Evening star., 1943-03-10
Ambulance
Continued From First Page

ancles, derelictions, and errors which
need study and correction"
New Plan Believed improvement.
Inspector Miller suggested that
some Improvement already was in
dicated by the order. issued by DO
lice officials after The Star had pro-
tested delay in dispatching of am
balances, under which police scout
car ambulances are to be available
When needed. He said compliance
with this order always would in
sure transportation of an injured
person to a hospital without undue
delay.
The report states that in one wear
Casualty Hospital made over 1l.O0C
runs, with about IS per cent of the
accident victims being treated or
the scene. In the same year, ii
stated, Emergency Hospital ambu-
lances made about 1000 runs. treat
ing about % per cent on the scene.
This indicates that Emergency
Hospital did not send on calls until
they were reasonably sure q doctor
was needed. This operates to ad-
vantage sometimes and again to dis
advantage. The operator or nurse
at Emergency questions callers quite
extensively to determine if it is an
emergency.
Discusses Recent Case.
This prevents the ambulance
from going on false calls. thereby
having it available for legitimate
emergencies. 1t may also have the
effect, sometimes, which may have
been the case in the incident on
March l, of causing delays. The
hospital may have received the call
from The Star reporter and other
citizens, but because a request had
not been received from the Police
Department, the ambulance was
not considered necessary"
In the March l case, Miss Char
lottee M. Blood, "a, of 1886 K street
NE. was struck by a streetcar at
Eleventh street and PENNSYLVANIA
avenue, suffering head injuries.
Police Pvt. Raymond G. Mitchell
on duty there, covered the woman
with his overCoat and called the
police radio dispatcher. Star en-
ployes, witnessing the accident. also
repeatedly called for an ambulance
and were told one was on the way
but the woman lay in the street for
q minutes before aid arrived. Final
ly she was taken TO the hospital in a
police patrol wagon. An ambulance
arrived later.
Fees Questioned.
Inspector Miller, urging stricter
contracts with the hospitals on am
bulance service, said apparently the
fee now paid by the District for
responses to ambulance calls was not
large enough to be attractive, and
as a result, the ambulance will not
be sent on anything but urgent cases
and not great distance on these"
Summing up his report on the
case involving Miss Blood. Inspector
Miller said, TN my Judgment the
delay was due to some extent to:
ID The failure of the dispatcher in
not sending an ambulance as re-
quested by Pvt. Mitchell. who made
the call about $40 am; (2) the
action Of Pvt. Mitchell and Pvt.
E. J. Long "a motorcycle officer who
went to the scene) in giving the
message to the dispatcher direct,
instead of to the Central Bureau
operator as reollireS nv tho dapar+
ments orders, and thereby wasting
a certain amount of valuable time
and CD the delay on the part of
some one at Emergency in not hav-
ing the ambulance respond promptly
after receiving the call from the
representative OF The Star at 8:l8
a m, or possibly before. There also
was some delay after receiving the
call from the Police Department" ;"