Five Situations Where You Need an Ambulance

One of the more expensive calls you might ever make involves calling an ambulance. Many people are so confused about when and when not to call an ambulance that they often make the wrong decision. Failing to call one can put someone’s life in danger, and yet calling one when you only need to drive someone to the hospital wastes money. Here are five situations that are a definite “yes” on when to call an ambulance in Tacoma, WA:

• Life-threatening situations: With traffic lights and confusion on directions, there is no way you can get someone to the emergency room in a timely manner if their condition is life threatening. Signs of stroke and heart attack and other life-threatening conditions call for an ambulance. If you, your loved one or a mere acquaintance experiences chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden confusion, trouble seeing or altered mental condition, it is officially an emergency. EMTs can offer immediate medical attention that can keep people alive or keep the condition from getting worse. That increases the chance of recovery—and survival.
• Choking: If someone chokes or drowns, call the ambulance before administering CPR. The dispatcher can guide you through life-saving procedures, and it allows the ambulance to get a head start so more involved intervention can start sooner. Basically, anytime someone requires the Heimlich maneuver, back blows or CPR, call an ambulance.
• Extensive injury: Some injuries are serious, and you will make it worse or even kill a patient by moving them. EMTs are trained to move injured people, and can do so safely. This is common in motor vehicle accidents, falls and other traumatic injuries. If you must move a person due to a fire or other danger, call immediately after you are both safe and let the EMTs take it from there. Also, if an injury involves excessive bleeding, it may be safer to apply pressure to the wound while you wait for an ambulance rather than risk the condition getting worse.
• Unconsciousness: If someone is rendered unconscious and is not reacting to stimuli, you have an immediate emergency situation. Monitor them to ensure they’re still breathing and have a pulse, and call an ambulance. As with strokes and heart attacks, time is of the essence with head injuries. Calling an ambulance allows treatment to start sooner and  makes a full recovery more likely.
• Require assistance: Never try to drive another person or yourself to the emergency room if you are impaired. This applies if you also fell or sustained traumatic injury or if you are impaired by alcohol or other substances. If you cannot get up on your own or you are unsteady on your feet, do not drive. Call an ambulance instead, as there is a good chance you may require emergency treatment, too.

For non-emergency medical situations in Tacoma, WA that fall firmly in the “when not to call an ambulance” category, Around the Sound is here. We offer wheelchair and gurney transportation and have experience interacting with patients with mental conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Call us today to make arrangements.

Categorised in: Medical Transportation Service

This post was written by Writer