MickJoe Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Does anyone know what happens if someone suffers a major trauma in the sticks where there is no hospital within a close drive? Suppose you live in a very rural area that has no 911 service and you suffer a major trauma at 2:00 am? Are there paramedics you can call? Do you call the fire department? And if so, where do they take you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrogirl Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Nowadays you should be able to call 911 from anywhere in Canada that you can get phone service. The dispatch center might be far away, but they can connect you with the nearest emergency services. But in the days before rural areas had 911, usually you would call the closest fire department or RCMP station, tell them where you are, and stay on the phone until they get there. I'm from a rural area (but not terribly remote and not far from a hospital) and used to have the fire department number programmed into our phone before we had 911. Most firefighters are also trained paramedics, so any fire department should be able to help. If there is someone else with a car (and it's safe to move the person), another thing that people sometimes do is get in the car and drive towards in the direction that the paramedics would be coming from in order to meet them halfway and get help sooner. And they'll do whatever they can in the ambulance while taking you to the closest hospital. Depending on the remoteness of the area, there also might be some kind of life flight helicopter/air ambulance type service that can help get the person to a hospital. If you're in a really remote area, the fire department can probably at least get you somewhere where you can be airlifted to a hospital, and they can do basic life support on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviathan Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 What astro said is bang on. Just call 911 and give your location and the nearest ambulance will come and take you to the closest hospital, even if it was an hour away. Firefighters are not trained as paramedics though except in a few places like Winnipeg. Most firefighters have around 5-10 days of first aid training to know how to stop deadly bleeding, do CPR/use an AED, give oxygen, and other basic skills before paramedics arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2bat0r Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 My first posting as a paramedic was in a town called Sayward (NW vancouver island), I think they had a population of approx. 500. I worked there for six months and probably didn't do more than a dozen calls! Most of the calls were for MVA's on the highway outside of town, some of the most extreme accidents I have been to were in "the sticks". Usually the caller drove until they found cell service or sometimes went to a residence to call 9-1-1. Our response times were often up to an hour because it was a huge stretch of road with little coverage between towns. And because of this back-up was not a valid option, I'm not sure about now, but before not even the choppers would respond because they couldn't make the trip back as there was nowhere to re-fuel (they come from Van.). Biggest learning curve of my career for sure! No cell communications, no higher level of care, the town didn't even have a clinic or a family physician, my biggest crutch was the volunteer fire department. Those guys/girls were amazing, they didn't get paid a cent and they always turned out in the middle of the night in a rainstorm to help out, champions. It was a challenge in so many ways, most of the time there was two or more major trauma patients. Extrication was usually tricky, and the FD out there didn't have all the fancy tools, like they do in the city. Once the patients were stabilized it was a long and twisted journey to the nearest hospital (hour and a half at least) while trying to complete assessments (treatments, vitals, etc.) on multiple people. My experiences out there really taught me to think on my feet, there was never black or white, just a solid shade of grey. You should have faith when your in the middle of nowhere, that if something goes wrong you'll still be in good hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickJoe Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Thanks for your answers everyone! I'd never thought about what they do for emergencies in rural areas. medicg - I would think that your experiences bring something truly unique to your application (if you're not in med school already.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiga gal Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 interesting question... we don't have 9-1-1 in the NWT, much to the chagrin of visitors who try calling it when they need help! we have to remember a 7 digit no. for Ambulance/fire (873-2222) and police (669-1111)!!! the talk has gone on a long time to get 9-1-1- but it comes at a price. Bell Mobility has been charging NT customers a small fee each month for the 9-1-1 service even though we can't use it! one man started a lawsuit against Bell, it is now a class action for millions... huh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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