What the term First Responder means depends on where you live, but it’s probably not anambulanceor a person on an ambulance.
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Addressing Medical Emergencies
The relationship of First Responders to ambulances is unique to EMS. Unlike law enforcement or fire suppression, where the first person to arrive at the scene needs to have full capabilities to attack the situation (guns or hoses, depending on the need), medical emergencies have to be addressed in two distinct steps:
An ambulance is necessary to transport the patient, but other medical responders can perform the first step. They’re calledFirst Responders,a term that’s evolved in the media—especially since 9/11—to mean all emergency responders, but officially just refers to the medical folks who beat the ambulance to the scene. The most common first responders are firefighters, but there are other examples around the country, including singleparamedicsin Quick Response Vehicles (QRV’s) or even on bicycles. Law enforcement officers can also fulfill the role of First Responder.
The Relative Importance of Response Times
Response times are often seen as the most important aspect of all three emergency services: law enforcement, fire suppression, and emergency medical services (EMS). It developed this way because emergencies in all three services can escalate rapidly and emergency responders might be able to do something to stop it if they get there in time. The police might stop an assailant from doing harm (or doing more harm than has already been done); the fire department might be able to rescue victims from a burning building; EMS might be able to resuscitate a person in cardiac arrest(one of a very small number of medical conditions guaranteed to result in death if not treated properly and quickly).
Probably the most common reason that response times matter is because the public expects cries for help to be answered quickly and with a sense of urgency. We want to think of the ambulance screaming down the street with the lights flashing and the siren wailing. There is never going to be an emergency more important thanouremergency.
Most of the time, however, minutesdon’tcount—at least not for ambulances. There isn’t a single study that ties positive patient outcomes (patients getting better) together with ambulances arriving at the patient’s side earlier. That doesn’t meansomeoneshouldn’t get there quickly, but it doesn’t have to be an ambulance.
Strategies to Getting There Fast
Several variables affect response times—traffic, geography, mechanical failures, dispatch procedures, etc.—but the most important variable is the availability of resources. If there is always an ambulance sitting ten minutes away from you when youcall 911, any emergency call could receive an ambulance within ten minutes. It’s a simple rule.
Should First Responders Be Paramedics?
Speaking of money, there is a debate in EMS about which is the better First Responder, an EMT or a paramedic. Advanced life support (ALS) First Responders have a paramedic on board and basic life support (BLS) First Responders have an emergency medical technician (EMT) on board. Paramedics are more expensive.
A Typical Scenario
Let me use the example of a cardiac arrest to illustrate how it works:
Not always using paramedics might sound like a decrease in medical care, but in 2005,USA Todaypublished a five-part series illustrating that EMS systems with fewer paramedics actually hadhighersurvival rates for cardiac arrest. If you call 911 for a medical emergency, don’t panic if the person you were expecting doesn’t show up at first. A first responder knows how to help.
Sources
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