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Frontline Fatigue
Whilst looking around on YouTube, I came across this video made here in Victoria, Australia that features ambulance officers talking about the effects fatigue has had on them and the safety risks associated with it.
Check it out:
Have you had issues with fatigue that have potentially impacted your safety or that of your team?
There's some really good learnings from this sort of stuff- what not to do, etc....
Check it out:
Have you had issues with fatigue that have potentially impacted your safety or that of your team?
There's some really good learnings from this sort of stuff- what not to do, etc....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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I've had my fatigue moments, but no on the job. Not being an ambo. But the worst part of this is that the official reaction from the Amulance Service is that there isn't a problem, that the staff are well looked after. And at the same time they push for firefighter first response. Firefighter first response can save lives - but it's not out job! Especially since the majority of the State is covered by volunteers.
Back to your thread Luke.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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So was I!
I would have thought that it would've been a common problem...???
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Great post. Uh, maybe they should have closed-captioning... those folks DO talk with an accent... :0)
Seriously, I'm also amazed there haven't been more comments. I'm sure that this happens in the major urban areas, and with the larger EMS companies.
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Permalink Reply by Capt. Tom on
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I think this is a bigger problem than most would like to believe. I'm an Officer on the EMS side of a volley Fire/Rescue service. (I also do Fire in my "free" time.) As such I do a lot of filling in for last minute Duty Crew cancellations. Taken along with my 50 hour per week regular job and the 10-20 hours per week I spend teaching, learning, or attending meetings it can all add up. There have been several occasions when I have found myself responding to a call at 3am and had to really focus hard on what I was doing, where I was going, who else was on the crew, what the nature of the call was, etc. It can be scary stuff, especially when a patient's health and safety is in your hands, let alone your own safety. I once mis-heard an address and headed to the wrong side of town for a code call. That was a wake-up for me.
Now when I start getting overloaded I make it clear to the other Officers that I need to spend a week or two just working my own shifts and catching up. I find a series of 'bad calls' will also exacerbate this situation. The other Officers also do the same thing and take it easy for a week or two until they can refresh.
In the career service, this is not always possible, and I see our local paid medics being hammered by their management to work extra shifts, long shifts, or last minute coverage for others. It's only a matter of time. One service has suffered 3 accidents in the past year: 1 fatality (driver fell asleep), one serious (permanent disability), and one not so serious (but it destroyed the rig). I think this is a sign of poor management.
There isn't much we can do except to recognize the signs and do what we need to do in order to 'be whole again'. Remember what you were taught: "My safety, My crew's Safety, then the Patient's Safety."
Be safe out there,
Lt. Tom
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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on
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As a volunteer fire fighter I find that being tired seems to be a normal state. Working a full time job, raising two kids and putting in 10-20 hrs a week with the FD I thought was just a FULL life. My friends & coworkers made comments about how busy I was. To me it didn't seem that I was until I sat down & figured out how little time I spend doing things for myself or by myself. I realized how little sleep I actually did get. I am a light sleeper. I always woke up when the pager went off or when one of my children made a noise or I heard something outside. After doing this for many years, I now have a sleep disorder. Or did I always have it & not realize it?
EMS is a high stress job. A couple of my buddies have nearly had break downs. Emergency workers seem to have issues with relationships & a high divorce rate.
Why do we schedule ffs & EMS on 24 hr shifts, particularly in high response areas? Having fun, relaxing or sleeping doesn't seem very important to anyone when other peoples lives are often @ stake. So we methodically run ourselves down in the process. We don't realize it is happening often until it is too late.
Now in my later years :) I sometimes turn my pager off when I am extremely tired. If I am so fatigued & disoriented that I can't turn on an air bottle how much good am I going to do anyone?
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Exactly my point Jenny, but you stated it more succinctly. We need training on when it is time to 'turn off the pager". That something I have not, as yet learned to do.
Lt. Tom
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There is no point in putting yourself or others in more danger by not being able to do the job you need to do. People who are fatigued make silly mistakes. When your mind is fogged needing rest, it impairs judgement. When your body is physically fatigued your reflexes are slower, your responses less automatic, a split second can make a difference. I have seen firefighters so out of it that they couldn't get their PPE on properly & were intending to go inside a burning building. We once had a ff respond in his underwear. One man had just been released from the hospital after getting a concussion & thought he was going to drive a fire truck to a fire.
There are times when emergency responders simply should NOT respond. Not only when fatigued but if you are taking medications, you know the ones that tell you not to operate heavy equipment you probably should stay @ home. Some medications will increase your heart rate or elevate your blood pressure & taxing your body even further could cause you more harm. Any type of respritory issue can be made more serious by over exerting or dehydrating. We dehydrate quickly.
Maybe we shouldn't look @ it as saying "NO" but saying "Not this time".
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Accent? What accent? We don't have an accent, everybody else talks funny...
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Now this is where I think Luke wanted us to go?
The ambos here were/are being forced into this process. Us vols have some say in what we do, but as said above, how many know when to 'turn off the pager'? I've done it, a couple of times. But still turned out last night when perhaps I shouldn't have. Last night was a marginal call for me, but we all have to know when to say 'enough'.
PS. The ad was part of a campaign by the ambo union, I think I'll check their web site to see if the campaign had any success. Unless one of our Victorian ambo members can answer this for me? Are you there John?
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