What an EMT receives when you call Emergency Services?
When you call for emergency services, there are different routes of communication relaying your location to your local EMT. Depending on your location, the chain of communication may be very different.
But here how it went down during my work as an EMT.
First, you get connected to the dispatcher which relays the call to the Fire Department. If the Fire Department has a private ambulance or separate ambulance company contracted, the ambulance company will be informed afterwards / secondary.
Some EMTs will carry Baofeng which allows you to listen to the proper frequency channels. This way when they hear an “in-district” Fire Department Station being called. They know that they are ready to respond and go to the same area.
Here is the problem. If you are not actively listening to a Baofeng or in a crowded place, you have your mandatory personal radio. If you miss the radio, you may receive a phone call on your personal phone or receive a vibration message on your beeper giving you the address.
However! Do not rely on the beeper because the message can come up scrambled, and the beeper message can be severely delayed. I have had the message come up after the transport was complete which was an hour later!
So, you pretty much have one shot to hear the message. Otherwise, you must call in to home base and try to get the dispatch to relay the information to you. Including, you had a limited amount of time to go to the call. You are wasting time. Spending too much time not on scene, can result in you being penalized by not meeting standards.
It becomes very unprofessional if the other crews are there waiting for you to bring the gurney, and it is even worse if the patient is in critical condition.
The beeper message can be more detailed than what is relayed through the radio. For example, you will receive and address of the location and the grid region according to a Thomas Guide Map. You may or may not receive a chief complaint such as “Chest Pain”. However, chief complaints are not always correct. Sometimes people are using it as an excuse to get the ambulance there quicker or some people may actual mistake a heart attack for someone who has fainted or having a seizure.
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