Posted on 07/15/2011 10:46:44 AM PDT by CedarDave
Declining an ambulance ride is more complicated than just saying you don’t want one, according to the Albuquerque Fire Department protocols.
Patients must meet a variety of standards before they are allowed to decline ambulance transport including alertness, ability to maintain coherent thought and speech, judgment that is not clouded by alcohol or drug use, normal vital signs and a neurologic exam that includes “coordination and gait that is normal or consistent with their past medical history.”
A patient also must be “able to reference time/date/place/situation.”
If all the criteria are met, the patient must sign a form indicating he or she has declined transport by ambulance.
“Our protocols were established by the Medical Control Board, and they are very stringent,” said Deputy Fire Chief Tige Watson. “For someone to be transported to the hospital, they have to meet all of those very comprehensive criteria.”
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
The broader question is whether an injured patient can be forced to take an ambulance if family members are on scene. Later in the article Watson says in extreme cases, they will put patients in restraints and transport them involuntarily. There would seem to be constitutional issues here about unlawful restraint, especially for adults who make such a decision against the advice of EMS personnel or whose family members make that decision for them.
NM list PING! Click on the flag to go to the Free Republic New Mexico message page.
(The NM list is available on my FR homepage for anyone to use. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list. For ABQ Journal articles requiring a subscription, scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the article for free after watching a short video commercial.)
Evidently the message is . . .
“VEE HAF OUR VAYS! YOU VILL COMPLY!”
There’s bad blood between Darren White and the police and firefighter’s unions.
He was a good Sheriff IMO.
Sorry I don’t pay to read the rest of the story
“You searched for Attorneys in Albuquerque, NM: 1-30 of 1535”
http://www.yellowpages.com/albuquerque-nm/attorneys?g=Albuquerque%2C+NM&q=Attorneys
Just sayin’.....
If we go back far enough and look for the reasons behind the policy we will probably find a lawsuit. Someone refused an ambulance, they later died or otherwise the injury was more serious then thought, the predictable lawsuit followed, the case was was won and the policy enacted.
Personal responsibility died somewhere between Nov. 1932 and March of 1933.
Why doesn’t the APD and the AFD just mind their own f’n business?
Good. Then when the bill comes send it on to the AFD/APD or mayor’s office.
The whole thing is a political mess and the dems will not quit until he resigns, the media has been more than complicit in helping the 4 dem council members in ginning up this mess.
I forget the name of the drug, I saw the bottle last night on the news and looked it up at pill finder.com , I should have kept it, but it is not a controlled substance and after extended use it can cause dizziness in some cases.
Hell yes, they want you to take that ambulance ride. They can charge you and your insurance company at least five thousand bucks.
Thats what it really boils down to.. more money from YOU. They can cry about a myriad of lawsuits, or magical invisible diseases that can kill you if you dont get checked out.. but in the long run.. its all about billing YOU or your insurance company.
You don't need to pay -- read the instructions at the bottom of my NM PING.
An uninjured passenger can indeed refuse care and transport. EMTs can be guilty of assault and battery for forcing care and transport. Not me....the patient better clearly be in urgent need of care before I risk anything. That being said as an EMT I have held down a patient till they were secured and transported. Head injury due to a bike/car accident. Patient had no idea what he was doing. Witnesses stated there was LOC. Patient was unable to have a conversation with police or EMS...so he got the treatment. EMTs are not paid enough money in the world to take on all they do.
Actually, more than likely, you'll find it's due to the fact they can bill the insurance company for the response/ride.
Several yrs ago my son lost his jobs & in between jobs. He had no insurance. He was snowboarding & took a hit. An hour later some friends thought that he might have been injured.. The paramedics came. He tried to resist & tell them that he was fine - basically tired. They hauled him off in a helicopter to a regional hospital. Again he refused to be treated but they went on with it. Found NOTHING wrong with him. Now guess what that bill was that had to be paid out of his own wallet.
I'd have gone after them for false imprisonment, and kidnapping. Drop the bill, I drop the charges.
Yes, If you are being forced to use a service you don’t want, then the government should pay the bill. You should be able to sign a form stating your objection. The ambulance service turns it in to the government for payment.
He refused. He had no injury. It it assault and battery to force him to go anywhere against his will. Different story if they had found a serious injury. Did they force him, or talk him into it? Huge difference. Financial liabilities will come in if he in any way agreed.
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