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1. Time is of the essence for many of these calls.
The faster we can start medical care, the better the outcome is for the
patient. In a cardiac arrest, permanent damage begins in as little as X
minutes without oxygen. Depending upon where the call is (address) in
relation to a fire station or available police officer of ambulance, and one
of us may be the closest unit. All three respond to reduce overall
response time.
2. At times, we are not available right away.
If all ambulances are busy, the response time for an ambulance to become
available at a hospital and reach the scene may be 20 minutes or more.
If we on a fire or another medical run, or if there are many calls for police
assistance, we may not be available. All of us responding increases the
odds that one of us will reach you quickly.
3. For some life-threatening calls, we are all needed.
On a cardiac arrest, the Paramedics are busy administering advanced
medications and cardiac treatment, while Police Officers and Fire Fighters
perform chest compressions and rescue breathing. We also assist with
retrieving additional equipment needed during the call, packaging the patient,
and rotating fresh people into the chest compression job to maintain a good
quality of compressions for the patient.
In a car accident scene, police provide traffic control and security as
well as performing their investigative functions, we extricate patient, secure
the fire hazards from gasoline and chemicals, limit damage to the environment,
and treat patients, while Paramedics provide advanced treatment and transport.
4. We can't always determine which calls are
life-threatening.
We have responded to calls for people that have fallen, are feeling sick,
are dizzy, or are having unknown medical problems to find them in cardiac
arrest when we arrive. The delay during these situations that are more
serious than people realize mean losing the chance to save those lives.
5. The cost to do it (respond to medicals) is minimal.
Our staff are on-duty, trained, and equipped anyway. The only real
cost to respond to all medical calls is fuel, wear-and-tear on vehicles, and
the lost productivity of not doing other more routine duties when we're on a
call.
All-in-all, it is in everybody's best interest for all of us to respond to
medical calls.
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