Archive for the ‘The Daily Snapshot’ Category
The Daily Snapshot
It was 3pm today and I was between calls. We had 15 ambulances on duty and 11 emergency responses were listed “on the board.”
1. A female who was so short of breath she could barely speak to the 911 operator.
2. A patient with multiple medical problems was experiencing rectal bleeding. This illicited a chuckle from me because the medic on this call has a well known aversion to anything coming out of the rectum.
3. An elderly patient suffering from a seizure.
4. A nosebleed called in from a physician at a clinic. This is a rare call, doctors would usually have no problem with this complaint.
5. A nosebleed from an elderly man calling from home. This is a very common 911 cal.
6. A person in their 20’s found unconscious. The caller suspected a drug overdose.
7. A transfer from an emergency room to a hyperbaric chamber.
8. New confusion in a nursing home patient.
9. A patient of middle age having chest pain and shortness of breath.
10. A fall in a nursing home with a suspected fracture hip.
11. A call from a physician asking that police and ambulance respond to a home to place a mentally ill patient on a transportation hold for evaluation.
The Daily Snapshot is intended to demonstrate the varied patient complaints that EMS personnel are called upon to care for.