Medavie Health Services is looking for help when it comes to calling 911 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Troy Davies Director of Public Affairs with Medavie Health Services explains that situations have occurred where paramedics arrive at the scene of an emergency to find patients with symptoms or instances where they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Davies says that this is an obvious safety concern, and forces paramedics to leave the building to put on personal protective equipment, taking up valuable response time.
Davies adds that any complaints of shortness of breath or fever will have an automatic screening for COVID-19, but it’s the everyday emergencies, for example if someone was to fall off a ladder and injure themselves, that Medavie requests help with.
Medavie is asking the public to be up front and honest during an emergency. It is imperative that in all emergency calls people lets operators know if they’ve been tested for COVID-19, have been at any gatherings with 10 or more people in the last 14 days or if you have any symptoms that include fever, cough, or shortness of breath. This pre-screening information will allow paramedics to take the proper personal protective equipment precautions before heading out on a call. Medavie adds that communication specialists aim to get as much information from calls as possible, and honesty during all calls can make the difference in a paramedic being exposed to COVID-19.
