PLN24

The Article “Hospital Refused to Assist Heart Attack Victim in Parking Lot” by the Canadian Press tells of a situation where a man had an angina in the hospital’s parking lot and the hospital made him call 911 instead of just helping him themselves, this in some cases can be a life or death situation. The 80 year old man had a very life threatening condition, but the hospital refused to help him instead his wife was forced to call an ambulance from across the street to remove the man from his car and carry him only 30 yards inside. This may sound ridiculous to some but there is some reasoning behind nurses and doctors not being able to leave the hospital to help somebody. Removing a patient from a vehicle can be a dangerous task, which sometimes results in even more injuries for the patient, the paramedics and EMT’s were called simply because they had skills and training at removing a patient form cars. This case however is a little different, the man was having a cardiac problem (later discovered as an Angina) a serious illness but not necessarily always life threatening. Most hospitals do employ EMT’s to help out with problems similar to this but it seems that this hospital did not have any such professionals. In conclusion it can be life threatening for patients to be so close to hospitals yet not in reach, that is why hospital EMT’s are so important.