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A Berkeley, California man died last December after paramedics were delayed nearly an hour because of an unruly protest against police brutality, recently released records show. Berkleyside, a self-described “independent news site” serving the Berkeley area, reports that the 62-year-old Alvin Henry Jones Jr. would have normally received treatment in minutes. However, due to a nearby #BlackLivesMatters protest, paramedics were instead ordered to go to a local fire station and await a police escort before attempting to rescue Jones. It took 52 minutes to get Jones to a hospital, after which he died two days later. Paperwork filed by the...

Ambulances will be allowed to take longer to reach seriously ill patients, under controversial plans announced by the Health Secretary. Jeremy Hunt yesterday unveiled a pilot scheme that will give operators an extra two minutes to assess 999 calls before dispatching paramedics. He said the added time will enable staff to establish if an ambulance is really needed, over concerns they are being sent out too readily to patients who are not seriously ill. But unions warned that the move would cost lives and dismissed the scheme as a ploy to meet targets ahead of the election. The ambulance service...

WASHINGTON -- One person was killed in a crash involving a stolen ambulance in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Sunday. Mark Brady, a spokesman with the Prince George's County Fire Department, says that an ambulance from the Branchville Volunteer Fire Station was coming back after dropping a patient off at a hospital in Montgomery County when they saw a vehicle run off the Capital Beltway near Interstate 95 at about 5:30 p.m. When they stopped to help, Brady says, the driver of the vehicle attacked two of the ambulance crew, kicked them out and stole the ambulance. The thief drove the ambulance...

December 2nd, 2014, 6:44 AM A 51-year-old homeless man stole an unattended ambulance from a Pontiac hospital and told police he was headed to a topless bar, the Oakland Press reports. The keys were in the ignition. The man, who has mental health issues, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday on car theft charges, the paper reported. Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7dd_1417820886#IigS0m5ioYoiGcE7.99

Oddly enough Swedish ambulance workers didn’t need body armor or have to worry about machete attacks before the place became so very diversified. (via Religion of Peace) “‘- There have been so many incidents. There has been everything from shootings to people with machetes and people smashing ambulances or trying to attack the ambulance staff. We are not safe to the extent we have previously been,’ says Henrik Johansson, president of the Ambulance Association to Dagens Medicin.He explains that the organisation wants that the alarm center and ambulances should have access to the same information that police have on people...

A woman who had been quarantined at Newark Airport due to stricter screening protocols on Friday after reporting contact with Ebola victims was seen exiting an ambulance in a hazmat suit later that evening as she made her way into an isolation unit at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the woman arrived at the airport on a flight on Friday from West Africa. He earlier announced that additional screening protocols were being implemented at JFK and Newark International Airports. The woman, who initially showed no symptoms of the deadly virus, just hours later...

This is an excerpt. Racing along cracked and bumpy roads here, Gordon Kamara shouted into his cellphone over the shrieking sirens of his ambulance. The phone had been ringing nonstop since 5 a.m. “Not today! Not today!” Mr. Kamara, an ambulance nurse, yelled later in the day. “We are on the opposite side of town!” The calls have all been the same in recent weeks: from friends, friends of friends, extended family, complete strangers. All of them have loved ones sick with Ebola and beg him to come quickly. Seven days a week, Mr. Kamara and his crew span...

All EMS Wear Bulletproof Vests Due To Increased Crime In Area BELLPORT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A Long Island volunteer emergency medical service worker was injured after the ambulance he was riding in was shot at. As WCBSs Sophia Hall reported, a bullet went through the back window of the South Country Ambulance as volunteers were responding to a call in Bellport Tuesday night. Broken glass sprayed through the back of the ambulance, officials said.

Many communities across the U.S. have problems getting reimbursed for sending ambulances to pick up patients, but for one community along the U.S.-Mexico border, the delinquent party is the federal government, which the city of Nogales says owes it hundreds of thousands of dollars for picking up immigrants. The Arizona city billed the federal government for hundreds of ambulance sorties dispatched to calls from federal agents when they find someone injured, but the government has paid less than 20 cents on the dollar — leaving Nogales to bear the burden of more than $250,000 in the past fiscal year alone.

Afghanistan has some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, and a high concentration of donkeys. Enter the maternity saddle -- a new invention that promises to carry women in labor across Afghanistan's difficult terrain so they can get the medical care they need. The British charity HealthProm and designer Peter Muckle developed the inflatable donkey saddle to ease the burden on women about to give birth in remote areas of Afghanistan. The lack of suitable transport in mountainous areas leads many pregnant women to opt against heading to health centers in favor of giving birth...

A vehicle emissions reduction device, which is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, forced an ambulance to shut down while carrying a suspect who was shot by Washington, D.C., police. The EPA mandated device is meant to reduce diesel emissions and is required to be placed on all newer model diesel vehicles. The device can burn off diesel toxins automatically or manually, but if neither of those happen during the “re-generating cycle,” warning lights pop on and the vehicle is eventually forced to shut down. Another ambulance came to pick up the suspect 7 minutes after the first one stopped,...

According to a criminal complaint, a woman stole an ambulance that was on a call in the 4000 Block of MacCorkle Avenue in Charleston, W.Va on Dec 13. According EMS personnel who were responding to a call, Elizabeth Ann Lacy, 47, approached them and asked for a ride home. The EMS told her that they were on a call and couldn't take her home. The paramedics then entered the home of the patient and began treatment. According to witnesses, after the EMS's entered the home Lacy entered the ambulance and drove off with the emergency lights still on.

A 36-year-old intoxicated man stole an ambulance from Norwegian-American Hospital early Sunday before crashing and needing treatment from another ambulance for his injuries, according to Chicago police. Juan Hernandez, of the 3600 block of West Belmont Avenue, was charged this morning with criminal damage to government property and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, both felonies, police said.

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...

ATLANTA (AP)—Atlanta Hawks reserve forward Josh Powell(notes) was arrested before Saturday’s game for refusing to move his car for an oncoming ambulance, according to a team official...

What is it about “following the rules” that makes some people’s brains seem to travel at light speed from 0 to stupid? The following true story should outrage you and is the absolute perfect example of when to downshift into ‘common sense’ gear. San Jose, CA – High school football player Keanu Gallardo got a serious head injury during a routine Saturday football game. The injury was so serious that the paramedics were called, and an ambulance arrived on the scene. But before the ambulance could drive onto the field to attend to him, the high school principal managed to...

Del Mar High School's principal is under fire after blocking an ambulance from driving onto the school's track to reach a 14-year-old who suffered a concussion during a football game. Emergency workers had to haul a gurney 75 yards downfield to where Keanu Gallardo lay after suffering a blow to his neck and helmet near the end of Del Mar's frosh-soph game on Oct. 29.

« Dr. WhiteCoat Goes to Washington Florida Verdict May Threaten EMS Availability Ambulance service held liable for failing to “do what was necessary” before accepting emergency transport of pregnant patient. I mentioned this case in a previous Healthcare Update. A child was born at 25 weeks gestation – 15 weeks premature – and was not breathing. Babies born at this age have a viability of 50-70%. In other words, up to half of children born at this age of gestation die. The family called 911. The paramedics arrived, performed CPR on the child, and brought the child back to life....

PLACERVILLE (CBS 5 / AP) ― Police shot and killed a woman who stole an ambulance and led them on a chase before ramming three patrol cars. Placerville Police Chief George Nielsen says she was posing a danger to officers because she was using the ambulance as a weapon. He says it began Sunday when the woman, who was about 40 and wearing hospital gown, left Marshall Hospital through an emergency room entrance and drove away in an ambulance.