Deblasio to fund new Ems tours and 32 new Ambulances

Joined
Aug 29, 2008
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It sounds good and probably looks good on paper as well. However, I don't want to seem like the black cloud here but my thoughts are these. Added ambulances are fine but the fact remains that there are not as many "911" hospital emergency departments as before. These hospitals get jammed up and the time to get triaged becomes longer keeping that ambulance plus the one or two already there out of service. It's not the ED's fault that they are crowded. It's not the ED's fault that there is no place to put the patient right now. It's not the ED's fault that the staff is doing 27 things at once. It is what it is. Secondly, call volume, especially in outer boros.
Let's use Queens for an example. The "Q3" area, part of southern Queens starts getting hammered with calls. Units in that area are all on calls whether it be responding, at scene, enroute to hospital or at hospital. Now dispatchers are going to start holding assignments so ambulances from the north are assigned. Increased response time correct? These northern ambulances get to the hospital and face long triage times so now there is a void in available units in the north and so on. Another example, Staten Island. Suddenly there is a upsurge of jobs up in the northern end say, St. George, Stapleton, etc. They start taking units from the other end to respond. A unit from the Rossville station goes to Mariners Harbor, patient transported to Richmond University Medical Center. While this was transpiring the south end gets hit and now the ambulance at RUMC becomes available and probably will get a holding call in that area while another unit in the north that just went available gets a call in the south with increased response time. I hope this makes sense as to the vicious circle that ensues with call volume. Been there, done that and glad to be retired.
 
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
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I don't see how your comments are at all "like the black cloud".  They're absolutely sensible and reflect what is guaranteed to come. 

 
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
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I work for one of the voluntary systems, we have been trying to get FDNY to give us additional BLS units, they always say no.
 
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