Fallout from the sudden collapse of the A.de.Camp of the president during the SONA. Putting matters into perspective.
1. The casualty is a military officer and an ADC to the President.
2. The President’s team normally has its medical team which is responsible for the well-being of the President and the team around him. The Vice president likewise has his own team in such events.
3. Due to security reasons, no other medical personnel are permitted to be too close to the president and his team or to even attend to any of the team should an emergency occur. One may only assist if he or she is instructed to do so in such instances.
4. Normally when the ambulance service attends such events, we are expected to provide medical cover for the general public, certain important personalities and other security services.
5. There are so many protocols and restrictions inside the inner chamber due to security reasons which generally hinder proper casualty management.
6. Certain medical equipment such as the foldable stretcher are not allowed Within the inner chambers thereby restricting rapid evacuation of Casualties.
7. There is also a restriction on the number of EMTs that are permitted in the inner chamber.
8. Looking at the video critically the casualty was already brought onto his feet by the security personnel around him even before the EMTs got to the stage to assist in evacuating him from the stage away from the cameras and the public view.
9. In such a high-security zone there was no way the EMTs could have lowered the casualty back onto the ground behind the president after being brought onto his feet by the security to begin an intervention by exposing the officer in front of the cameras without any shield.
10. When the officer was assisted down the stage, the space and crowd couldn’t allow the EMTs to immediately place the patient on the ground for proper casualty care. The EMTs intended to quickly assist the casualty since he had gained a little consciousness to the lobby which was a few meters away to properly provide the needed casualty care.
11. The casualty was finally loaded onto the stretcher into the ambulance after back and forth with the military personnel who were there and didn’t want to agree for the casualty to be sent into the ambulance.
12. All in all the team has done an incident debriefing and has noticed certain challenges that need to be addressed.
13. We encourage EMTs to give feedback and engage in constructive criticism that will help personnel improve patient care in such situations and not one that will dampen the morale of the EMTs who have given their all to serve the Service and the Country.
