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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

#191

Post by gpt5 »

pugio wrote: post #48

I can speak to this. I recently joined a community first responder association (I've always wanted to know what to do in case of a medical emergency) and was shocked to hear the members' horror stories of how long it can take an ambulance to arrive. Like the author, I grew up with the narrative "in trouble, call the ambulance, they'll scream through the streets to get to you in moments". That might still be true wher…

Melbourne has an excellent ambulance response time (defined from the moment 000 call is received to when the first ambulance resource arrives on scene):

* Average Code 1 response time: 12 minutes 47 seconds

* Code 1 responses within 15 minutes: 77.2%

* Number of Code 1 first responses: 12,375

This places Melbourne among the faster councils in the state, and well ahead of the statewide average response time.

Source: The Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office’s 2025 report: https://static.pbo.vic.gov.au/files/PBO_Ambulance-funding-an...

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

#192

Post by pugio »

stickfigure wrote: post #166
pugio wrote: post #48

I can speak to this. I recently joined a community first responder association (I've always wanted to know what to do in case of a medical emergency) and was shocked to hear the members' horror stories of how long it can take an ambulance to arrive. Like the author, I grew up with the narrative "in trouble, call the ambulance, they'll scream through the streets to get to you in moments". That might still be true wher…

That response time is better than where I live, in the country about an hour north of Oakland. Paramedics are about 30m away. We're a volunteer district and I'm a volunteer, but when I get paged it takes a few minutes for me to get dressed, 5m to get to the station, a few minutes to get the engine started, and ? mins to get to the incident. Realistically, the minimum response time is 15m. Sounds like you keep medbags…

Yes that's right. We have a pretty extensive kit we keep in our car at all times. There's also a mobile app for alerts, navigation, and writing down vital signs and patient care records, and a radio for direct contact to dispatch and other responders.

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

#193

Post by buyx »

My grandfather died at a hospital in South Africa in 1997 after experiencing chest pain. Apparently, he went to reception, and they told him and my uncle to take a lift/elevator up to the ward, and he died in the lift. I was told afterward that it's a no-no to exert oneself during a heart attack. No idea if that's true or not.

Anyway, not second guessing OP, just putting it out there.

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

#194

Post by bonsai_spool »

svnt wrote: post #186
bonsai_spool wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is the laziest, most egregious "WeLl AkShUaLlY!!!" comment I've seen in a little while. Like, really embarrassing. And yet I haven't heard how this affects this person's ability to be an endocrinologist. Most of any job is routine busywork—and if ethical purity is the requirement to hold a job that impacts the lives of the public, we may never have a politician (or hospital chief) for the rest of humanity. I a…

People holding your current naive viewpoint is why we have professional societies with the power to remove licenses/disbar. Someone who takes the hippocratic oath and then behaves in this manner is not fit to be a caregiver. Medical care is about more than technical competence. I’d hate to see the state of the flattened world you seem to be arguing for. Please go read about the origins of professional standards.

> People holding your current naive viewpoint is why we have professional societies with the power to remove licenses/disbar.

> Someone who takes the hippocratic oath and then behaves in this manner is not fit to be a caregiver. Medical care is about more than technical competence.

> I’d hate to see the state of the flattened world you seem to be arguing for. Please go read about the origins of professional standards.

So much pathos—I was responding to an illogical set of statements.

People holding your current naive viewpoint is why we have professional societies with the power to remove licenses/disbar. - or maybe the evidence was insufficient?

> hippocratic oath

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath

I don't see a comment about research standards. Let's stick to rationality here, please.

> I’d hate to see the state of the flattened world you seem to be arguing for.

Exactly the opposite of what I am asking.

> about the origins of professional standards.

The suggestions of your comment have been falling flat, so I'm not going to take this ill-defined assignment. If there are logical statements you wish to provide, please do.

---

Again, the OP did not say anything about malpractice. Had the OP done so, I would have made no comment.

The incidental prior incidence of alleged research fraud has no a priori bearing on why OP did not like this person.

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

#195

Post by rectang »

kingstnap wrote: post #102
nrhrjrjrjtntbt wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just read about it on Wikipedia. Straight up murder. This isn't "you shouldn't follow instructions" but more "dont get murdered". They 2x overloaded cargo, made it loose, captain abandons ship while staying in place order remains.

Yeah this is really way out there. The crew and captian straight up murdered those passengers. There was literally no reason to tell the students to stay put there were even rescue boats available.

For me the common element is in how people trusted authority when that authority issued instructions which seemed reasonable but turned out to be deadly. The character of the MV Sewol's captain isn't material.

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

#196

Post by pugio »

softgrow wrote: post #84
gobins wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow melbourne is getting that bad! Does your org have a name?

Sounds like Hatzolah Melbourne, https://hatzolah.org.au since 1994 Since 1998, in Melbourne for anything that might need a defibrillator a fire engine is sent at the same time as the ambulance (EMR Emergency Medical Response Program). https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2002/177/6/cardiac-arrests-tr... Medical Journal of Australia article. There is also GoodSAM https://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/goodsam/ for individual help…

Yes it's Hatzolah. It's a volunteer Jewish organization - run (and paid for) by the local Jewish community, but we respond to anyone who calls us, regardless of background or ethnicity.

(There are Hatzolah organizations all over the world, where there are Jewish communities.)

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

#197

Post by scorpioxy »

d0ublespeak wrote: post #151
scorpioxy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yes. Quite bad and I don't know if things are getting slightly better than "bad" or the media is tired of reporting about it. Up until a year or so ago, an appointment at a GP would take weeks of waiting. Specialist appointments were 1+ years waiting time. This is somewhat better now with the establishment of critical-care clinics operating after hours. This is from personal experience. The emergency rooms often h…

This isn’t an inherent flaw of public health care. A lot of the health care problems in this country (Australia) stem from a continued disinvestment in the public system after a decade (prior to the current government) of conservative mismanagement. Most state funding here comes from the federal governments standard sales tax. They intentionally gimped our public system to fund a private system that isn’t financially…

I don't understand where you got that I am saying public health care systems are flawed. Both systems have pros and cons. And I have seen the "going to take time" phrase for quite a long time now and so don't think it holds any value anymore.

In terms of affordability which you also referenced in a separate comment, I disagree. Compared to some prices I've seen in the US, it is cheaper. Compared to other countries I've experienced, it is more expensive. Comparing private and public systems is not straight forward and I don't think this adds any value to the discussion.

In terms of attributing failure to correct sources, Victoria hasn't had a "they"(who you're claiming gimped our public system) for many years now but I am not interested in a discussion about politics.

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

#198

Post by sqrt_1 »

d0ublespeak wrote: post #151
scorpioxy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yes. Quite bad and I don't know if things are getting slightly better than "bad" or the media is tired of reporting about it. Up until a year or so ago, an appointment at a GP would take weeks of waiting. Specialist appointments were 1+ years waiting time. This is somewhat better now with the establishment of critical-care clinics operating after hours. This is from personal experience. The emergency rooms often h…

This isn’t an inherent flaw of public health care. A lot of the health care problems in this country (Australia) stem from a continued disinvestment in the public system after a decade (prior to the current government) of conservative mismanagement. Most state funding here comes from the federal governments standard sales tax. They intentionally gimped our public system to fund a private system that isn’t financially…

I think it is mostly just a problem with Victoria - and they are are hardly conservative. Hospitals and ambulance service is a state issue and other states fair much better.

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

#199

Post by canucker2016 »

samdoesnothing wrote: post #63

Such a tragedy, and I'm really not surprised it happened in Canada. Our healthcare system here is utter garbage and there isn't really any political will to do anything about it because "it's better than the Americans at least" (it's not). I don't buy that it's underfunded either, it's just sorely mismanaged and nobody wants to build or grow. Even a child could tell you if you increase the population of a country by…

Not 10% population increase in ten years, it was 10% population increase in 3 years. (An increase in immigration rate of 4x over those three years compared to the previous 20 years - makes the USA's southern border influx look minor in comparison)

And the population increase wasn't spread evenly across the country...

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

#200

Post by grogenaut »

sklargh wrote: post #108

First, I want to offer my condolences to the author. I lost my father suddenly at a similar age—it's terrible. Sending positive energy. Former Firefighter-EMT here — I did this a long time ago in a rural setting). Now to the practical matter. I want to offer some frameworks for thinking about this in rural or exurban transport situations. This is not risk-free or even optimal, and can put you in worse position, but i…

Excellent summary!
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