Much like Baltimore County (MD), the Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department has adjusted its policy to allow certain patients to be transported on fire apparatus, reports losangeles.cbslocal.com. A pandemic-spurred lack of ambulances and resources brought on both decisions.
The policy allows fire apparatus to transport patients, albeit under strict guidelines: the patient must be conscious and alert, able to walk and stand, and must be able to sit in a seat on the truck. Also, they’re only to be used if ambulance response times are exceptionally high, according to the report.
The move comes parallel to the department implementing a new dispatch system for ambulances, as officials say the ambulance companies that the county contracts have also been decimated by COVID.
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