All right readers, time to chime in: What was your most ridiculous 911 call?
I’m sure that each one of us can recall an incident that left us shaking our heads in amazement, so utterly silly that it defies all common sense.
We are victims of our own success, sadly. Since the advent of a national emergency call number went into effect over 45 years ago, we have encouraged the public for its use. Except for sporadic efforts, we have done very little to curb its misuse.
The fact people are not stupid, combined with the fact that we are required to respond to emergency calls, simply sets the system up for misuse. Sealing the deal is the limitation of not being able to read caller’s minds or visualize the scene.
Ultimately the issue goes much deeper for EMS response. We are not equipped or trained to truly manage many of the medical calls we are sent to; it’s frustrating to know that the transport we provide is unnecessary in most of these situations, along with the wasted healthcare dollars being spent.
Encouraging signs that the healthcare system is beginning to change in response to issues like this makes me hopeful that the misuse rate will fall over time.
I can only hope that the EMS profession will adapt as well. Until then, system misuse will continue.
