Drunk homeless man and thoughts of ambulance abuse

It is shortly after midnight and we return from the exit back to the exit base. As I drive through the city streets, I notice staggering figures. Some man, waving at us, so we stop by him and I pull down the side window of our ambulance. A guy of indeterminate age emerges from the darkness, overgrown, dingy, in dirty rags, in short, probably a local homeless man.

"Good evening," I turn to him, "has something happened to you? Do you have any problems? ”The guy grins with his leaky smile, squirms, and is obviously drunk. It pulls him out so that if I take a deep breath, I'll be drunk too. He raises his hand as if to conduct, searches for balance for a moment, then says, "Hey, guys, throw me, man, house."

I ask again, “And do you have a health problem? Did something happen? ”He said,“ How is the problem? I just need a house, well… ”I try to be calm. "We won't take anyone home." The drunken homeless man began to be intrusive. He started shouting loudly all over the street, "And how am I supposed to get home, man?" I answer in a sharper tone. Like you got here. ”So I poured oil on the fire. The drunk began to shout, "What do you think of yourself, you prima donna - I pay you from my taxes -" Well, you certainly, I thought, but I'd rather swallow it. I pulled back the ambulance window. "Let's move on," I turn to Peter, "You heard him, they say he pays us for his taxes!" Peter just shakes his head. "I know that. He sat in the base half his life. Every time he lets him go in the spring, he wanders around, gets drunk, then breaks up somewhere, or attacks a policeman and goes to sit again in the winter, in the heat. We pay for that from our taxes. And he would like to drive home for free. Slob…"

With this story, I just wanted to illustrate what also happens to us and how some people can behave. Similar types are known to almost everyone who works for rescuers, and it must be said that their occurrence is not uncommon. And it doesn't always end in a verbal shootout.

Why am I writing about all this? Recently, the issue of abuse of the emergency medical service has become quite publicized. There is also talk of attacking rescuers by drunk citizens, etc. The example I gave above is a little annoying and a little funny. Or rather, I should say that the drunken bastard was a rather ridiculous figure.

But it is true that the ambulance is being abused. Intrusive drunks and drug users are just one group of people who abuse the ambulance quite often. At the same time, it must be said at this point that a person cannot be refused treatment simply because he is drunk or under the influence of drugs. Even these people can be injured or sick in their robes.

In addition, the misuse of the ambulance can take other forms. What should I think about a person who calls 112 several times a week, because he has asthma attacks and after arriving at the place I find out that he lives in a moldy dirty and unventilated apartment, there are overcrowded ashtrays on the table and the whole apartment smells like in cheap putice? Such a person not only abuses the emergency medical service, but in fact the entire healthcare system.

What should I think of a young butcher who called us because he was injured while cutting meat. On the way, I imagined severed fingers or arterial hemorrhage to see the following scene when I arrived at the scene: a 25-year-old boy holds the index finger of his left hand in a handkerchief and tells us how he cut himself and that he was bothered by blood. Does that look like a silly joke? No, it really happened.

To keep up with the times and to be gender balanced and it didn't seem that only gentlemen seemed to have problems, it should be noted that a young lady who is able to call an ambulance because she dies at a "warmth" of 37.5 ° C is also no exception . And yes, that's how I write it here. Despite all the stories about the men's rhyme, young girls died of "warmths" more often.

Another typical case: an elderly lady calls an ambulance because she needs to talk to someone at two at night because she is alone, scared and children do not visit her. In addition, upon arrival at the place, he pulls out one of his favorite modern "weapons" - a home tonometer (blood pressure meter). A very beloved tool among rescuers, it should be noted. The use of a home tonometer is usually as follows: The lady watches the news in the evening and quite naturally gets over it. He remembers having a home tonometer in the closet. So he puts it on and launches it. The tonometer starts measuring and the stressed lady looks at the display. After the magic numbers appear there, they get scared. She doesn't know if what she measured is normal or not, but the important thing is that the numbers are different from the last time she was measured at the circuit board. So it will be measured again in 10 minutes… the numbers are completely different again… the lady will be even more burdened. No one told her that her blood pressure was changing, for example, according to exercise. Like a person during higher exertion, he breathes deeply or has a faster heart rate. And so the measurement continues. At two in the morning upon our arrival, we are already greeted by a patient with an acute stress reaction, high blood pressure and fear for life.

It could be continued, but the question is what to do with it. There is a simple answer, which I have repeatedly noted in the media: we will fine patients for abusing the ambulance. How easy!

But tell me, who will determine what else is abuse and what is not abuse? Surely there are flashy cases, like a drunk who still laughs in your face, for example. But should I fine the elderly lady with the tonometer, for example? Despite the ridiculousness of the case, the lady was really scared, she didn't play it. She was really worried about her health, she was alone, she was not able to evaluate her health and what should she do? And there will be most such cases. Who determines that this case is or is not an abuse? Who will tell that man? Not us. Our job is to help, not judge. There are others from that.

And let's be honest, who else should a person with a health problem, though perhaps banal, turn to? Who else, apart from the emergency medical service, is available in the field, in pre-hospital care, for example at night, on weekends or during the holidays? Emergency service has been canceled, the case severely reduced and district doctors prescribe from to, certainly not at night. What's left but to dial 112?

Perhaps it would be appropriate for politicians to stop threatening to penalize the abuse of the ambulance service and try to set up the health system so that ordinary people have more options than just calling the emergency number in the event of a problem. But it costs more effort, effort, thinking and persuading everyone involved. It is so easy to punish those who cannot defend themselves.

However, an ancient book says that the path to hell is easy and wide. In addition, it is said to be paved with good intentions.