I work in Tennessee as a paramedic and have worked at an agency that does fire/ems/rescue/ and hazmat. This profession is not appreciated for what we do and is taken for granted. The profession is insulted as far as pay and benefits in some areas as well and most of us have to work additional jobs to make up the difference. For example, its either work for a little over $15/hr for a 24/48 shift with extremely poor benefits. I completely understand the frustration.
It never ceases to amaze me how taken for granted the profession is. If I don’t get flipped off at least three times on the way to a single call because people don’t feel like pulling over then I’m not doing my job. Every time I turn on the news or pop open a comment section on any social media the words are always the same: “If you don’t like it, quit!” “You get paid in the knowledge that you helped make a difference in someone’s life.” “I pay your salary!” The generic phrases go on and on.
@@casadilla111 If you are unhappy in the profession you should quit, and as a taxpayer I pay your salary and benefits and if you don’t like hearing it than that’s too bad. What private sector job gives such a lavish schedule that anyone could dream of. 2 work days a week with 5 days off. A guaranteed retirement check every month. Private sector workers no longer receive those Cadillac benefits, your health insurance is top notch compared to private sector workers. So what are you moaning about. You always want more when it comes to for contracts and it’s the taxpayers who have to pay!!!!! You union public sector workers are greedy greedy people. I can’t wait until the day unions are abolished in America. Private EMS is a drain on the people too, they price gouge there patients for a cost of an ambulance ride. You and them are the reason health insurance is so expensive…. Thanks for always increasing my taxes every year….. scumbags!!!!!!
Right on brother. As they used to say when I was enlisted, “I guess we shouldn’t have enlisted if we can’t take a joke.“ Joke ‘em they can’t take a fuck. Citizens are hilarious. They’ll pay stupid amount of money to watch some worthless, useless overgrown men child chase a ball around, but when it comes to living wages for fire/EMS/law-enforcement/teachers- people that protect their lives and property and educate the young, they scream and holler like you were taking a firstborn child and a redundant organ. 🙄🤦
I live for the day Dispatch answers the phone *911, what is your credit card number & the location & nature of your emergency?”* If their insurance did a walletectomy on them and determined what level of response they got I bet they’d change their tune real quick!
The screen in the background says "city in crisis"; what many people don't realize is that when it comes to EMS, it's a nation in crisis. EMS crews are barely holding on across the country and there has been barely any attention given to it. Your local EMS crews are struggling with being understaffed, underpaid, underfunded, & overworked. Retention is plummeting.
*”We, The unwilling, Lead by the unknowing, Are doing the impossible for the ungrateful with nothing. We have done so much with so little for so long we are now capable of doing everything for everybody instantly”*
@@othersteeve1048 Not quite. Nobody calls 911 and says they need a bus dispatched for something silly, and so we are required to go every time. And then just because we’re toned out doesn’t mean we transport, and just because we transport doesn’t mean everybody pays their bill. Recovery on billing is about 30%, which is why things are ridiculously expensive; that unrecovered cost gets passed on to all the mature, responsible people who do pay their bills.
See I thought it was the unwilling, led by the unfamiliar, dispatched by the incompetent, doing the impossible, for the ungrateful. Just as a disclaimer; I've never worked anywhere like that as a Paramedic.
People need to stop misusing ambulance services. It’s literally the most frustrating and exhausting aspect to deal with. Your toothaches or stubbed toe are not reasons to call an ambulance. You aren’t going to be seen quicker because you rode the ambulance in. These people need to be held accountable.
THIS. the bs calls really are most of it. I’m an EMT and I would say probably less than half of the calls I respond to are true emergencies and it’s really irritating when people call for things they should really just be making an appointment with their regular doctor for. it diverts resources away from people who actually need us and it’s time we could be using to relax and take care of ourselves. these taxi riders need consequences for the strain they’re putting on a system that is already stretched so thin.
Speaking as a paramedic and a medical student, the single biggest factor causing overwork of ambulance services is the lack of universal healthcare in this country. There are two main effects of this: 1. People just don't go to their primary care provider to get issues taken care of before they become big and scary. They're just too afraid of what it will cost. By the time they become more afraid of the problem than the cost, they're too frightened to be able to reasonably evaluate whether they need an ambulance or not. 2. If people were able to have quick and affordable access to primary care, medical directors would be MUCH more willing to implement refuse-to-transport policies. I was working at an agency that had them during the height of the pandemic, and it was a huge burden off our backs to not have to transport everyone with a trivial case of the sniffles, toe pain, or inebri-itis. If we could sit down with people in their living rooms and help them make an appointment with their doctor for the next day, there are so many people we simply wouldn't have to transport. EDIT: And our agencies could bill for those consults! Finally, as a corollary, CMS needs to increase reimbursements for both ambulance transports and physician-led primary care. Both are currently so pathetically low that they simply don't pay for the cost of doing business.
If a snarky comment to a dispatcher is the only thing their leadership sees, they need to replace everyone in management from the top down. EMS in the US is on the verge of collapse in many places.
This guy is being pushed to the point of threatening to drive his unit into a ravine and he’s still being disciplined. It’s like they WANT us to get to this point
As a medic in TN if they would cut out half the BS calls we go on that would F***ing relieve some of the strain. Going to a toe pain or cough for two weeks at 2 in the morning is getting old. I feel this guys pain.
It’s not so much the response that’s the issue, it’s agency policies forcing crews to transport non urgent patients via ambulance. Instead of just evaluating and refusing service if it’s not appropriate.
@@Kesen2003 Agree with this. ESD's in Texas are not allowed to refuse service to people even if they say that they do not have a medical complaint and just want to go to the ER to have a bed. It is an issue that needs to be addressed. Not everyone who calls 911 has a legitimate medical emergency. They could have had someone drive them to the ER for the "jaw pain" they have had for 1 month.
Or responding to the same junkie patient who’s overdosed 6 times in one shift? Those are the ones that really frustrate me, the frequent fliers who use emergency ambulances as their own personal taxi service.
*DUDE is at his max gross load!* 36 years I’ve been doing this, I get it. not getting to go home on time, not getting to eat regularly, not getting to eat anything that didn’t come from a drive-through or a gas station, not getting to use the toilet when you need to, not getting to make plans with family because you’re probably going to get some mandatory overtime… all the genius civilians that say if you don’t like it quit and do something else- Everybody knows that. That’s why they quit, and that’s why staffing is a disaster.
Civilians will think and say things like this but then go after the Paramedics/EMT if they take long response times. If we quite then when you call no one will be there. They are being directly impacted. FIRE/EMS should be promoted in school and should have better pay. There are some garbage services out there that do not make being a Paramedic/EMT worth it.
Yeah, that about sums it up. At least they acknowledged the burnout rather than coming at him for being rude. You'd get it too, if on your 6th consecutive call your patient got upset because you wouldn't let them eat their pizza on the way to the hospital.
Nothing like being woken up for the fifth time in the night and the patient is furious and cussing you out because you won't let them smoke inside the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
As a former career EMT and Paramedic in a high violent crime rate, murder rate, and high call volume things will never change until the the rate of pay equals an RN. a lont of medics go to RN school because of the pay and there is less stress. Rn's will yell you they would not be a paramedic because od the stress. Most lay people don't know what a paramedic does and the stress that they are under. MORE FIRST RESPONDERS DIE OF SUICIDE THAN IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Part of the problem is the absolutely stupid reasons some people are calling for. Nightmares, stubbed toes, teeth pain, chronic leg, back, or headaches. We have unfortunately made a society of 911 dependent people. Along with all the damn cell phone heroes, that call in because they think they saw someone lying down or something they think is not right. No one has the guts or time to just stop and go see first. Then with all this scared to death about liability we send ALL units running lights and sirens, putting EVERYONE crews and public at risk because someone has a belly ache for a week but they wont call their own doctor of ask family to take them in. 911 dependent.
This one hit the nail on the head for how im feeling today. Someone called because they saw a female lying near a tree after walking through a field. And so a 60,000lb quint was dispatched, an ALS ambulance, and 2 city officers. Oh and we ran lights and sirens through lunch traffic to get there. When we got there....unfounded. All that fuel, time, and RISK driving there. Bullshit.
Quite true! EMS personnel frequently treated poorly, given minimal pay, long hours, and the directive to suck it up and make their calls. Does anyone ever inquire as to how it affects their family, marriage, or children? This is not only a Baltimore issue; big ems/fire agencies all around America are in the same sad situation.
Facts. EMS is taken a toll now. Understaffed to underpaid. Why would a person work a job where you get lack of sleep and rest for 15-20 per hours? You can work at a fast food restaurant for that. What we do is important but it's taken for granted.
That medic is a hero. EMS would not be so overwhelmed if useful idiots stopped calling 911 for dumb reasons. Society today are needy and cannot do the right thing, calling 911 is the byproduct. While we are transporting a knucklehead for a cold or back pain, that little girl and many like her, waited. Heart attacks, strokes, diabetics all suffer for broken systems. I feel for you, brother. Signed, A paramedic (22 years) from a northeast urban area.
He might as well have said the Q-word. Telling people to use 911 only for emergencies does two things: makes those who really need it hesitate, and those who don't go "challenge accepted."
*IT’S NOT JUST STAFFING CAUSING PROLONGED RESPONSE TIMES!* It’s 911 abuse: people that call for an ambulance because they think they get seen more quickly at the hospital, people that call for an ambulance when they could have gone in a family member’s car for their nausea and fever. People that call us for silly things like I can’t find the remote! That’s at least half the problem. Do you want to know why a Kidley broken and bleeding waiting for a ring to show up? Talk to the people who use us like a taxi, talk to the people who see us as a 24 foot long, 8 foot wide, 8 foot tall 7 1/2 ton obstacle to their life and don’t pull over so we can get by!
Can we agree the fire department leaching off of EMS back is also a problem. Fire and EMS are 2 totally different things and shouldn’t be lumped into one financial category. The fire department probably needs more money but EMS probably needs it more but Fire is again and forever will be in the spotlight making it look like they are the heros.
EMS is worked like a dog and paid like a slave. The experience can be just as heavy as most patients, and it goes under appreciated. I loved doing EMS, but the burnout hit and the valor wore off. Will never go back to it.
EMS should just quit, the only reason they get away with low pay is people still show up to work. Go to work at a warehouse and make twice as much, its not a hard choice.
I say this everyday in my area. EMS missed the biggest opportunity to not show up for work during the pandemic! That would have gotten a lot people’s and possibly politicians attention. All they have done on our area is start an EMS emergency counsel board that so far has been crickets. Once those politicians see the 3-6 million dollar price tag for county EMS they go real quiet and keep using the broken bandaid system that we have lol. Typical to go 15 or more dispatches between three volunteer FD’s and 3-4 paid services before an out of county paid service answers up!
The bigger issue is the skilled working class has been getting crunched between the politics and corporations for the past two decades. Start giving SKILLED working class people the pay and raises they are due for their hard work. We're paying people $15-20 to man a gas station or make a burrito but can't pay skilled workers 40$+... the government inflated minimum wage, no one is going to take on jobs like this unless you fix this inequity.
Many issues come in to play. Staffing issues dispatch not considering their crews. Management don’t care about crews as long as they keep units on the street. Society itself is to blame as well. Ppl are rude and have no respect. There is only so much a person can take before we snap back. The system is overwhelmed by ppl who do not need an ambulance. Young ppl calling for tummy aches, headaches anxiety attacks. Homeless ppl with free Obama phones calling because they want to get to the other end of town so they use an ambulance to get them to a hospital in that area. Homeless being transported 2 sometimes 3 times a day. Since Obama care ppl have been using the ER as their primary dr and they use an ambulance to get them there. Most transports don’t warrant an ambulance.
I worked in the industry as a Paramedic long before Obama and it was the Same then, Society fails to appreciate the service industry. Yet when those in need call who do they call! Yes EMS, LEO, FD!
Clearly a sign of burnout. Elected officials across the country should be made to listen to this. EMS is in trouble and moral is in the toilet. Wishing the world would wake up and promote education, benefits, and pay for our EMS services. If it continues to be ignored we will only see more and more of this frustration widespread.
Health care in general is in crisis due to staffing shortages. There was a shortage before COVID and now it is even worse. Heath care workers are not robots, they need breaks also. A common unknown to the public is the unknown amount of OT that many are putting in to keep things up and running
The problem with our job isn't the job itself. The job itself is great. It's everything else. It's dispatch, management, making no money, and all the other bs we go through. If the job was nothing but you, your partner, patient care and driving this would be the best job in the world.
This is a nationwide problem. In Georgia, many departments are relying on rookies straight out of academy to serve in senior firefighter and EMS positions. This is literally killing people.
Hero. I’m leaving EMS. I have a job interview next week that isn’t related to EMS. Urban ambulance ops for $17 an hour is ridiculous. Soon there will be no trucks to respond, and I’m done fighting the good fight. There’s nothing more I can do.
Overlooked problem is all the stupid reasons people call 911 for, and that EMS can’t refuse transport. “I need an ambulance, I’ve had a tummy ache for three months” 🤦🏻♂️ Too many calls for stupid things running the 911 system into the ground
Offer to train people for free and fill the gaps. A lot people can't afford to pay for schooling. Everyone loves free, and people will come in droves to educate themselves and work. We are at an impass in the work world. Do this and solve your problems. Training has to ve paid as well. Incentives work!
Some members… SOME members… the turnover rate in ems are high af, most of us hate our jobs because of staffing not even because of the job. Like… we need more pay, better benefits, and more people but instead we get the casual frequent flier that wants to go to the hospital when they can just walk there or drive there. This man is a hero to us and if you don’t like that, try to change it in a real way instead of just firing people.
This issue has been going on for years...but nobody cared. I've been a Paramedic since 1996, and have only seen things get worse. Used to work Paramedic/Paramedic truck. Now you're lucky to have an EMT partner who is experienced and not brand new.
This is so awesome, I would pay to see that EMT drive that ambulance into the mayor's jewel of a sespool. This tells how bad this city is, I feel for these men and women that works for the city ambulance services. Besides the Ambulance service, the fire department are the only 2 city agencies that is not corrupt and they are committed to protecting the public, unlike the corrupt city police, mayor's office and the city's AG office.
Some countries on the Old European continent use "taxi service" where the taxi driver write a receipt to the patient. This pay later your health insurance. Some cities use "special private ambulance services" how are technically are "taxis with light health equipment and light/siren" for typical patients how can't use own car/motorbike/public transport or should lying down if the go to/from doctor/hospital. The light/siren is if something health happend e.g. breathing problem, heart attack, aso. They are for all "non emergency" transport and help to make free real EMS services. Some are do duty at concerts or public parties eg. marathon, CSD, aso. for extra income too. The German Red Cross/St. John/St. Malta sell lunch food and have an own emercency call office for older/lying down patients with security personnel how looks what happend (and inform family or EMS depends the situation). I really wonder why nobody "create that" in a country with so a long automobile era and things same Uber/Lyft/Sixt ...
Shocking? No. Quit sensationalizing it. This is the state of public safety. Wages are low, staffing is non existent, and I’ve never seen morale this low nationwide. Enrollment in to EMS programs in colleges are at an all time low.
I remember when I went to the Baltimore fire expo a long time ago (10+ years ago) and I got to talk with both city firefighters and Baltimore county firefighters and both agencies told me to apply to the county department and to stay away from the city department. This has been an issue for a long time.
If 911 could filter the NON EMERGENCIES then there would be plenty of ambulances available. Instead they’re left transporting someone who’s leg hurts, they threw up, have a headache, coughed…. The list goes on. Don’t call 911 unless it is life or death. Period.
This not only highlights the severe understaffing that is going on in the entire healthcare system, but also shows a second, very insideous problem: Dispatch (or "fire communications") and the providers on the street are _systemically_ played against each other. When we complain about long calls and bad info, all we get to hear is that it's dispatches fault. And all they get to hear when complaining about not enough ambulances for the call volume is that we are lazy and take too long with everything and that we need to be... let's call it "sheppparded" into going available asap. This causes an often hostile tension between dispatchers NEEDING an ambulance NOW, because there is a cardiac arrest and the next available unit is 20 mikes out on the one hand - and medics who have been working for 5 hours straight, without so much as 5 minutes for a protein bar, staring at the back of a bombed out ambulance after the last messy call, wondering what magic wand dispatch thinks they should wave to become available. And the sad truth is: the upper echelon does this despite knowing full well that it is neither dispatch nor the medics who are at fault. But hey, maybe if we pit them against each other they don't realize they really should be protesting us all over the country. And what drives me MAD is that it's working... I have so many colleagues who have nothing but the worst words for dispatch and regularly have conversations similar to this one. It really, really bothers me. But unfortunately we are not important enough in the public eye to be worth any votes...
Im not sure if this is official-policy, but it seems like my county will dispatch either law-enforcement or a fire-truck when the 911-dispatch receives a medical-distress call. If that 1st-responder finds an actual medical-emergency, they call in the paramedics; if its not an actual emergency, they just tell the person all the ambulances are busy and to have someone drive them to either their doctor or urgent-care.
Start accepting Vol. FIREFIGHTERS, Just as Fire Personnel and Ems Volunteers for Ems. Like parts of PA are doing. That way a FIREFIGHTER doesn't need to be a Emt.
Good for him he spoke out because it does take a toll on you. The problem is he is not sleeping enough and not sleeping well!!!! Duh like gtfo Ems, fire dep,police. Nurses, lpns, cnas, doctors have lives to other than work and sometimes the demand of work causes extreme strain in one’s life ✅
I’m sure everyone is thinking what I’m thinking. If the general public would just act with what us in the field would call “due regard”, the city would be a better place. There is just entirely way too many ppl living and working in a small geographical area that everyone gets impatient and has short tolerance levels. I am so glad I’m out of that whole area. Out of the eastern seaboard. It’s was like no matter what you do, the calls won’t stop for a second. The DC area stays out of units to respond to calls. And if the general public would stop making calls for just an “Uber ride” with lights and siren, those who have real emergencies would be tended to a little bit sooner. To those who don’t work in ambulances, let me explain to you. Just because you’re feeling sick, or you banged your toe does not mean we will turn the lights and siren on for ya. You won’t be seen any faster. Their is a system called “triage” and literally unless you are dying, or we see the signs of you “circling the drain” you and your crew that sent you the hospital will have to stay in line and remain out of service until the hospital determines where to put you (bed or waiting room or God forbid a trauma bay). The crew doesn’t like waiting in line anymore than you do. They would rather be helping the public with real problems. That’s why they got into this field in the first place
It's like this everywhere. Firefighters love their job. But when you're running non stop every day for a full 24 hours it will take a toll. Hire more people to share the load so morale can stay high.
1000 percent know how he felt... Maxine hasn't had sleep deprivation like that. He was in hell day that day..looks like she's understands it wasn't a laughing matter.
OK..... We were given virtually NO real information here. We were told that BFD has staffing issues and that personnel are tired and frustrated. Fair enough........ I don't doubt that for one moment. But WHY? What are the underlying problems? Having lived just outside of Balto' City and worked IN Balto' City for more than 30 years, I have my suspicions. I'd just like to see SOMEONE from the City Govt. actually have the courage to address the issues and DO something about it.
Everybody says they appreciate first responders until that tax vote comes… they show us our value to them by voting down the very money that could help us in the most impactful way. Also weak city and county officials too afraid of losing their precious seat at the table to just do what’s right. Pathetic.
Man I hope they get their staffing situation handled because it’s dangerous for the ppl of the city of Baltimore and the workers also. I wonder what’s going on with the hiring process? Many ppl probably don’t want to do those type of job but somethings gotta be done to protect the ppl and the workers
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As a ems provider that man is my hero
Absolute legend.
Same here bro. EMS for 15 years. I lost it one day and all they did was send me to counseling 😂😂😂
He’s a fucking legend and deserves the best!
@@keithjackson2035 I couldn’t pick up OT and all my vacations got approved and anytime I called in it was never questioned lol
@@jasonwhitaker4883 😂😂
He said what most medics/emts think on a daily basis, my hero
It took a burned out frustrated medic who actually sounded really professional to bring this to media attention. He has my respect.
I work in Tennessee as a paramedic and have worked at an agency that does fire/ems/rescue/ and hazmat. This profession is not appreciated for what we do and is taken for granted. The profession is insulted as far as pay and benefits in some areas as well and most of us have to work additional jobs to make up the difference. For example, its either work for a little over $15/hr for a 24/48 shift with extremely poor benefits. I completely understand the frustration.
It never ceases to amaze me how taken for granted the profession is. If I don’t get flipped off at least three times on the way to a single call because people don’t feel like pulling over then I’m not doing my job. Every time I turn on the news or pop open a comment section on any social media the words are always the same: “If you don’t like it, quit!”
“You get paid in the knowledge that you helped make a difference in someone’s life.”
“I pay your salary!”
The generic phrases go on and on.
So quit and go find a better paying job, nobody is forcing you to work there. 🎻
@@casadilla111 If you are unhappy in the profession you should quit, and as a taxpayer I pay your salary and benefits and if you don’t like hearing it than that’s too bad. What private sector job gives such a lavish schedule that anyone could dream of. 2 work days a week with 5 days off. A guaranteed retirement check every month. Private sector workers no longer receive those Cadillac benefits, your health insurance is top notch compared to private sector workers. So what are you moaning about. You always want more when it comes to for contracts and it’s the taxpayers who have to pay!!!!! You union public sector workers are greedy greedy people. I can’t wait until the day unions are abolished in America. Private EMS is a drain on the people too, they price gouge there patients for a cost of an ambulance ride. You and them are the reason health insurance is so expensive…. Thanks for always increasing my taxes every year….. scumbags!!!!!!
Right on brother. As they used to say when I was enlisted, “I guess we shouldn’t have enlisted if we can’t take a joke.“ Joke ‘em they can’t take a fuck.
Citizens are hilarious. They’ll pay stupid amount of money to watch some worthless, useless overgrown men child chase a ball around, but when it comes to living wages for fire/EMS/law-enforcement/teachers- people that protect their lives and property and educate the young, they scream and holler like you were taking a firstborn child and a redundant organ. 🙄🤦
I live for the day Dispatch answers the phone *911, what is your credit card number & the location & nature of your emergency?”* If their insurance did a walletectomy on them and determined what level of response they got I bet they’d change their tune real quick!
The fire department states “this is a disciplinary issue” and says everything we need to know about why the problem exists.
The screen in the background says "city in crisis"; what many people don't realize is that when it comes to EMS, it's a nation in crisis. EMS crews are barely holding on across the country and there has been barely any attention given to it. Your local EMS crews are struggling with being understaffed, underpaid, underfunded, & overworked. Retention is plummeting.
Amen!
*”We, The unwilling, Lead by the unknowing, Are doing the impossible for the ungrateful with nothing.
We have done so much with so little for so long we are now capable of doing everything for everybody instantly”*
Yeah cuz dummies are calling for dumb stuff and you cant tell them no because that's money in the company's pocket
@@othersteeve1048 Not quite. Nobody calls 911 and says they need a bus dispatched for something silly, and so we are required to go every time. And then just because we’re toned out doesn’t mean we transport, and just because we transport doesn’t mean everybody pays their bill. Recovery on billing is about 30%, which is why things are ridiculously expensive; that unrecovered cost gets passed on to all the mature, responsible people who do pay their bills.
Very true which is why I retired after 34 years. I’m done
"Beatings will continue till moral improves" EMS slogan
See I thought it was the unwilling, led by the unfamiliar, dispatched by the incompetent, doing the impossible, for the ungrateful.
Just as a disclaimer; I've never worked anywhere like that as a Paramedic.
Definitely have this as a patch on my bag lol
People need to stop misusing ambulance services. It’s literally the most frustrating and exhausting aspect to deal with. Your toothaches or stubbed toe are not reasons to call an ambulance. You aren’t going to be seen quicker because you rode the ambulance in. These people need to be held accountable.
Totally agree. Getting so tired of going to these BS calls. We needs to be able to tell people no at some point.
seriously - I’m a box medic and it’s nonstop
Facccccts. 🎉 I wish I could say this exact thing.
THIS. the bs calls really are most of it. I’m an EMT and I would say probably less than half of the calls I respond to are true emergencies and it’s really irritating when people call for things they should really just be making an appointment with their regular doctor for. it diverts resources away from people who actually need us and it’s time we could be using to relax and take care of ourselves. these taxi riders need consequences for the strain they’re putting on a system that is already stretched so thin.
Speaking as a paramedic and a medical student, the single biggest factor causing overwork of ambulance services is the lack of universal healthcare in this country.
There are two main effects of this:
1. People just don't go to their primary care provider to get issues taken care of before they become big and scary. They're just too afraid of what it will cost. By the time they become more afraid of the problem than the cost, they're too frightened to be able to reasonably evaluate whether they need an ambulance or not.
2. If people were able to have quick and affordable access to primary care, medical directors would be MUCH more willing to implement refuse-to-transport policies. I was working at an agency that had them during the height of the pandemic, and it was a huge burden off our backs to not have to transport everyone with a trivial case of the sniffles, toe pain, or inebri-itis. If we could sit down with people in their living rooms and help them make an appointment with their doctor for the next day, there are so many people we simply wouldn't have to transport. EDIT: And our agencies could bill for those consults!
Finally, as a corollary, CMS needs to increase reimbursements for both ambulance transports and physician-led primary care. Both are currently so pathetically low that they simply don't pay for the cost of doing business.
If a snarky comment to a dispatcher is the only thing their leadership sees, they need to replace everyone in management from the top down. EMS in the US is on the verge of collapse in many places.
This guy is being pushed to the point of threatening to drive his unit into a ravine and he’s still being disciplined. It’s like they WANT us to get to this point
As a medic in TN if they would cut out half the BS calls we go on that would F***ing relieve some of the strain. Going to a toe pain or cough for two weeks at 2 in the morning is getting old. I feel this guys pain.
They should give all the bs calls to IFT ambulances
It’s not so much the response that’s the issue, it’s agency policies forcing crews to transport non urgent patients via ambulance. Instead of just evaluating and refusing service if it’s not appropriate.
@@Kesen2003 Agree with this. ESD's in Texas are not allowed to refuse service to people even if they say that they do not have a medical complaint and just want to go to the ER to have a bed. It is an issue that needs to be addressed. Not everyone who calls 911 has a legitimate medical emergency. They could have had someone drive them to the ER for the "jaw pain" they have had for 1 month.
Or responding to the same junkie patient who’s overdosed 6 times in one shift? Those are the ones that really frustrate me, the frequent fliers who use emergency ambulances as their own personal taxi service.
Than find another job that's what you calls working in the public a public job with public problems quit bitching go get another.
*DUDE is at his max gross load!* 36 years I’ve been doing this, I get it. not getting to go home on time, not getting to eat regularly, not getting to eat anything that didn’t come from a drive-through or a gas station, not getting to use the toilet when you need to, not getting to make plans with family because you’re probably going to get some mandatory overtime… all the genius civilians that say if you don’t like it quit and do something else- Everybody knows that. That’s why they quit, and that’s why staffing is a disaster.
Civilians will think and say things like this but then go after the Paramedics/EMT if they take long response times. If we quite then when you call no one will be there. They are being directly impacted. FIRE/EMS should be promoted in school and should have better pay. There are some garbage services out there that do not make being a Paramedic/EMT worth it.
Yeah, that about sums it up. At least they acknowledged the burnout rather than coming at him for being rude. You'd get it too, if on your 6th consecutive call your patient got upset because you wouldn't let them eat their pizza on the way to the hospital.
Nothing like being woken up for the fifth time in the night and the patient is furious and cussing you out because you won't let them smoke inside the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
We're all struggling. This EMT is my hero bro. He says what we all want to.
They have no units.. They are tired
I feel him
As a former career EMT and Paramedic in a high violent crime rate, murder rate, and high call volume things will never change until the the rate of pay equals an RN. a lont of medics go to RN school because of the pay and there is less stress.
Rn's will yell you they would not be a paramedic because od the stress. Most lay people don't know what a paramedic does and the stress that they are under.
MORE FIRST RESPONDERS DIE OF SUICIDE THAN IN THE LINE OF DUTY
@Mufi Rune Paramedic school is not.
@Mufi Rune not true, it’s an intense 6 month course
@Mufi Rune EMT on the job training is like 3 days and doesn't match up to what they teach in EMT school.
@Mufi Rune you're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?
@Mufi Rune people like you are why the problem exists. You should actually do research
Part of the problem is the absolutely stupid reasons some people are calling for. Nightmares, stubbed toes, teeth pain, chronic leg, back, or headaches. We have unfortunately made a society of 911 dependent people. Along with all the damn cell phone heroes, that call in because they think they saw someone lying down or something they think is not right. No one has the guts or time to just stop and go see first. Then with all this scared to death about liability we send ALL units running lights and sirens, putting EVERYONE crews and public at risk because someone has a belly ache for a week but they wont call their own doctor of ask family to take them in. 911 dependent.
This one hit the nail on the head for how im feeling today. Someone called because they saw a female lying near a tree after walking through a field. And so a 60,000lb quint was dispatched, an ALS ambulance, and 2 city officers. Oh and we ran lights and sirens through lunch traffic to get there. When we got there....unfounded. All that fuel, time, and RISK driving there. Bullshit.
Nailed it. 911 abusers are the worst.
As a EMS provider, it is about time we are heard.
this is not shocking. This is the norm. It’s been the norm for the 15 years I’ve had my license.
Moral is low in all of ems right now. Yes it’s part staffing, part pay, part PATIENTS…. I mean, it’s all struggling right now.
Quite true! EMS personnel frequently treated poorly, given minimal pay, long hours, and the directive to suck it up and make their calls.
Does anyone ever inquire as to how it affects their family, marriage, or children? This is not only a Baltimore issue; big ems/fire agencies all around America are in the same sad situation.
Facts. EMS is taken a toll now. Understaffed to underpaid. Why would a person work a job where you get lack of sleep and rest for 15-20 per hours? You can work at a fast food restaurant for that. What we do is important but it's taken for granted.
That man should not be punished for what he said . Go do his job , conduct yourself in the same manner and we'll go from there ! Good job fella!!!
What a legend 👏 this is a nation wide problem
Morale is a direct reflection of leadership
That medic is a hero. EMS would not be so overwhelmed if useful idiots stopped calling 911 for dumb reasons. Society today are needy and cannot do the right thing, calling 911 is the byproduct. While we are transporting a knucklehead for a cold or back pain, that little girl and many like her, waited. Heart attacks, strokes, diabetics all suffer for broken systems. I feel for you, brother.
Signed,
A paramedic (22 years) from a northeast urban area.
"It can't get any worse"??!!! Now you went and challenged them!!
He might as well have said the Q-word. Telling people to use 911 only for emergencies does two things: makes those who really need it hesitate, and those who don't go "challenge accepted."
*IT’S NOT JUST STAFFING CAUSING PROLONGED RESPONSE TIMES!* It’s 911 abuse: people that call for an ambulance because they think they get seen more quickly at the hospital, people that call for an ambulance when they could have gone in a family member’s car for their nausea and fever. People that call us for silly things like I can’t find the remote! That’s at least half the problem. Do you want to know why a Kidley broken and bleeding waiting for a ring to show up? Talk to the people who use us like a taxi, talk to the people who see us as a 24 foot long, 8 foot wide, 8 foot tall 7 1/2 ton obstacle to their life and don’t pull over so we can get by!
Spread the love. We share in the pain. From Cleveland EMS
As a paramedic in England it's no better.
Can we agree the fire department leaching off of EMS back is also a problem. Fire and EMS are 2 totally different things and shouldn’t be lumped into one financial category. The fire department probably needs more money but EMS probably needs it more but Fire is again and forever will be in the spotlight making it look like they are the heros.
"This is a disciplinary matter..." What are you going to do? Suspend him?
Great, suspend me for the days off request that was denied due to staffing
EMS is worked like a dog and paid like a slave. The experience can be just as heavy as most patients, and it goes under appreciated. I loved doing EMS, but the burnout hit and the valor wore off. Will never go back to it.
EMS should just quit, the only reason they get away with low pay is people still show up to work. Go to work at a warehouse and make twice as much, its not a hard choice.
I say this everyday in my area. EMS missed the biggest opportunity to not show up for work during the pandemic! That would have gotten a lot people’s and possibly politicians attention. All they have done on our area is start an EMS emergency counsel board that so far has been crickets. Once those politicians see the 3-6 million dollar price tag for county EMS they go real quiet and keep using the broken bandaid system that we have lol. Typical to go 15 or more dispatches between three volunteer FD’s and 3-4 paid services before an out of county paid service answers up!
Same Boat here in Michigan. Dude is an absolute unit. Dispatch can eat it! A938 Out!
as an emt drop out, that man deserves the world
All EMS personnel feels this way.
No proper pay and increased calls , sheesh, I'm ready to quit myself. Definitely over it
Just like police officers. All these jobs are overworked, understaffed and underpaid. I literally work everyday at my department it's madness.
Then quit…..
@@NguageTrains and that's the problem. We are. In droves. The problem is that no one is replacing the ones who quit
@@themanwithinflatableknees8770 nobody cares
@@NguageTrains that's also the fucking problem you smoothbrain
@@NguageTrains you WILL care when you need emergency services and they aren't there to take care of you.
The bigger issue is the skilled working class has been getting crunched between the politics and corporations for the past two decades. Start giving SKILLED working class people the pay and raises they are due for their hard work. We're paying people $15-20 to man a gas station or make a burrito but can't pay skilled workers 40$+... the government inflated minimum wage, no one is going to take on jobs like this unless you fix this inequity.
Many issues come in to play. Staffing issues dispatch not considering their crews. Management don’t care about crews as long as they keep units on the street. Society itself is to blame as well. Ppl are rude and have no respect. There is only so much a person can take before we snap back. The system is overwhelmed by ppl who do not need an ambulance. Young ppl calling for tummy aches, headaches anxiety attacks. Homeless ppl with free Obama phones calling because they want to get to the other end of town so they use an ambulance to get them to a hospital in that area. Homeless being transported 2 sometimes 3 times a day. Since Obama care ppl have been using the ER as their primary dr and they use an ambulance to get them there. Most transports don’t warrant an ambulance.
Agree Obama care is a JOKE
I worked in the industry as a Paramedic long before Obama and it was the Same then, Society fails to appreciate the service industry. Yet when those in need call who do they call! Yes EMS, LEO, FD!
Thank news people, this really helped the community
I support this man! Legend!
A friend of mine who works in private EMS, I won't personally say, actually knows the guy who said that and has the full audio. Lol
Clearly a sign of burnout. Elected officials across the country should be made to listen to this. EMS is in trouble and moral is in the toilet. Wishing the world would wake up and promote education, benefits, and pay for our EMS services. If it continues to be ignored we will only see more and more of this frustration widespread.
Health care in general is in crisis due to staffing shortages. There was a shortage before COVID and now it is even worse. Heath care workers are not robots, they need breaks also. A common unknown to the public is the unknown amount of OT that many are putting in to keep things up and running
People need to stop calling EMS as a taxi service.
The problem with our job isn't the job itself. The job itself is great. It's everything else. It's dispatch, management, making no money, and all the other bs we go through. If the job was nothing but you, your partner, patient care and driving this would be the best job in the world.
This is a nationwide problem. In Georgia, many departments are relying on rookies straight out of academy to serve in senior firefighter and EMS positions. This is literally killing people.
Hero. I’m leaving EMS. I have a job interview next week that isn’t related to EMS. Urban ambulance ops for $17 an hour is ridiculous. Soon there will be no trucks to respond, and I’m done fighting the good fight. There’s nothing more I can do.
And how do you fix a staffing problem, I wonder? Have you tried offering them a "thank you" pizza? Subway gift cards?
EMS - Texas we understand his Pain 🤣
Overlooked problem is all the stupid reasons people call 911 for, and that EMS can’t refuse transport. “I need an ambulance, I’ve had a tummy ache for three months” 🤦🏻♂️ Too many calls for stupid things running the 911 system into the ground
as a paramedic in charlotte we're in the same sinking boat
Got those drivers full of anxiety 🙉🙉🙉💂♂️
Offer to train people for free and fill the gaps. A lot people can't afford to pay for schooling. Everyone loves free, and people will come in droves to educate themselves and work. We are at an impass in the work world. Do this and solve your problems. Training has to ve paid as well. Incentives work!
@@NguageTrains you seriously have no idea what this job is like and it shows, guaranteed you’ve never spent a shift on an ambulance
@@patrick4841 have fun with that 12.00 an hour rate from AMR…. Pathetic
@@NguageTrains You are as ignorant to what you are saying. What kind of job do you have sir?
@@patrick4841 That’s what I thought no comeback 😂
@@NguageTrains are you sure you have a job? Cause it looks like you spend a lot of time trying to argue with people on youtube lol
Anyone in EMS feels like this guy. I don’t blame him at all
Some members… SOME members… the turnover rate in ems are high af, most of us hate our jobs because of staffing not even because of the job. Like… we need more pay, better benefits, and more people but instead we get the casual frequent flier that wants to go to the hospital when they can just walk there or drive there. This man is a hero to us and if you don’t like that, try to change it in a real way instead of just firing people.
As a paramedic i understand 😔😔 i wouldn't have jumped on the radio and said that but i understand 😔😔
This issue has been going on for years...but nobody cared. I've been a Paramedic since 1996, and have only seen things get worse. Used to work Paramedic/Paramedic truck. Now you're lucky to have an EMT partner who is experienced and not brand new.
This is so awesome, I would pay to see that EMT drive that ambulance into the mayor's jewel of a sespool. This tells how bad this city is, I feel for these men and women that works for the city ambulance services. Besides the Ambulance service, the fire department are the only 2 city agencies that is not corrupt and they are committed to protecting the public, unlike the corrupt city police, mayor's office and the city's AG office.
Some countries on the Old European continent use "taxi service" where the taxi driver write a receipt to the patient. This pay later your health insurance.
Some cities use "special private ambulance services" how are technically are "taxis with light health equipment and light/siren" for typical patients how can't use own car/motorbike/public transport or should lying down if the go to/from doctor/hospital. The light/siren is if something health happend e.g. breathing problem, heart attack, aso. They are for all "non emergency" transport and help to make free real EMS services. Some are do duty at concerts or public parties eg. marathon, CSD, aso. for extra income too.
The German Red Cross/St. John/St. Malta sell lunch food and have an own emercency call office for older/lying down patients with security personnel how looks what happend (and inform family or EMS depends the situation).
I really wonder why nobody "create that" in a country with so a long automobile era and things same Uber/Lyft/Sixt ...
Shocking? No. Quit sensationalizing it. This is the state of public safety. Wages are low, staffing is non existent, and I’ve never seen morale this low nationwide.
Enrollment in to EMS programs in colleges are at an all time low.
Baltimore isnt the only place feeling this either. This is nationwide
Either they’re not paying enough to the employees or they aren’t going to high schools and encouraging kids to become an EMT, EMS drivers, etc.
I remember when I went to the Baltimore fire expo a long time ago (10+ years ago) and I got to talk with both city firefighters and Baltimore county firefighters and both agencies told me to apply to the county department and to stay away from the city department. This has been an issue for a long time.
They should call in the National Guard Medical and Fire Fighting Units to support them.
They need to pay more. They are trying to hire more but at a 38k salary it’s absolutely trash and not even a livable wage.
Idk who in their right mind would choose to live in Baltimore these days. That city just needs to give up and shut down.
This is a clear sign that if the city doesn’t get it together. There will be no EMS
On my way! A real Paramedic is coming! 🚑🚑🚑🙏🏽
Here's my question:. Why is there such a high staff shortage? I have my own theories, but let's here from those that are in the streets.
If 911 could filter the NON EMERGENCIES then there would be plenty of ambulances available. Instead they’re left transporting someone who’s leg hurts, they threw up, have a headache, coughed…. The list goes on. Don’t call 911 unless it is life or death. Period.
This not only highlights the severe understaffing that is going on in the entire healthcare system, but also shows a second, very insideous problem: Dispatch (or "fire communications") and the providers on the street are _systemically_ played against each other.
When we complain about long calls and bad info, all we get to hear is that it's dispatches fault. And all they get to hear when complaining about not enough ambulances for the call volume is that we are lazy and take too long with everything and that we need to be... let's call it "sheppparded" into going available asap.
This causes an often hostile tension between dispatchers NEEDING an ambulance NOW, because there is a cardiac arrest and the next available unit is 20 mikes out on the one hand - and medics who have been working for 5 hours straight, without so much as 5 minutes for a protein bar, staring at the back of a bombed out ambulance after the last messy call, wondering what magic wand dispatch thinks they should wave to become available.
And the sad truth is: the upper echelon does this despite knowing full well that it is neither dispatch nor the medics who are at fault. But hey, maybe if we pit them against each other they don't realize they really should be protesting us all over the country. And what drives me MAD is that it's working... I have so many colleagues who have nothing but the worst words for dispatch and regularly have conversations similar to this one. It really, really bothers me.
But unfortunately we are not important enough in the public eye to be worth any votes...
FYI it’s just not Baltimore, it’s all ove the us. The EMS system is collapsing. No one is seeing this.
Im not sure if this is official-policy, but it seems like my county will dispatch either law-enforcement or a fire-truck when the 911-dispatch receives a medical-distress call. If that 1st-responder finds an actual medical-emergency, they call in the paramedics; if its not an actual emergency, they just tell the person all the ambulances are busy and to have someone drive them to either their doctor or urgent-care.
*Carer EMTS/Fire Fighters complaining about pay*
The other 70% of fire personnel who aren’t paid a penny: “welcome to the club”
I’m with the paramedic on this. Bro was getting his time off one way or another
This is literally the thought of every first responder so it’s pretty funny.
Would you work in Baltimore? Hell no!
Budget for 2021:
Fire and EMS: 288 million
Corrupt cops: 4 billion
Hm.....
Overworked and grossly underpaid. Nationwide they need more staff and more pay. Main reason for lack of staff is the lack of pay
I was a medic for 10 years. There’s not enough money to make me go back to it.
Start accepting Vol. FIREFIGHTERS, Just as Fire Personnel and Ems Volunteers for Ems. Like parts of PA are doing. That way a FIREFIGHTER doesn't need to be a Emt.
Volunteers? In a major metropolitan department? Brilliant. There's a reason that no one does it
Civilians: Oh my this horrible how could this happen.
1st Responders : Good for this dude fight the system.
Pay them more .
Good for him he spoke out because it does take a toll on you. The problem is he is not sleeping enough and not sleeping well!!!! Duh like gtfo
Ems, fire dep,police. Nurses, lpns, cnas, doctors have lives to other than work and sometimes the demand of work causes extreme strain in one’s life ✅
I’m sure everyone is thinking what I’m thinking. If the general public would just act with what us in the field would call “due regard”, the city would be a better place. There is just entirely way too many ppl living and working in a small geographical area that everyone gets impatient and has short tolerance levels. I am so glad I’m out of that whole area. Out of the eastern seaboard. It’s was like no matter what you do, the calls won’t stop for a second. The DC area stays out of units to respond to calls. And if the general public would stop making calls for just an “Uber ride” with lights and siren, those who have real emergencies would be tended to a little bit sooner. To those who don’t work in ambulances, let me explain to you. Just because you’re feeling sick, or you banged your toe does not mean we will turn the lights and siren on for ya. You won’t be seen any faster. Their is a system called “triage” and literally unless you are dying, or we see the signs of you “circling the drain” you and your crew that sent you the hospital will have to stay in line and remain out of service until the hospital determines where to put you (bed or waiting room or God forbid a trauma bay). The crew doesn’t like waiting in line anymore than you do. They would rather be helping the public with real problems. That’s why they got into this field in the first place
That man is a hero
Emergency personnel do not get paid enough. It's horrible
It's like this everywhere. Firefighters love their job. But when you're running non stop every day for a full 24 hours it will take a toll. Hire more people to share the load so morale can stay high.
There's a firefighter shortage right, there Noone to hire.
1000 percent know how he felt...
Maxine hasn't had sleep deprivation like that. He was in hell day that day..looks like she's understands it wasn't a laughing matter.
OK..... We were given virtually NO real information here.
We were told that BFD has staffing issues and that personnel are tired and frustrated.
Fair enough........ I don't doubt that for one moment.
But WHY? What are the underlying problems?
Having lived just outside of Balto' City and worked IN Balto' City for more than 30 years, I have my suspicions.
I'd just like to see SOMEONE from the City Govt. actually have the courage to address the issues and DO something about it.
Everybody says they appreciate first responders until that tax vote comes… they show us our value to them by voting down the very money that could help us in the most impactful way. Also weak city and county officials too afraid of losing their precious seat at the table to just do what’s right. Pathetic.
Thank god this dude wasn’t a cop
If theyre half as busy as we are in santa clara county i say do it brother. I support you lol.
Man I hope they get their staffing situation handled because it’s dangerous for the ppl of the city of Baltimore and the workers also. I wonder what’s going on with the hiring process? Many ppl probably don’t want to do those type of job but somethings gotta be done to protect the ppl and the workers
You figure this would be in NYC or Philly, or elsewhere, but not in Baltimore.
I feel you, bro.
Start training the older "squeege kids".
PAY EMS PAY EMS PAY EMS PAY EMS PAY EMS PAY EMS
Fire Department underpays and overworks EMS
*EMS threatens to yeet ambulance in harbor*
Brain dead fire Union: Uhhhh we don’t know how to fix this.