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ambo "protocol"

bud.lightyear

bud.lightyear

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Messages
151
Location
melbourne
so i had an interesting experience on the weekend at an event in melbourne...

i had to help this guy stand up because the girl he was with wasn't strong enough. he had taken 5 mushrooms, but symptons were pretty consistent with a blow out (minus the vomiting.) i had him up for a while, and then the bouncer came so we had to get him outside. I carried him out with the bouncer into the street, where we lay him on the sidewalk against me to support him up. the bouncer ended up saying "nah screw it i'm either calling the cops or an ambulance" and called the ambo.

the ambulance people all knew what he had taken and what was going on. he was still sortof with it, knew enough to say he didn't have cover and didn't want to go in the ambo.

this is where i started to get pissed off: the very first thing htat the ambulance person said to the guy was "give me your wallet....give me your wallet or i will have to inflict pain on you."

at that i started questioning her. "are you serious? is that what you say to people? threaten them to get ID?" she just said "oh its only the sternum rub and its protocol" pretty sure the sternum rub is to see if a completely unconcious person is responsive to pain, not to be used as a bargaining chip or a threat.

well, i think your protocol SUCKS. if someone is completely tripping out, and then the person to save them rocks up, and only threatens them to get their wallet i would WIG OUT. where is the harm minimisation in that? are they only out to make a buck or what?
if anyone knows real protocol that would be great, or if this happens a lot.
 
then of course the cops started harrassing me about my eyes and what i was doing at a club. i was just doing the good samaritan thing and helping out a dude i ddin't know get into an ambulance....

some harm reduction there piggies.....really encouraging people to do the right thing and call an ambo when someone's in trouble....
 
Hey man, good on you for helping a bloke out, if it weren't for you who knows how much worse his night could of been. That is really shit the way they acted, I have to say when I was picked up by an ambulance in March my experience was a little different. I got arrested first and despite my drunken abuse the cops were actually alright (much as it pains me to admit :p) and the ambo was pretty friendly as well. I was real worried about my lack of ambulance cover and they assured me it was fine as I had a healthcare card.

One thing that really pissed me off though, was that during my blacked out (whisky and valium, it never *really* is the last time) state I confessed to doctor shopping and benzodiazepine abuse. When my parents came to visit me and I was unconscious the ambo told them all about what I had told him. I don't know if that shits legal or not, but it sure as hell fucked my shit up! I actually meant to make a thread asking if they were allowed to do that?

I was pretty peeved about my situation afterwards but it doesn't have shit on them threatening a tripping dude, thats fucked. Those cops must of been right pricks, to give you shit about your pupils for being good enough to help a stranger.
 
DM: No they're not, considering you're overage, its a breach of the privacy act - unless you said you intended to kill yourself with said behavior.

bud: the sternum rub should only be used to see if a pain reaction occurs when someone is losing conciousness or unconcious. and is generally not a medically acceptable act either way - as if someone has lost conciousness, first aid says you should just check for any response with A TAP ON THE SHOULDER, seeing as with PC a sternum rub could be construed as sexual. After this, basic life support should be carried out.
 
Thats a pretty fucking horrible way to get ID from someone who is tripping.
I think in general most ambo's are on our side, and are out there to help save lives. The person probably was either having a shit day (still no excuse), or just a shit person in general.

Hmmm... love the way half of the public looks at drug users. Im sure if it was a different medical emergency the guy would not have been threatened for his wallet.
 
Yeah, that isn't protocol at all.

Did you get the ambo's name?

I'd be reporting that shit if you got his details. I doubt it would go anywhere, but its better than nothing.

Goes to show ambulance officers aren't trained properly in dealing with people under the influence.
 
One thing that really pissed me off though, was that during my blacked out (whisky and valium, it never *really* is the last time) state I confessed to doctor shopping and benzodiazepine abuse. When my parents came to visit me and I was unconscious the ambo told them all about what I had told him. I don't know if that shits legal or not, but it sure as hell fucked my shit up! I actually meant to make a thread asking if they were allowed to do that?
Click to expand...

They could probably mention it to your doctor, but your parents? I'm sure that's a breach of confidentiality though they are allowed to make that breach if they suspect you may harm yourself or others.
 
I wont get into specific details but it could be said it was suspected I may be a danger to others or myself. I had already been apprehended though and was completely fucking incapacitated and strapped to a hospital bed KO'd when they told my parents that shit. I was 20 at the time (still am) so it isn't as though my parents had any authority. Even if it were said I was still a danger at the time when he told them (I certainly wasn't) the circumstances in which they were told would do nothing to reduce the danger, so I don't see any logic to informing them.
 
i personally am completely ignorant to general ambulance protocol, i think it would be beneficial for myself and people like me to hear some ambo related anecdotes

In the possibility of a life or death situation this sort of information is paramount. If you dont call an ambulance and the person passes away.. well i dont need to explain the resulting emotions and implications.

I was at hillarys marina perth in a quite carpark with my friend skating and we found a passed out girl in a bad state. Naturally we called an ambulance and i consider think of doing anything else. However how much did us making that necessary decision cost her? is it covered by medicare? i am assuming no
 
How much does it cost to call an ambulance? That's pretty shitty you have to pay for it, I thought it was covered by our taxes or what not.
 
Calling an ambulence should never be a question of cost. Why risk your life for a set dollar amount. Money is just money, life is invaluable.

Btw i think it's in the region of 2-5grand for an ambulence without cover.
 
Mr Blonde said:
How much does it cost to call an ambulance? That's pretty shitty you have to pay for it, I thought it was covered by our taxes or what not.
Click to expand...

Your in QLD so you are covered. I think there is a levy on electricity bills or something.
 
It is around a thousand bucks or so, if you have a healthcare card however it is free. Thank fuck I had one in March when they picked me up, fuck paying for that shit. Just saw static saying it is free in QLD, I am in VIC.
 
^because the ambulance has lots of expensive medical gear in it that is covered in expensive stickers. They don't really need a reason to tip people off in dire times.

Last time I got an ambulance ride to the hospital when I injured my neck it cost me around $400...for a whole 3 blocks drive. Needless to say I've got private ambulance cover now...more money to the thieving insurance companies.

At least we aren't as bad as the US. You even have to pay for emergency room visits there -.-
 
hrm yea my girlfriend blew out and had to get an ambulance with no cover. 900 dollar bill.

that being said however, when she got ambulanced they didn't even ask for an address until long after she got to the hospital. ended up her friend gave what she thought was the correct address, but it was wrong. they had the wrong address int heir records for ages, until they got onto her on the phone.

in that situation the ambulance/hospital personal were quite reasonable. as for this weekend, and the reason i started this thread, my experience was quite different.

as for getting the name of the ambo lady, i got too pissed off with cops giving me grief so i just went back in. need to get the ok from the guy who it was before i go making complaints tho...figure thats only reasonable
 
face__ said:
i think it would be beneficial for myself and people like me to hear some ambo related anecdotes
Click to expand...


QFT....very good point indeed.


any have any stories or know the rules/laws about the people calling the ambulance getting in trouble?

its a major issue whether or not to call for someone, if everyone else at the same place is on drugs as well.

i had this happen to me in NYC, as i used to live there. we had a party, and this one dude got some seriious alcohol poisoning. the whole place stank of weed, but we said fuck it, we'd rather have him alive and us with a record than the other way around.
when the cops and ambo's showed up they were really cool. they said it smelled like we'd been smoking dope, we said yes we had, and they all buggered off and told us we'd done the right thing.


as for the cops in melbourne on the weekend....just harrassing me about my eyes etc but it never eventuated into any sort of action. could it have?
 
^ Why did the cops show up for alcohol poisoning? They should only be there if the ambulance service suspects that there might be a danger to their people in the situation.
 
face__ said:
i personally am completely ignorant to general ambulance protocol, i think it would be beneficial for myself and people like me to hear some ambo related anecdotes

In the possibility of a life or death situation this sort of information is paramount. If you dont call an ambulance and the person passes away.. well i dont need to explain the resulting emotions and implications.

I was at hillarys marina perth in a quite carpark with my friend skating and we found a passed out girl in a bad state. Naturally we called an ambulance and i consider think of doing anything else. However how much did us making that necessary decision cost her? is it covered by medicare? i am assuming no
Click to expand...

Over a year ago a bunch of us were tripping at a mate's relatives house when somone started to freak out.
Eventually I decided to call an ambo and stuff, and they also sent out the cops because I mentioned they might need help restraining him.

Cops rocked up first, and helped to hold my friend down until the ambulance arrived. We told them what he had had and they asked questions like "Has he had any alcohol?" and that sort of thing before sedating him and taking him away.

Before he left the cops found a nang in his pocket, and asked if there was anything they could take back for sampling to which we said no.

Despite giving them an address and stuff (I think I said my friend's parents place) we never saw a bill or anything for the ambo.

Was my first experience with cops and paramedics outside of a RBT, and I think both of them followed procedure, just if you end up in a similar situation just tell them everything they need to know and don't hand out "samples" to the cops because I'd imagine they'd be looking at busting someone rather than testing it.
 
Or taking it to test, then bust!

I wonder what's going on here... It seems rather odd that they would treat anyone like this. I thought they were trained for this kind of thing. Although I'm not surprised the cops gave you crap about your eyes.
 
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