Emergency medical personnel have an increased risk of encountering potentially violent behavior. Emergency medical services personnel who are trained to save lives take the EMT Oath to preserve life under any circumstances. EMS Personnel always face the uncertainty that there is no guarantee of returning home to their families at the end of their shift. Danger can threaten EMS providers at any time and anywhere. There is no safe neighborhood or a safe area of town for them. They can be killed and or injured, in the line of duty. These causes and acts are becoming very frequent now-a days. A study conducted in 1999 reveled that during 12-years in EMS, many paramedics received an average of 9 assault .No one can predict human behavior and there is no specific profile of a potentially dangerous individual. Clients may be disoriented by drugs, alcohol, stress, or physical trauma.Assault injuries resulted in 170 cases of blunt trauma, 73 lacerations, 2 gun shot wounds, 10 stabbings, 1 burn, 8 fractures, 9 dislocations, 1 choking, and 56 cases of miscellaneous body injuries.”
Now-a-days emergency medical services personnel wear bulletproof vests because of the increased violence against EMS workers. Various research on this showed that the paramedics Face an increased risk of work-related assaults stemming from several factors.
- Most of the patients, their families, and friends carry handguns and other weapons.
- Unrestricted movement of the public in clinics& hospital.
- Client’s frustration over nonavilablity of needed services promptly leads to client frustration &anger.
- The presence of, drug or alcohol abusers, trauma patients, gang members or distraught family members
- During times of increased activity such as mealtimes, visiting times, and when staff are transporting patients the staffing level becomes low.
- Poorly illuminated parking zones.
- The increasing number of acute and chronic mentally retarded patients being released from hospitals without follow-up care .
- The availability of drugs & money at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, makes them likely to robbery targets
- Solo work with clients often in remote areas,isolated places while giving them treatments.
- Lack of trained staff in recognizing and managing hostile and high-risk behavior.
They are also exposed to various kinds of workplace violence also.Additional risks faced by the EMS personnel include being struck by cars while treating patients at accident scenes that have resulted in both critical injuries and deaths. Most often motorist fails to slow down, or operate their cars dangerously and aggressively in accident zones.
They include injury and or fatal injuries resulting from motorists who have failed to yield the right away to the EMS vehicles inspite of the vehicle being equipped with state of the art flashers, sirens, and intersection lights. Drivers distracted by blasting stereos, driving while intoxicated, and talking on cell phones or whatever a do not pay attention to Emergency Vehicles. According to the National Fire Protection Association,between 1995 and 1999, 17 firefighters were struck and killed by motorists,. This is an 89% increase in this type of line-of-duty death from 1990 to 1994, when nine EMS were killed. Early estimates for 2000 show five deaths and 20 injuries. In 1999, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigated two cases where a firefighter was struck and killed by a motorist while providing emergency services along the roadside.
In Oklahoma, one firefighter died and a second was severely injured, and in South Carolina, a firefighter was killed after being struck by a tractor-trailer truck. When paramedics respond to an incident along a highway, they often remain exposed to much dangers from passing traffic as when they enter a burning building. Motorists accustomed to a clear, unobstructed roadway may not recognize and avoid closed lanes, emergency workers on or near the roadway, and a variety of fixed object hazards. In addition, weather conditions can impair motorists' ability to see and avoid firefighters and apparatus. Sometimes paramedics called to help the injured become the targets of rioters who began throwing rocks and bottles.
Over the years, paramedics have seen an increase in dangerous situations that have resulted from both foreign and domestic terrorism.Little has been known so far about the occupational risks for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, but a new study finds it is a far more hazardous profession than previously believed. EMS services are required in various Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, drownings, childbirth, and gunshot wounds all require immediate medical attention.
Article provided by Future-tech Inc.