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#Post#: 205--------------------------------------------------
What should you do?
DIR By: Leslie Myers
Date: February 15, 2012, 1:59 pm
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It is Friday morning around 0730 hours ,you are at the scene of
a car into a utility pole Route 233 near Tonys pizza in
Westmoreland..there is moderate damage to the front end of the
car, the air bag has deployed and the driver is the only person
involved in the accident..
When you go to the drivers door you can smell beer...and then
you see several beer bottles in the back seat which have broken
and there is beer all over the floor...
Your patient is CAO, trying to get out of the vehicle and keeps
saying please believe me I have not been drinking, please let me
get out before the cops get here..when you get closer to the
patient you can smell the beer on her breath..and you realize
you know her as a freinds mother who know is an alcoholic..
When the PD arrives you have the patient in the ambulance and
you are just starting VS..the cop wants to get in the back of
the ambulance to talk to the patient and keeps asking you and
other EMS providers on the scene if she has been drinking
alcohol..
How will you handle this situation?
#Post#: 210--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: mikekennedy
Date: February 17, 2012, 8:45 pm
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in the field we do not have the proper tools to legally or
definetivly determine if a pt has been drinking or is
intoxicated, my response to the police officer would be that the
car is located in the ditch, he can look and see if there is any
evidence in his opinion of alcohol use, if questioned by the
police about the pt breath i would tell him he is more then
welcome to come into ambulance and interview the pt if he
desires this is similiar to the fact that we
should never write "pt is intoxicated" on a PCR due to the fact
we cant definetivly determine that, it is acceptable however to
document "pt admitted to alcohol use" or "odor of ETOH detected
on pt breath"
#Post#: 211--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: Leslie Myers
Date: February 19, 2012, 4:38 pm
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Question? Odor of ETOH on pts breath..if we can not be
considered experts to determine intoxication how can we tell if
it is actually ETOH?
#Post#: 213--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: randy rundle
Date: February 20, 2012, 5:31 pm
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we are not the ones who decide if she has been drinking or
not.If she shares with us that she has been drinking then we
treat accordingly. But first bsi and maybe c-spine. Start with
a-b-c-.
#Post#: 223--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: rulrich
Date: February 21, 2012, 10:12 am
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you have to treat the pt.for whatever injuries are present no
matter what the situation is. for all we know the pt. could be a
diabetic , we have to do our assesment first. i would tell the
police that i didnt know if pt. was drinking or not but he would
be welcome to talk to pt. when i was done with assesment and
ready for transport.
#Post#: 227--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: mandrade
Date: February 25, 2012, 9:49 pm
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I would go about treating the Pt. as any other. As far as the
officer. He is going to have to talk to the Pt. anyway being
they were the driver involved in an MVA. The officer is going to
want to make the determination for themselves whether or not to
perform a field sobriety test due to there interview with the
Pt. or there observations there of.
#Post#: 230--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: 04251704
Date: February 26, 2012, 10:14 am
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I would just let him know what was seen in the car. Because we
can not determine someones blood alchol level. I would also not
mention you know her or her history of alcholism due to patient
confidentiality. If he asks to get into the ambulance, tell him
you need to treat the patient right now but he can meet you at
the hospital to interview her after transport.
#Post#: 236--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: Keith Kulpa
Date: March 3, 2012, 5:56 am
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I would just relate to the police al observable conditons.
Those being the beer in the car and her behavior when you pulled
up on the scence. The subjective information, I would keep to
myself. Let the cop in the ambulance and make their own
judgements about the odors.
#Post#: 237--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: jeff baranowski
Date: March 3, 2012, 7:13 pm
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I would do my pt assessment as any other. ABC c spine
precautions. I would tell the police officer he could interview
the pt in the ambulance or meet us at the hospital. I have my
suspicions about the alcohol but dont no for sure if she was
drinking, I would let the officer make his decision upon his own
investigation.
#Post#: 242--------------------------------------------------
Re: What should you do?
DIR By: mmisiak38
Date: March 4, 2012, 10:20 pm
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Treat the pt as you would any person in an accident. Tell PD
what you observed and let them onterview the pt
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