Are ambulance drivers trained in anything beyond actually driving said ambulance from place to place?
I had to clamp this neighbor’s armpit for about 20 minutes while his brothers held him down (drunk, belligerent) since he’d put his arm through a window in a fit and was losing a lot of blood. The ambulance and the cops stood around for 10 minutes while the brothers taped and tied him up enough that we could get him on a stretcher. Neither the cops or the ambulance guys would help with clamping the artery or restraining the guy even though I asked them several times and there was a lot of claret spurting when I gave my thumbs a break. I mean, they just blended in with the local housewives, gawping and milling about. They had nothing with them to use as a tourniquet so I had to use some shirt one of the brothers’. They would simply not help do anything beyond push the trolley to the ambulance, shove him in and drive.
I’ve heard stories before about how untrained these guys are, but I was really shocked with how ineffective they were, and unwilling to just get in and do something.
I guess this society needs the money for lavish diners, designer clothes, fancy cars… None left over to train emergency personel. Reassuring, isn’t it.
Isn’t it heartwarming how much human life is worth in Taiwan ? No wonder everyone loves it there.
Have you seen the difference between a UK Ambulance, stacked to the roof with every medical appliance they can fit in it, And a Taiwanese one, a van with a trolley in the back.
somewhat reassuring, i saw a pedestrian take it upon herself to flag vehicles out of the way as an ambulance sat stuck behind several vehicles at a red light, the drivers just staring into space pretending nothing was happening
in canada … no wait, this isn’t canada. no comparison. god help ya if you need an ambulance - better off taking a taxi
Most of the ambulances are privately owned and the hospital contracts them out (or so I have been told).
The fundamental difference is that the drivers are not paramedics and have very basic first aid skills and no driver training.
[quote=“Dangermouse”]the drivers are not paramedics and have very basic first aid skills[/quote]These guys didn’t seem to have any first-aid skills at all. They stood around until the guys brothers had tied him to the stretcher to restrain him, and I had finished tying a tourniquet, and then wheeled him off to load him in the back. I’ve seen schoolgirls more useful in an emergency.
[quote=“hsiadogah”]Are ambulance drivers trained in anything beyond actually driving said ambulance from place to place?
. Neither the cops or the ambulance guys would help with clamping the artery or restraining the guy even though I asked them several times and there was a lot of claret spurting when I gave my thumbs a break. I mean, they just blended in with the local housewives, gawping and milling about. They had nothing with them to use as a tourniquet so I had to use some shirt one of the brothers’. They would simply not help do anything beyond push the trolley to the ambulance, shove him in and drive.
I’ve heard stories before about how untrained these guys are, but I was really shocked with how ineffective they were, and unwilling to just get in and do something. [/quote]
I called a friend to check how he was doing yesterday, he was subdued and I figured I had called at the wrong time.
A friend had a medical emergency and they called the ambulance. Tragedy is they do not appear to have treated him with emergency care on the spot or in the ambulance and he is now comatose and does not have long to live.
It this normal as appears from the story I found above while searching, I don’t know if this was in the news. ?
My example of general knowledge of first aid below:
I was cycling and a rider ahead crashed at 60 km/h. His helmet was cracked open from the concrete post he was still lying against.
He started to breath after about a minute in fits and starts so I figured his airway was at least okay and he was alive.
Nobody has a mobile and a car pulled up. The driver stayed in the middle of the road on a blind corner. I figured that was not good but my Chinese is terrible and I figure okay, as long as they call the ambulance.
They did have a mobile but next thing they were picking him up and putting him in the back seat with his head lolling about.
I was absolutely dumbfounded. This defied the basics of leaving him still until the ambulance arrived, not to mention keeping his neck braced.
[quote=“Wilbur”]
They did have a mobile but next thing they were picking him up and putting him in the back seat with his head lolling about.
I was absolutely dumbfounded. This defied the basics of leaving him still until the ambulance arrived, not to mention keeping his neck braced.
[/quote]What makes you think an ambulance crew would have used any more caution than these passers-by? I’ve seen dozens of people with suspected back injuries thrown into ambulances like sacks of potatos, and victims of head injuries get their helmets removed on the scene.
Oh, the neighbor with the slashed arm made a good recovery after 12 hours of microsurgery and now opens and closes glass doors with great care, and always greets me with utmost politeness.
I was in Kenting once and this car crashed into a lass on a scooter. She was knocked unconcious and I tried to help her. She was fitting badly.
The driver of the offending car got out and told me to leave her alone and wait for the police. No one called an ambulance.
I ignored the driver and kept open her airway and supported her head. Then the driver hit me and pulled me off her.
I think he wanted to preserve the evidence for the police - worried about compensation claims complicated by a foriegners input.
Anyway, eventually the police came and bundled her into the back seat of their car still fitting - head hitting the doors and feet in the footwell. This was much to my protest and I ended up taking off my boots and throwing them at the police car as it drove away because I was so damn angry
Then I felt embarrassed when I had to walk down the road in my socks and retrieve them infront of onlookers
The point is that you can’t educate gormless idiots and you can’t rely on the Taiwanese emergency services to do a thorough professional job if you have an accident.
I was told by several doctors that the ambulance drivers are often mafia connected and have no training whatsoever…Their contracts are made through the traditional method; bribery.
This is no urban legend, this actually happened a few years back in Lungtan. A doctor complained to the ambulance service provider about the lack of training, poor driving skills, lack of patient care and laziness…He was promply assaulted by said ambulance drivers and spent several days in his own hospital!
On the other extreme, a friend of mine was injured in a motorcycle accident on Green Island and had to be flown out by helicopter…The level of professionalism shown by the military FAP’s, the helicopter evac crew, ambulance drivers and the ER personel was refreshingly competent. Maybe you just need to be on the East coast to get some decent trauma care…
I saw stats years ago that showed that many taxi drivers had been incarcerated, and most of those incarcerated were in for violent crimes. I wonder if there’s any data on ambulance drivers?
I also recall a couple of cases where ambulances have caused traffic accidents while running lights and the drivers found to be over the legal limit.
I drank and learned how to speak Chinese and Taiwanese with an inter-city ambulance driver who ran a deep-fried squid stand on the side. We drank at the stand, but one day during Chinese New Year we got stupid at the ambulance dispatch center with his buddies.
quote]Then the driver hit me and pulled me off her.
I think he wanted to preserve the evidence for the police - worried about compensation claims complicated by a foriegners input.
Anyway, eventually the police came and bundled her into the back seat of their car still fitting - head hitting the doors and feet in the footwell. This was much to my protest and I ended up taking off my boots and throwing them at the police car as it drove away because I was so damn angry
quote]
The only quick fix I can see for this is for people to begin law suits where they have been further injured by police/ medical imcompetence with poor treatment or no treatment at all.
Obviously the first course of action would be for police/ health workers not to arrive at all or not to help at all. I see this approach daily as to not do anything is to not get anything wrong and not lose face.
So, dilly dallying (my legal term) would be punished.
the idea of using helicopters is interesting. In a crowded environment such as Taipei,. wouldn’t helicopters be a better alternative, can just have the landing pad on the roof. Many city hospitals usually pool their helicopter contracts together. I know Toronto (in Canada) for many years did not have a police helicopter, but had a helicopter ambulance for quite some time.
Maybe Taipei already has one, in which case my suggestion is moot…