News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes by lupire on Sunday April 14, 2024 @01:35PM (#40032775)
Even if you consider ambulance emergency service should be public service, that "sirens" argument doesn't apply to non-emergency care where you have time to make a selection among private competitors.
Re:Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes by tyre on Sunday April 14, 2024 @01:36PM (#40032783)
If it is non-emergency, why do they need sirens?
Re:Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes by Y_Y on Sunday April 14, 2024 @01:38PM (#40032801)
To lure sailors to their deaths
Re:Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes by dessimus on Sunday April 14, 2024 @01:45PM (#40032863)
Meh, we got Congress to do that already.
Re:Hospitals that make profits should pay taxes by FireBeyond on Sunday April 14, 2024 @02:05PM (#40033025)
Paramedic here. Patients who are stable, we generally transport to the hospital "routine" (no lights/sirens). Similar for inter-facility transport (taking someone from a nursing facility to chemo or imaging).

The only reasons we generally transport "priority" (lights/sirens) is for unstable patients or time critical: acute cardiac or respiratory issues, stroke, hemorrhagic or multi-system trauma, or shock.

But even patients presenting stable can deteriote en route.

As an aside, generally, in most areas, what makes the biggest difference to getting a patient to definitive care in a timely manner is not lights/sirens, nor speed, it's "Opticom" (also known as traffic light pre-empting). Visual (strobe), or occasionally radio that communicates with traffic lights to give us a steady flow of green lights. That coupled with people moving over is the big difference. Speed is just an increased liability (fun fact, most state laws grant emergency vehicle drivers the ability to 'disregard' any road law while operating in any emergency mode, but that comes with a "presumptively at-fault" for any incident that occurs in that mode, i.e. you will be considered at fault unless there's evidence to the contrary).