Maryland EMS Helo Mishap (9-28-2008)

[C420sailor]

I don't know what the context is, but it's probably referring to the doctor on duty at medical control. Some EMS systems allow the paramedic on scene to make the call for the helo at his/her discretion, other times they have to request it through medical control over the radio. If the doc at MEDCOM determines that it warrants a flight, the helo will be dispatched.

This keeps the helo from transporting Little Johnny for his broken arm when there is a critical trauma out in the boonies somewhere.

 

[ChuckMK23]

I didn't understand the part about how a doc must be consulted prior to sending the Troopers out. Does that mean there is a doc on every ambulance crew on the ground now; they talk to someone over radio and describe the injuries or situation and he makes the call, or there is a doc in dispatch deciding whether to send the helo or not? Anyone have any insight into this?

Are people bleeding out of holes in their heads while a doc is making a decision somewhere else?

Yeah it's a little odd - but the follow on post about medical control is correct. The MD's treat the helo just like any other medical resource - a donor heart for transplant, or a special device, or an extensive transplant procedure - will the use of the resource affect the medical outcome.

In EMS helo operations there is a emergency medicine trained physician who ultimately makes the call whether we launch - and he/she does that in minutes after talking with the first responders. It works well. Keeps us from flying dead people or folks that really aren't that sick. The criteria and protocol is pretty well defined. Some of the criteria call for us to launch regardless even when the patient status is not known - car accidents with the victim ejected from the car as an example.

 

[scoolbubba]

ahh thanks for the clarification... I've only ever seen this from the couple times the troopers came to the lake I worked at during HS and college for near drownings/falls off of Annapolis rock. I guess it was always a mando call for either of those...they were always there faster than the LZ could be set up by the first responders most of the time.

 

[HokiePilot]

I was on a rescue squad in college and we landed the Helo many times. If we ever needed to, we could get on the radio and talk to the MD at the local ER but there was no need to talk to one prior to launching.

The highest trained person on scene person on scene, possibly just an EMT. All it took for us was to call over the radio to our dispatch and tell them to launch the helo. They would call Carilion and tell them to launch the helo. We had preselected LZs picked out throughout the county and a GPS in each truck if we needed to pick something else. Sometimes we would have an LZ picked out before launching them. Other times we would just put them in the air and coordinate a LZ later.

Also, remember SW Virginia is rural. All of our protocols we more rural than developed areas. It was over 1 hour to the nearest Level I Trauma Center (where the helo came from) and ~30 by air. It was 15-45 minutes to the nearest Level III depending on where in the county you were.