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My dad could still be alive, but he's not

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Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#31

Post by sitharus »

hcknwscommenter wrote: post #3

Something similar happened to a friend of mine. In San Francisco. I just sort of assumed it was just bad luck. Bad things happen occasionally even in good systems. But maybe that assumption is wrong? Is this a thing? Are ambulances just unreliable?

It Depends. It's going to depend on your location, how your health system works, and a bunch of luck.

Even in the most well-resourced system if your high-priority call comes in just after a bunch of other high-priority calls you may not get an ambulance in time as everyone's already helping someone else. Also in our current economic system there's a whole bunch of pressures that mean we can't base our medical care availability on the worst case, so sometimes people don't get the care they need due to lack of staff.

However I do think in a good system dispatchers would have visibility to know if an ambulance can be dispatched or retasked and how long it will take to get there. You can't make good recommendations without the information to do so.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#34

Post by photon_lines »

energy123 wrote: post #26
ugh123 wrote: post #5

>my dad is dead, because his family members were too naive to know that the thing they were instructed to do by the state was a false thing. We're told a lot of things by "officials" not because it's correct, but because it holds the least legal liability for official parties involved, especially anything involving healthcare. These officials also sometimes include doctors, who work to protect themselves and the syst…

Incompetence and laziness among doctors is a big cause. As a professional you've probably worked with many colleagues you thought were bad. Well there are doctors like that too. Many of them. And unlike in tech, they don't get let go if they're bad. They stay around and keep "treating" patients.

This is 100% true, especially in Canada. I've had multiple encounters with doctors who were not fit for their positions and should not have been working as doctors. One of them nearly killed my mom, and another one was suspended due to malpractice and performing research fraud, but was given her license back and is back to work at the moment. Yes she is fully licensed and back to working as a regular MD in Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Jamal

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#35

Post by Insanity »

vondur wrote: post #7

This is horrible. What is going on in Toronto that ambulances take 30 minutes to respond?

Toronto healthcare generally is quite below the bar. When I moved here 5 years ago, I was told that hospitals are short staffed, ambulances have significant delays, and when you do finally get care you are rushed through the system.

Fortunately I only had one encounter with a situation requiring ambulance (and subsequent hospital visit). Ambulance arrived in about 10 minutes, triaging before seeing a medical professional took hours. There were no rooms so I was kept in a hospital bed in the hallway along with other patients but with some monitoring.

Now to be fair - this was during Covid which understandably put pressure on medical resourcing.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#36

Post by nrhrjrjrjtntbt »

unnamed76ri wrote: post #11

I’ve been reading Influence by Robert Cialdini and just finished a disturbing section about how we are wired to obey an authority figure even when it causes harm. In this instance, the 911 dispatcher was the authority figure. Sad story.

Causes harm is the hard thing to know. In the London Grenfell fire the dispatchers said stay in the appartment. This is correct advice, except when some dodgy supply chain middleman puts effectively what amounts to gunpowder up all the external walls.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#37

Post by prmph »

captainkrtek wrote: post #16

My condolences, very sorry for your loss. I work as an EMT (911) and resourcing is certainly a problem. In my small city, our response time is around 5 minutes, and if we need to upgrade to get paramedics, that’s maybe another 5-10. However, if we are out on a call, out of service, or the neighboring city is on a call, now the next closest unit is 15+ minutes away.. sometimes there can just be bad luck in that nearby…

Is it recommended to take or give aspirin ASAP before the EMTs arrive? If so, I wonder if the dad took it.

Re: My dad could still be alive, but he's not

#39

Post by mgh2 »

nrhrjrjrjtntbt wrote: post #30
energy123 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incompetence and laziness among doctors is a big cause. As a professional you've probably worked with many colleagues you thought were bad. Well there are doctors like that too. Many of them. And unlike in tech, they don't get let go if they're bad. They stay around and keep "treating" patients.

I was thinking this the other day about GP. If I work in tech I work in a team and we pair. Why doesnt this happen with doctors. Why is everything all on one mind to get wrong or right. Yes there is a team of doctors sometimes but they communicate via emails async and you visit one then the next and so on. I guess I know the answer. Money.

Short supply, high demand
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