Police escorts for ambulances

[JetPhoto 626]

On Saturday July 29, I read the following "breaking news" on line and started listening to the scanner...

Times Herald Record

Hurt hiker being rescued from cliff

July 28, 2007

Gardiner — An injured hiker stuck on a cliff near the Trapps Bridge is being taken off the mountain by fire department crews. The fire departments are still setting up to bring the female hiker down from a height of 500 feet, according to reports. Rescue crews are entering the area on ATVs. A helicopter to transport the hiker has been placed on standby.

This apparently turned into a prolonged extrication from the woods. Life net medevac had been called to fly the person to a trauma center once removed from the woods however it apparently sat at the landing zone for some time and had to cancel it's mission due to being out of service for a long period of time. So they take off. About 20 minutes later I hear command request a police escort to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.

My question is why would you put someone else at risk by having them escort you to the hospital when you have lights and siren's yourself. Unless you have a cop at every single intersection and traffic light, is it going to make that much of a difference?

Yes the patient should be to a trauma center within an hour but your safety and your crews safety are also important so you shouldn't be driving Mach 1 to the hospital.

Opinions?

[xfirefighter484x 234]

I do see police escorts as being somewhat beneficial. Although ambulance DO have their own lights and sirens, cops can ride slightly ahead, parting traffic for the upcoming ambulance. Also, when one agency knows, usually word gets through to other agencies, who can be on the lookout for the pathway the ambulance is taking.

Does not necessarily mean you have to drive at Mach 1.

Humbly IMO.

[MICP2823 0]

But we have all see the mad rush of people trying to sneak behind the vehicle with lights and sirens right after it passes so they can jump forward as much as possible using that vehicle as a way the clear the way. I can see someone pulling over for the cop but then pulling right back into the way of the ambulance.

[Goose 188]

The area in which this occurred is a significant distance from Poughkeepsie. Even going code 3 your looking at a serious haul. Given the time of day this went out and the fact that i am personal friends with the ALS crew assigned, i can assure you that if the escort was requested by EMS it was completely justified. I find that people are far more likely to pull over for a police vehicle than an ambulance. I assure you that no one went "Mach 1" to Saints.

[JM15 386]

Goose I was thinking that myself. Motorists would give more respect to a police car then an ambulance.

[JetPhoto 626]

I'm not saying that the person wasn't possibly seriously injured.

[helicopper 1,050]

Escorts are dangerous! Leap-frogging emergency vehicles is extremely dangerous!

What is the net benefit of this practice? Two minutes off the transport time? Four minutes? I seriously question the medical benefit to this practice and would urge you to consider all the potential problems that can arise. If you're talking about a 30 minute transport without the escort and 25 minutes with it, I don't think its worth it.

Imagine this, your average moron motorist is at an intersection and miraculously hears a siren approaching. He/she sees a police car pass the intersection and figuring the coast is clear, pulls out - still looking at the police car speeding away of course - as your ambulance is entering the intersection. CRASH!

Or this, the jacka$$ motorist DOESN'T hear the siren and pulls out in front of your escort vehicle causing him to brake suddenly and severely. Now you've got to slam on your brakes to avoid rear-ending the escort - if you can! The ride for your patient and crew leaves a lot to be desired.

Do escorts happen all the time? Sure they do but that doesn't mean they really help! A much better practice, and one on that I've seen in both Rockland County and NYC, is the covering of intersections along the route to the hospital. Each major intersection (or every intersection if resources permit) is covered by a police unit to stop cross traffic and give you unimpeded access to the hospital. This is usually reserved only for the most severe cases but it does allow the ambulance to maintain a safe speed for the conditions and treatment occuring within without the sudden braking and accelerating that traffic normally requires.

And why the heck did the medevac leave if it was already there and only 20 minutes away from receiving the patient?

Just another perspective!

[nycemt728 49]

I too have seen the coverage of every intersection. Chris192, can you explain why this is acceptable and the leapfrogging mentioned above is not? If the traffic is stopped, would this not provide a somwhat safe route? (I acknowledge all escorts and operations of this nature are inherantly dangerous)