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Pet Peeves...
Okay, so maybe I'm being extra bitchy today or something but I've just got this need to vent all my pet peeves.
First, I think it should be a $1000.00 fine if you don't have your house numbers CLEARLY visible from the street(facing both directions) in reflective numbers at least 4" in size.
And I know this second one is not very sensitive(politically correct), but I have a problem with rolling on medical calls to people(especially diabetics) who refuse to take care of their health problems and call us to bail them out when things go bad. I am a T2 diabetic and I control my diabetes entirely with diet and excercise, so I tend to have a diminished amount of sympathy for a 500lb diabetic patient with hypertension who calls 911 with a neglected foot wound and proceeds to blow cigarette smoke in my face and complain about being tired all the time while I'm trying to dress an ulcer that is going septic because they refuse transport. Knowing that we will be back in a week or so to help EMS carry them out of the living room to the ambulance to go to the Med Center to have the wound treated and try and save the foot.
Okay, I've vented and feel MUCH better now. Thanks for listening!!
Reg
First, I think it should be a $1000.00 fine if you don't have your house numbers CLEARLY visible from the street(facing both directions) in reflective numbers at least 4" in size.
And I know this second one is not very sensitive(politically correct), but I have a problem with rolling on medical calls to people(especially diabetics) who refuse to take care of their health problems and call us to bail them out when things go bad. I am a T2 diabetic and I control my diabetes entirely with diet and excercise, so I tend to have a diminished amount of sympathy for a 500lb diabetic patient with hypertension who calls 911 with a neglected foot wound and proceeds to blow cigarette smoke in my face and complain about being tired all the time while I'm trying to dress an ulcer that is going septic because they refuse transport. Knowing that we will be back in a week or so to help EMS carry them out of the living room to the ambulance to go to the Med Center to have the wound treated and try and save the foot.
Okay, I've vented and feel MUCH better now. Thanks for listening!!
Reg
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Medicine Man on
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Remember what we all learned in EMT school or fire school? We are the pt's advocate or the victim or caller or why ever we are there. It is our job to provide the BEST service possible. If that means bls, als, transport what ever the case, this includes, but is not limited to education of the customer (even though I hate using that word for patients). How many times have we been on someone especially the elderly who are taking meds that they dont know why or think they are for something else? Do we just say nothing? Or do we educate them by telling them what they are for and make sure they are being taken right. Do we not educate the pt on smoking with oxygen, not being compliant with there meds or regimens. Being a pt advocate doesnt just mean protecting them from abuse, neglet and harm, it also means saving them a hospital bill that they dont need, having them contact their doctor for clarification of meds and why they are taking them. Does every pt listen and follow what we tell them, YEAH RIGHT!, but if we can prevent a call here and there then we are providing good pt (customer) service.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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That's the same person that writes a letter really slow, because he knows his friend can't read real fast! LOL
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Yeah, come to think of it we had one of those moveable addresses too... except it was a rock, not a mailbox.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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WestPhilly,
Have you ever worked in the private sector?
That's where the idea of customer service comes from.
The idea of the non-emergency number has been tried. Most of the places that try it quickly find out that people that want to hear from their local government in less than a few days will quickly revert back to calling 911. Good luck with trying to change that habit.
And obviously, inappropriate does exist...to us. The difference is that I recognize that our customers perceptions often differ from ours. Try to force yours on them all you want, but the likely result will be continued frustration.
And apparently, there isn't really a problem with the runny noses and sneezes soaking up your department's resources if your firefighting track record doesn't suffer in comparison to any other city. So...are you saying that the kids in the closet over the fire dying because the 1st-due engine is 1st responding to a runny nose is really a problem in Philadelphia, or not?
I'm betting that Philadelphia will be hit with downsizing before Phoenix is, due to the social work aspects of their service. They have learned the private sector rule that diversifying your product and seeking customer satisfaction keeps your organization more viable through the tough times. Now I'll go look at my calendar watch for a while and see if I'm right or not.
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Permalink Reply by firechief911 on
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when i got there there was nobody there certifed the chief had been there 30 years and would not train or require any training. there were 5 firemen. 6 sets of turnouts, 2 demand air pack one truck . the 2nd fire i went to i pulled the truck to the fire with 2 other firemen . the position was then appointed to me by the mayor after the other chief was fired . after iso showed up about a week later and reamed his but and informed him the city would go to a class 10 iso rating from an iso class 8 if the problems were not addressed. i was the only one certifed and i was a training officer . i had only been there 6 months 4 years was from another dept as training officer
on a high note now iso rating class 5 we now have 20 firemen 16 certifed 3 first responders one waiting on an emt test result , 6 trucks 2 being pumpers 3 being tankers and a full rescue truck with tools. 15 air packs , 25 sets of turnout gear including leather boots and carirns 1010 traditional helmets . I did not want the job i got stuck with it. but i have tried to just about build the dept from scrach . and as i noted in another post we have never recived a fema grant , only 2 state grants one 12000 for pack and 40000 for a 16 yr old truck and an operating budget of around 14000 per year . oh and ebay . and im not dead yet. as for a test . i would have flunked it im sure .
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Permalink Reply by Dre on
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Yes, it is the DUTY of the strong to protect and help the weak. Thank you for the reminder.
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Permalink Reply by anne potter on
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ohhh how do you like this one.. they want a ride to town because they don't have a car.. So they callyou to come and get themm.. Ear ache, or this family called because momma could not poop.. so i called social services for abuse of a ambulance.. Oh yea they ia alot out there.. I am a nurse so when they bend over and ask me to wipe yea life is great because they choosed to eat and not diet.... wow I vented that did feel good..lol
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Thats a pretty cool story! Kinda hard to due the job with essentially nothing to work with. Hopefully those that were there stayed around to see the progress. I kinda know how you feel, when I started running volley on the dept I used to be at, they where still in the 60's. No medics no als equipment and I am not kidding old yellow bandaids. It was unbelievable. I was finally able to get the stuff we needed instruct some new people get some other medics in there and do what we we supposed to be doing. Nothing like calling for an ALS ambulance not for the personell but for the equipment, LOL. On a side note, about 2-3 months after we got our drug box and lifepack we were able to save a man in cardiac arrest, who to my knowledge is still alive today, so that was pretty cool. I didnt take a test either and they promoted me to EMS Capt. HAHA!!
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WOW I think after as long as I have done the emt if I want to have a few pet peeves I think it is ok.. 26 years I still got up in the middle of the night I broke my ankle on a mondayand tuesday had the cast ,Weds running calls.. people think it is terrible that we have a few pet peeves, it is a forum all about getting things out of our system.. I sit on here and who really give a poop about what do you think about women in the fire sytem.. but i think it is someonesway of getting something out and as a family that is what we are here for.. So give it up about oh poooor people.. We know but we still keep going...
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WestPhilly,
I just looked up your department's official online stats for 2004, which is the last year that had complete stats posted. 52 fire deaths that year if I read it correctly??? I also saw that your Commissioner is really pushing smoke detectors. Could it be that he realizes that early warning and self-rescue is a lot better at getting the kids out of the closet and into the street than any reduced number of runny nose calls? I also see that your average medic company is much busier than your average engine company, and your department has more engines than medic units. That tends to indicate that PFD doesn't actually run a lot of incidents where an engine isn't available due to a runny nose call. However, from those same stats, I see that your department runs a lot of car fires, dumpster fires, and other non-structural fires. That tends to indicate that there are times that your busier engines aren't available due to non-structural fire responses in additional to medical runs. Then again, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics, right? :-)
And good luck with the efforts to reduce your call volume for chronic, non-life threatening problems. I only know of one place that's done this successfully, and it's a model that your department might be able to use. Guilford County EMS (Greensboro, NC) helped one of my previous departments with a benchmarking and best practices study. One of the things I picked up during our site visit was that they had increasing call demand for less acute calls and a shrinking budget. Their solution was to bid out a franchise to a private provider to run their Alpha medical responses...runny noses, yanno?
Now THERE is a creative concept - have a private provider pay the government for the priviledge of reducing your call volume. The customers still get served, but it allows for a return to agency specialization in the acute problems for which it was originally intended. The downside...the GCEMS medics don't have as much to bitch about as they used to. :-)
Another example of creative thinking is Cincinnati's FD's non-traditional method of creating value that eliminated a potential layoff. They decided to close a downtown ladder company due to budget problems. They also needed to add a few people to their training staff. The solution - close the ladder company, but use the manpower and the manpower from their single heavy rescue to staff two heavy rescues. Both rescues are assigned to the fire academy as trainers during the day, and return to quarters in the afternoon. They didn't have any layoffs, they improved their training, and they improved their rescue and hazmat capability with a net loss of a single stick that they were going to lose anyway.
No, we're not a men's store. Yes, we are a service industry, and we do have customers. There is more than one way to look at "The customer is always right." If the customer has unrealistic expectations, we can help adjust those expectations through education and through alternative service delivery methods. Someone is going to get the service calls. If no one else is tasked with those calls, we're going to continue to get them, like it or not. It sounds as if maybe your city government is trying some of those methods. I wish you guys luck. I know it's not easy in Philly, and I hope that your city government figures out a way to improve things for you guys...and for your customers.
Stay safe, brother.
Ben
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Another 'pet peeve'. Rescuing cats from trees. Honestly, can that be an emergency? I agree that it's an 'issue' for the owners, but an emergency?
PS. I'm a cat person. My cat stays inside my house, no need for him to go outside.
PPS. I suppose you could call this a "real" pet peeve?
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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I have a problem with rolling on medical calls to people(especially diabetics) who refuse to take care of their health problems and call us to bail them out when things go bad.
Gotta agree- if you aren't going to look after yourself, why should you be bailed out each time- take some responsibility for yourself...
I've got an uncle with a known heart issue who flatly refuses to do a single thing his Dr has ordered, refuses to do a single thing to help himself and lessen the likelihood of having a turn- what's the point with these people??!!
BTW, don't tell anyone I said this (I think I've aready ruffled a few feathers already with my stance on this), but what about emergency responders who see no point in wearing seatbelts? Is there a difference??? :)
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