Ambulance Incident In D.C. Highlights Need For Oversight
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A D.C. woman ended up leaving an ambulance after the paramedics who were transporting her got into a verbal altercation.
Rose Preston was experiencing the symptoms of a stroke when she called 911 for help. The paramedics who arrived began to engage in what appeared to be a personal argument between themselves. “They were constantly bickering back and forth with one another, and to the point that I felt so uncomfortable,” Preston said.
The woman couldn’t tell what they were arguing about but she claims that the argument was so disconcerting that she chose to leave the vehicle and fend for herself, rather than be transported by the arguing paramedics. “I didn’t feel safe being transported by the vehicle,” said Preston, an Army veteran. She left the vehicle while the two got into a heated exchange.
Preston claims the paramedics didn’t even care that she was leaving or ask her to sign a standard patient refusal form. “A total lack of professionalism in every way you can imagine,” she said.
Preston learned that she did not have a stroke, but Bell’s palsy, which does require immediate medical care. “It really complicated my condition by not being able to receive adequate medical attention when I called,” Preston said.
Chief Kenneth Ellerbe commented on the incident saying, “Any instance where a patient feels uncomfortable by the presence of our members who have sworn to protect them is unacceptable.”
This story comes on the heels of another incident in January where a man collapsed across the street from a fire station who refused to help him, telling the man’s daughter to call 911 instead of doing anything themselves.
