I thought that this little snippet from todays' Bangkok Post was worth an airing here.........
Reckless rescue
Driving home one evening I saw flashing lights some distance behind me accompanied by the sound of siren. Yes, the vehicle belonged to one of those charities with rescue volunteers.
As usual the emergency vehicle was speeding recklessly with the lives of casualties on board at stake. The pick-up seemed to be heading towards a hospital in a Soi I know and I felt an urge to follow it.
I just wanted to see whether the reckless driving a moment ago is worth the risk. I caught up with the vehicle just as the casualty was coming out _ a lone man walking with a slight limp on his not so severely wounded foot.
Now, even with a seriously injured casualty on board, reckless driving and speeding can not be justified.
These rescue volunteers are very much mistaken in believing that there is a need to rush the sick or the injured to the hospital as quickly as possible, and that speeding is justified.
I have read a paramedic manual published in a developed country and it emphasised that appropriate first aid is the primary objective.
Secondary objective is to transport the injured to the nearest hospital promptly at reasonably safe speed.
Using common sense and logic, say the hospital is half an hour away, excessive speed would merely cut five or ten minutes at most from the usual pace _ provided the ambulance didn't roll over or crash into someone else's car on the way.
An improper first aid could contribute to worsening injury condition of the traumatised patient in the first place and shorter transportation time might not be of any help at all.
Rescue personnel who still drive this way must no longer be praised for their despicable and physically dangerous acts.
Another case of reckless rescue driving occurred some time ago when a large hotel in Pattaya had a fire. The blaze got of control and rescue workers were called in to help a large number of casualties.
One of the rescue vehicles speeding to the hospital rolled off the road, setting itself on fire and killing those on board.
It is time to properly train and upgrade these so-called rescue volunteers.
Each and every one of them ought to be thoroughly screened to rid off the tradition of praising the fastest drivers and craziest staffs as being the best.
I am sure that training these personnel is very cost effective and socially beneficial.
In fact, these training might not even cost a baht if sponsored by charities or even one or two large multinational petroleum companies.
My opinion is that there should be a clear definition of the responsibilities and roles of the fire brigade and the rescue charities.
In developed countries, the fire brigade is responsible for rescuing the people and are well trained technically and morally. They are loved by the people.
A family member who works in the fire brigade is respected just as much as a soldier who is willing to sacrifice his life for the country (in this case of the fireman, to save another person's life).
Looking back at the Thai fire brigade and I cannot help feeling a sense of despair.
A friend of mine lives in a crowded soi and he told me that each house in that soi need to have a ''sizeable'' cash reserve in case a fire breaks out.
The money is needed to pay the firemen or else there would be ''no water available'' to extinguish if a fire breaks out.
Casualties from accidents and various other incidents need medical and physical assistance provided by adequately trained personnel to make it through.
Sufficient number of suitable tools and equipment are also required to perform rescue operations.
Specifically prepared ambulances and trained personnel are needed for medical assistance, not slightly prepared pick-up trucks currently used to transport both rotten corpses and injured people by ill-trained ''volunteers''.
Jessada Tandhasetti is former department head of automotive engineering studies at Rangsit University and is currently a technical consultant. He holds a master's degree in automotive engineering from Technical University, Berlin, Germany.
Very fine thoughts and words - unfortunately the chances of any such action here is just a pipe dream...
...or are all you non stoppers really just that callous?
