NO RISKS TAKEN

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 14, 16 July 1931, Page 15

NO RISKS TAKEN

THE AMBULANCE SERVICE

A REPLY TO CRITICISM

A'reply to criticism made by the Makara County Council, that the Wellington Free Ambulance was attending to trivial cases, was mado at a meoting of the Ambulance Board to-day. Tho chairman (Mr. G. Mitchell), said that the service could not afford to neglect any ease." The difficulty was to find out which were the trivial cases and which were not, .and it was far better to go to twenty trivial cases rather than to miss one serious case. If trivial' casos , predominated, then probably it would be a matter for' r consideration, but. lie could ■ not see. that the service would be doing'its duty if it neglected any call, and perhaps jeopardised somebody's lifo. The superintendent. (Mr: F. Roffe) said that tho inotto'was 'fSafety first." Certainly, the ambulances were occasionally called to trivial cases, but the number, was less .than. 1 per cent. The sorvise had to bo over-careful. "As an example, he read the following, ex r tract from a letter he had received ;— - I am writing to thank you- for the way in which ~the ambulance rushed out when my little' boy met with 'an accident It was a ease where half an hour probably meant total blindness.' Thanks to the speed with which we got him ti>' the Hospital, and to tho doctor, he is now homo again with his eyes; safe. .'"■;.. ■ ;• ': .'. When a call came, was the attendant to say, "Is the case, serious?',?■. and if the reply was, "I don't know," was tho attendant to,.say,,"Go a.ud find out?" Even the ambulance men, said Mr. Roffq, who know a little, 'could'-not say sometimes when a case was serious. A person might fall from a motor-car and suffer a bump on the head. At tho hospital concussion cases were kept over-night for observation. The 'service could not- take any risks. As far as medical and" surgical cases were concerned, the service aetefl ' on orders from tho doctor. Mr. Roffo gave another example: A"'-ring came from Kaitoke, and in answer to his inquiry he was told that the ■ patient had not had a doctor. Nevertheless, he sent a ear out. The man died two days lator. If the service had'adhered to its rule strictly, in that case, something would probably have been said about it. The chairman said he thought tho Makara County Council would appreciate the points;made by the superintendent when;they were.thought over..' , . : Mr.' H. M. Jones said that the board had to dictate the policy that had to bo pursued; so far that policy had been very: successful. The'service had to attend, with the maximum speed, every call; Two years ]ago'the same subjeot was discussed, and it jvas unanimously decided that there .co.uld be no" question of making,inquiries before an ambulance was sent. . - ■ .