push through the crowd that surrounds the stricken one often know no more than any of the bystanders. • I believe that such personnel should have specialized skill- and knowledge in the care of the sick and injured. Proper care at the right time may be the difference between a live or dead patient when the ambulance pulls up at the hospital door- And remember, it is the ambulance men who first meet the emergencies: asphyxiation, traffic injuries, burns, drownings, falls, heart attacks poisonings and gun and knife wounds. *

One of the weak links in our wonderful modern set-up for medical care is untrained ambulance personnel. These men should be taught how to handle acutely ill mental cases, how to manage births, heart attacks, infant asphyxiation and dozens of other emergencies.

I believe that it is the job of every community to look into this problem carefully. I know that directors of ambulance sendee will welcome any organized teaching aid that might be provided by local medical societies.

This is a good time to use the old slogan: Do It Now!

From the Evening Star

(Released by The Bell Syndicates, In^igr