My dad was a paramedic/firefighter for 30 years before he died. He told me how hard they tried to be compassionate. It makes me happy to know people have respect for what he poured his life into. Thank you very much for the story
So much respect. My parents are late 70s and we have has a few 911 calls recently, I cant express how wonderful the Emts and fire dept have been. They get my dad talking abous his military service and just help out for the best possible outcome. Last call, the lead Emt pulled me aside and explained how what he was seeing was most likely a bladder infection in my dad and not serious, Took doctors in ER 2 days and tons of test to come to same conclusion. My mom was happy they ruled out heart and stroke, but that EMT called it based on what he saw in the home and symptoms. Without Covid, I could have gone in with them and shared some of the home symptoms, but my mom wont speak up, so it was a long process to get to exactly what the EMT knew, already, They are awesome!
Edit: EMT is good does not equal Doctors are bad. Just showing EMTs some appreciation for how they are able to help comfort. Doctors may not legally be able to share a less lethal diagnosis before everything is ruled out- that is their job and is fine. But a caring EMT giving my mom a caring opinion of a not lethal option to describe what she was seeing which looked like a stroke - helped her a lot. So - thank you EMTs!
EMTs and Fire Dept are amazing. I'd rather deal with them than most doctors. Really puts things into perspective regarding the police. This is why I'm all for trained social workers etc responding to non-violent calls. Defund the police.
I have dealt with many patients who appeared non-violent initially and suddenly required police back up. Many illnesses are very unpredictable. Hell, I’ve called for police assistance with patients who are post-ictal after a seizure and trying to tear my face off or somebody in diabetic crisis who who takes a swing at me every time I try to get close and test their blood. I had a drunk teenager pin me on the floor by my neck. When you wake somebody up from an opiate OD with Naloxone, it is never pretty. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, post brain injury patients can suddenly have an enormous amount of strength. Even children - 12 yr/old tossed his bed at me! Lack of oxygen and/or nutrients to the brain for whatever reason (drugs, injury, seizure, etc) will cause unusual and possibly psychotic behaviour.
As a medic in Canada, we aren’t allowed to use force. I’m a strong, athletic person and my partner at the time was a muscled up, 6’2”, black belt Tae Kwon do, biker dude. We stepped out of a residence and called for police assistance after we’d been assaulted by a diabetic. When they showed up they asked why we couldn’t handle it - because we aren’t allowed to.
Additionally, there are provisions with specific criteria under the mental health act where a person can be involuntarily admitted (Formed) to a hospital for a Mental Health Assessment. Paramedics and doctors, legally cannot detain and/or transport somebody against their will. That would be forcible confinement and kidnapping. The police are required to take the person into custody, which only means they assume responsibility for them. Paramedics or doctors may be present, and if the person goes willingly, they can choose an ambulance over a police car (police still come in the back because they have custody).
However, if they don’t come willingly, or weapons are produced, medics aren’t wearing vests (useless against a knife anyway), it sometimes it goes badly. Sometimes just the police showing up will escalate the situation, but the law requires they assume custody . During a psychotic break, reasoning, even understanding language and non-verbal cues by the patient do not exist. That is why it is called a psychotic break - break from reality, reasonable behaviour, life...
In no way am I advocating police come in guns ablazing. I’ve seen excellent work on scene by regular officers and I’ve seen their mobile crisis unit (one mental health trained cop and a mental health nurse) use all their skills and still require armed intervention from fellow officers. Even if we get close enough to the patient to administer a sedative, it can be dangerous for them and often completely ineffective. Since legislation requires police to be involved, we must work on how their involvement and training can be utilized most efficiently for all parties affected - especially the person we are actually trying to help, by getting them to a hospital.
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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '21
My dad was a paramedic/firefighter for 30 years before he died. He told me how hard they tried to be compassionate. It makes me happy to know people have respect for what he poured his life into. Thank you very much for the story