I dispatch non-emergency medical rides.
I got a call from a woman who was upset because one of her patients in this Nursing Facility (80-year-old man) with dialysis (if he does not have this treatment he will die) can no longer get his life saving treatment because he has COVID. He needs this treatment 3 times a week or he will die.
He got his treatment today. One of their nurses scheduled him a trip knowing it was not okay, or unaware. And one of our dispatchers ignored the big red covid alert or didn't care and scheduled this man a ride to dialysis.
We could not give him a ride back. I received a call from the nurse. Asking me to give him a ride back. That is how I found out about this situation. I immediately notice the big Red Alerts. I know I am not supposed to schedule this ride.
I could have made the ride. I could have hoped that, like earlier, the driver did not pay attention and picks up the patient. And that the dispatcher who created the trip does not get in trouble and that the nursing facility gets blamed for calling repeatedly trying to get us to make it. But I could get in trouble, because I KNOW not to make the ride. The other agent also could have gotten reprimanded.
And hoped I see all kinds of notes about COVID and the facility calling trying to schedule even though they are not supposed to. Because of 'public safety or health concerns.'
I reach out to my supervisor like should I make this ride? They said no. If he needs a ride back, the nurses need to call an ambulance. Because they kept calling, us knowing we should not take them. Legally, usually, if we take someone there, we have to take them back home. But not this time, because they knew they should not have made this ride.
I let the nurses know, we could not give the 80-year-old dialysis patient a ride back from his life saving treatment he always needs. And that we should not have given him a ride there to his life saving treatment. And they needed to call an ambulance to take him home.
The Nurse was mad and asked to speak to escalations. She started asking why she is getting calls from the federal government because of this situation. She said we were wrong for this, and that the government is getting involved now. She sounded flustered and confused. I informed her respectfully, that the government funds the private corporation that gives her patients rides. And so, in a way they have been involved this entire time. I transferred her over to the escalations department, knowing that nothing would change. That ride should not have been made, and that old man will need to travel by ambulance home. And in the end, I was told he took an ambulance.
In America, an ambulance ride cost anywhere from 1K to 3K. The hospitals and doctors make you pay a shit ton for the most basic of things.
Who is going to fund this old man's ride? COVID should be gone quickly. And he should text negative within a few days. But this old man was in a wheelchair. Was unable to use public transportation and could not exit the wheelchair during travel. (Unless someone could pick him up). If he cannot find transportation and is forced to use an ambulance for about 6 rides. That could end up being a lot of money, but that might end up being okay if it's only a few rides. If for some reason in the future, he has to take an ambulance for a longer period, would he survive? No one wanted to call/pay for an ambulance for one ride for life saving treatment. What happens when he needs to take an ambulance for a longer period of time?
And why is the government suddenly popping up in this particular situation? The lady did not mention why or who had contacted her. They were either trying to find someone to take accountability for this failure, so they do not have to, or they were trying to find transportation for this old man some other way?
My very next call was someone with a heavy Indian accent, and they were calling to file a complaint about their driver being/acting racist. America.