what is better - calling 911, or driving to the ER?

[Anonymous]

If it's life threatening, call 911. They will have equipment if needed that you would not have in a car. My friend had to be intubated in an ambulance on the way to the hospital because she had such bad breathing problems.

There was a local news story a couple of years ago about a couple who called 911 en route to the hospital because they had to pull over and perform CPR because someone's condition had deteriorated so bad while driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd call 911. Even with a broken bone, if it was my daughter, I don't think I'd be able to drive safely with her wailing. And strap her into her car seat? Fuggedaboudit.

p
You are crazy

[Anonymous]

In DC- drive yourself.

VA or MD- call 911

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is one better, safer, etc. than the other? Or do you think it depends on the situation?

Of course it depends on the circumstance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:911 most definitly. You get to skip the line when you come in an ambulance. If you are near a busy hospital like Fairfax, you can sit in the waiting room for 8 hours with a broken leg.

See, I wouldn't call 911 for a broken leg. Unless I had no way of getting to treatment on my own (no one to give me a ride) -- I'd expect to get to have to get myself or my family member to the hospital with broken bones.

Suspected broken neck or back -- I'd call 911.

Gunshot wound? I keep thinking of that Beltway Sniper victim -- the kid who was shot outside of his school. I think it was his aunt with him, and she picked him up and drove him ASAP to the hospital and that very likely saved his life versus waiting for the ambulance to get there. (But they were close)

I know someone whose child fell off the monkey bars, and when they moved her the jagged edge of her broken bone slit her femoral artery. She almost bled to death.

So, no way I'm moving my kid with a broken bone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on a situation. If it's a broken bone or something that is not life threatening, I'd drive or cab. Life threatening situations, always call 911. You might want to consider that they will bill YOU for the ambulance ride if it's not life threatening.

In MOCO you can no longer be billed for ambulance rides.

[Anonymous]

I'm in MoCo and the average ambulance (basic life support, not advanced life support) response time is well under 6 minutes all over the County. If I lived somewhere were response times were longer and/or not reliable, I'd probably drive, depending on the injury/illness.

[Anonymous]

I am a nurse. Call 911 if its life threatening. I cant stress this enough. The emts can call ahead to let the er know to expect you and you will be able to get you right in rather than you having to walk in and go through triage.

[Anonymous]

I have made too many trips by ambulance lately...and more to the ER...

There are three reasons to go buy ambulance:
1) you are alone in an emergency...for me, this was a house fire where I was burned trying to put it out...I needed medical care. The ambulance came with the fire trucks...I thought about just having my wife drive, but they were already there...

--triage at the hospital put me in a low priority group.

2) Passed out during a stress test....coded (no heart beat for 20 seconds). I was not given a choice...
--triage put me in the highest priority...and I stayed a week.

3) Passed out in the middle of the night with severe abdominal cramping, broke my nose on the impact...rule of thumb....if you wake up on the floor in a pool of blood call 911...(FWIW, they did not find the cause of the cramping, but did discover I had cancer).
--hospital was empty, so they took me right in..no wait for anything.


Non-911 trips...

1) Christmas day, so urgent care not open....fell on Ice down a set out outdoor stairs, cracked a rib. I knew something was wrong. I could drive, and drove myself to the ER.

2) Post surgery, wound opened up (part 1)....

3) Post surgery, would became infected after 3 or 4 weeks...went to urgent care first, they could not handle it -- like oh my god...this is horrible...at ER, was told no big deal, but it was appropriate.

911 is appropriate if it is a potentially life threatening incident.

[Anonymous]

If the person is unconscious call 911.

You will waste a lot of time trying to get them into the car because a dead weight is so unwieldy. At the receiving end, the ER will have a hard time getting equipment to help get the person out of the car. EMTs have the equipment and knowledge for safely moving unconscious people.

I've DIYed this twice and was told both times by ER staff I should have called 911 even though the situations were not truly life threatening.

[Anonymous]

never drive instead of calling an ambulance if the incident involves a threat to airway. (difficulty breathing), relates to cardiac trouble, or affects level of conciousness or if bleeding is significant. remember the issue is only how fast the ambulance can get to your house - once the ambulance is at your home they can stabilize and provide support you cannot on the drive to the hospital.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in MoCo and the average ambulance (basic life support, not advanced life support) response time is well under 6 minutes all over the County. If I lived somewhere were response times were longer and/or not reliable, I'd probably drive, depending on the injury/illness.

+1. we are very fortunate to have quick response times.

[Anonymous]

I have made too many trips by ambulance lately...and more to the ER...

There are three reasons to go buy ambulance:
1) you are alone in an emergency...for me, this was a house fire where I was burned trying to put it out...I needed medical care. The ambulance came with the fire trucks...I thought about just having my wife drive, but they were already there...

--triage at the hospital put me in a low priority group.

2) Passed out during a stress test....coded (no heart beat for 20 seconds). I was not given a choice...
--triage put me in the highest priority...and I stayed a week.

3) Passed out in the middle of the night with severe abdominal cramping, broke my nose on the impact...rule of thumb....if you wake up on the floor in a pool of blood call 911...(FWIW, they did not find the cause of the cramping, but did discover I had cancer).
--hospital was empty, so they took me right in..no wait for anything.


Non-911 trips...

1) Christmas day, so urgent care not open....fell on Ice down a set out outdoor stairs, cracked a rib. I knew something was wrong. I could drive, and drove myself to the ER.

2) Post surgery, wound opened up (part 1)....

3) Post surgery, would became infected after 3 or 4 weeks...went to urgent care first, they could not handle it -- like oh my god...this is horrible...at ER, was told no big deal, but it was appropriate.

911 is appropriate if it is a potentially life threatening incident.

to the PP, I really hope things improve for you. Sounds very very rough. I'm so sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:911 most definitly. You get to skip the line when you come in an ambulance. If you are near a busy hospital like Fairfax, you can sit in the waiting room for 8 hours with a broken leg.

This is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will be seen faster if arriving by ambulance.

Absolutely untrue. You will be triaged just like everyone else. Your Means of transportation has NOTHING TO DO with when you are seen. This is a huge myth. People will often call 911 if they can't afford a cab, don't have access to regular to medical care and want to their baby's cough checked out.

-EMT