Originally Posted by
cmrtn7
Is there anyway to get an ambulance crew to transport one to the hospital that they want to go to instead of the hospital that they (the ambulance crew) want to take the patient to? Such as for a service connected disabled Vet. Is there anyway to get the ambulance crew to transport one to the VA instead of a "civilian" hospital?
Usually No. The VA Hospital in my City will not accept trauma or cardiac patients. We are screamed at if we attempt to do so (by the staff at the VA.) Trauma patients go to the Trauma Center, even bypassing other hospitals. This is State (PA) Law.
This may vary in differant cities, but most VAs are not set up for Emergency Patients.
(30 year Paramedic)
+1
There are myriad factors involved in which hospital a patient is taken to. For example, in my district, there's ONE hospital, a small rural critical access hospital. There are only two ambulances for a massive, sparsely populated area. If you wanted to be taken to a hospital out of our district, we'd say no, because we can't take 50% of our ambulances and paramedics out of district for 3 hours (the time it takes to get to the next closest hospital and back.) If you met trauma activation criteria, you'd get taken to the nearest trauma center. If you were having a STEMI, you'd go to the nearest cath lab (also a 3 hour round trip, but worth it to get you on the table ASAP) Patient preference is at the bottom of the list of reasons to go to a specific hospital.
I mean, sure, if the stars align and we can swing it, we'll do what we can to make sure you end up where you want. But often the decision is completely out of our hands.