Comments | open_letters: (без темы)

dom_ino in open_letters

(Untitled)

Nov 14, 2007 05:27

Dear General Public:

It it never, ever, ever, ever appropriate to call a cab for a medical emergency.

Ever.

Stop it.

~j

Comments 9

delchi November 14 2007, 14:29:52 UTC

Agreed it might not be appropriate, but it's absolutely cheaper.

dom_ino November 14 2007, 19:59:07 UTC

Good luck getting a cabbie that'll give CPR.

delchi November 14 2007, 20:35:30 UTC

Agreed. Hell, on a good day under the perfect circumstances it's impossible to get a cabbie to go to Brooklyn. I seriously doubt CPR is in the cards.

sola November 14 2007, 14:53:37 UTC

It totally sucks, but an ambulance is $700+. With so many people without medical insurance, that is a huge consideration.

Last time we had a medical emergency, we damn near ended up walking the two miles to the ER, because we couldn't afford even a cab.

dom_ino November 14 2007, 20:00:13 UTC

I won't even dispatch the call, myself. Cab drivers cannot be trusted to even be trained in basic first aid. If you need medical assistance, you need medical assistance.

sola November 15 2007, 00:40:06 UTC

Well, i'm assuming people aren't calling cabs because they're having a heart attack, a breathing emergency, or bleeding out. If that's the case, they do need an ambulance. I don't expect anything from a cabbie except getting there.

It basically blows a goat all around. For you, for the cabbie, and for the person who, even in the midst of a medical emergency, has to consider how much help they can afford.

dom_ino November 15 2007, 00:52:51 UTC

Usually when I get medical emergency calls it's for crackheads who are freaking out. Here and there though, I have gotten one where someone wasn't breathing or was having chest paints -- I refused the call.

Afford what? Afford staying alive? Sheesh. You know they can't chase you for 911 debt, right? That $750-1000 is more than the ambulance ride is generally worth, and they know it. I've taken two in my adult life and neither appeared on my credit record or anything.

Don't Call 911 senseless November 14 2007, 20:08:25 UTC

If you're out of beer either...

_fool November 15 2007, 02:29:27 UTC

i don't think i'd call a cab, but i think i might take one if it was right there when i had a bike wreck or whatever. the ambulance took a good 15 minutes to arrive last time that happened. i don't expect medical aid (i'm not making decisions if i'm not stable, so whoever else *is* will be in charge anyway) but as far as getting to the hospital to get stitched up or a bone set? i don't see what the big deal is.