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10 The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, May 30, 1979 Section Two Around Our Town by Donna Fairey etry is compactly stored in the interior of Bowmanville Memorial impressive display of first aid and life saving equipment shows the ce services. Nobody really wants to be a patient in this mini hospital on wheels but it's comforting to know the service is available at a moment's notice. Shift supervisor, John Hendry, takes up a position for administering emergency medical care in one of Bowmanville Memorial Hospital's ambulances. A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Newcastle's Ambulance Service "Emergency! Code four! Man in the creek at Soper Creek Park. Dispatch an ambulance to the scene and investigate a possible H.B.D." This was a typical routine call received by Bowmanville Memorial Hospital Ambu- lance Service during an inter- view with the Statesman last Friday. The emergency dis- patch resulted from a Durham Regional Police report and it was later explained the abbreviation, H.B.D., was code for "had been drinking." Time waits for no man, or woman. I opted to go along on the call, however, two of the staff attendants were in an ambulance and on the road in less than 30 seconds. I was lef t embarrassingly wrestling with my camera equipment and settled for listening to the results of the call on the office monitor. Approximately 10 minutes passed before ambulance attendants at the scene made any radio transmission. They notified dispatch headquart- ers they had rescued a man in his early twenties from the creek suffering from hypothermia and possible drug use. They noted also the man was conscious and re- quested Memorial Hospital be notified of their imminent arrival and make the neces- sary arrangements to restore the man's normal body temperature. The ambulance returns to the garage and the case is closed except for the paper work involved and a fresh change of clothing for the two attendants who were forced to wade hip deep in the creek water to make the rescue. It's all in a day's work if you're an employee of Bow- manville Memorial Hospital's Ambulance Service. The depot is a steel fabricated building on Lambert Street, directly behind the hospital. Staff of 19 Its staff consists of 12 full-time attendants, six part- time employees and Super- visor William "Bill" Yeo. Ambulance service is avail- able around the lock with four attendants on duty during the seven a.m. to seven p.m. day shift. Two attendants man the 12 hour night shift with two others on call if assistance is required. Two fully equipped ambu- lances constitute the emer- gency fleet which services the 32,000 residents of the Town of Newcastle, covering approxi- mately 500 square miles. These vehicles must clear a rigorous safety check bi- annually to guarantee they are in good repair and roadworthy. According to Mr. Yeo, maximum highway ambu- lance speed when attending a call is 70 m.p.h. Although they have no legal right to ignore traffic lights and stop signs, driver discretion is exercised based on a number of mitigat- ing factors. "We never exceed 70 m.p.h.," stated Mr. Yeo, "because in excess of that speed, they are no longer safe vehicles to be in." All ambu- lance attendants must hold a Class "F" chauffeur's drivers licence. The ambulance's storehouse of emergency care equipment includes three stretchers, two fracture boards, oxygen, resuscitation valves, fire extinguisher, various types of splints, bedding, first aid bandages, extraction kit, air- way tube blood pressure cuffs, and stethoscope. As medicine becomes more sophisticated, so do ambu- lance services and their equip- ment. Mandatory Training Mandatory after August of this year, a one-year college diploma in ambulance emer- gency care is required to qualify as an ambulance attendant. Following comple- tion of the course, an at- tendant must establish a year's work experience before writing an emergency care examination given by the Ministry of Health. Included in the ambulance emergency care course is training in human anatomy, physiology and emergency rescue procedures. Although the course's defensive driving instruction is optional, the Ministry of Health endorses it as a desirable prerequisite. Potential attendants also re- ceive clinical hospital practice which includes actual ambu- lance trips. All but one of Bowmanville's ambulance staff has acquired the one year emergency care course diploma or its equiva- lent on their own time. "This new approach to ambulance services," stated Mr. Yeo, "is a way of upgrading the system." "Somewhere down the road, we will be working on a para-medic basis and this is the route to gearing people up to it," he said. Government Keeps Tabs According to Mr. Yeo, the government is placing more stringent controls on ambu- lance services ail the time in the areas of general opera- tions and equipment. "There was a time you could run an ambulance service and do just about what you liked," he said. The provincial government now keeps close tabs on the operations of its ambulance services. A daily "tacho- graph" card which runs off the ambulance's transmission indicates every movement the vehicle makes. The card shows time of a call, how long the call took, ambulance speed and the number of stops made. These cards are regularly forwarded to the Ministry where their contents are digested into computer read- outs for government analysis and evaluation. "The tacho- graph cards are a form of protection for attendants, but by the same token, they prohibit anyone from wasting Ministry funds by taking a joy ride down the road," said Mr. Yeo. Costs $116 Per Call Probably mind-boggling to the average person is the fact an operating cost of $116 is tallied up each time an ambulance is summoned to a call. If one has O.H.I.P. coverage, he will be presented with a bill of $20 and the government picks up the tab on the remainder. With no coverage, the going rate for an ambulance is presently $40. It is apparent from these figures, our ambulance services operate at a loss. Although it seemed like a story for "Ripley's Believe it or not," Mr. Yeo assured us there have been occasions when people, especially in the outlying areas, found it cheaper to ride to town in an ambulance rather than a taxi. After a clean bill of health at hospital's emergency, they would carry on with their day's business in town. This sort of occurrence has diminished somewhat since the 'flat charge of $20 was introduced. Ambulance attendants now also make note of calls they deem "unessential" and it is pos- sible a patient may be billed for the full amount of the call. Central Dispatch To further facilitate an efficient ambulance service, in January 1974, Bowmanville Ambulance, along with Ajax, Oshawa, Newcastle and Orono, joined a central dis- patch system based in Oshawa. In addition to this "hot line" system, as it's referred to by the staff, Mr. Yeo also employs a separate monitor which gives him the status of all calls going on in the area by his own and other ambulance services. "What- ever movement happens in my area, I know about it," he said. Mr. Yeo stated he would like to launch a campaign to educate local residents to call 623-3321 when they require ambulance service. People still call police, the hospital, the telephone operator or their next door neighbour when valuable life saving time could be saved by knowing the emergency number. Clear and specific directions to the scene is another important priority. Ambulance dispatch operates under a code system. Code one is a routine call with no emergency involved. Code two is a pre-arranged pick up with a designated time of arrival but no emergency. Code three is classed a "prompt" call to which they answer immediately with pos- sible emergency in mind. Code four is the one none of us ever want to be classed. On the pecking order of serious emergency calls, it holds the highest rank. Ambulance siren and flash- ers are used when attending Code three and four calls. "We try not to use the siren on return trips from an emer- gency as it usually upsets the patient," said Mr. Yeo. "If they are a heart attack patient," he said, "at the sound of the siren, they go visibly down hill." Defensive Driving According to several attendants, their Class "F" drivers license and defensive driving skills are often taxed to the ultimate when making calls. "In general, other vehicles on the road habitually display an ignorance factor when they see an ambulance approaching," they said. "People don't know what to do and you can expect anything from them," said shift super- visor, John Hendry. "They may come to a dead stop right in front of you and you must be prepared," he said. Do the things the attendants see in the line of duty bother them emotionally? The answer was most assuredly, yes. "You do get hardened a certain amount," said Mr. Yeo, "but you never get used to it." "Things come back to you in the middle of the night, especially occurrences involv- ing children," he said. Though being the clean-up crew after a fatal accident or fire is an all too real aspect of their job, the ambulance attendants concurred it is a rewarding business. Mr. Yeo stated, "you can help people when they are at their greatest need." "Suffering people are all on one level. There is no class distinction and everyone comes to you on a par basis. There are no millionaires in a car accident. They all hurt and they all bleed." ALL PRICES EFFECTIVE MAY30-JUNE 5, 1979. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES. OPEN EVERY SATURDAY at 8:00A.M. FOR YOUR SHOPPING CONVENIENCE IT'S FUN TO EAT OUT AT HOME! PICK UP ANOTHER RECIPE THIS WEEK AT MIRACLE TRY EASY CHICKEN DIVAN An all Canadian Company