Student questions paramedics’ actions
On Thursday, June 4, 1998, in the Metro section of the Columbus Dispatch, an article on the events leading up to the death of Terel L. Tinsley was published. This article had a quote that said “a report by Ohio State University says that paramedics refused to transport a student with meningitis to the hospital Saturday – unless he walked to the ambulance.” Reading this, the first sentence in the article, my attention was caught. To those of you who don’t know, Tinsley died Sunday evening. The paramedics were called three times over the weekend, and to their credit, they actually showed up rather promptly to each call. The last time I called 911, it was an emergency. I’m sure that anyone who has ever had to call this number did so in an extreme emergency.”Paramedic James B. Evans, who was with the team that went to Tinsley’s room late Saturday night, said the student was never told he had to walk to an ambulance.” (6/4/98 Dispatch, Metro, 2C). “When paramedics were called again,” according to the report, “They asked Terel to walk down to the ambulance. Terel exclaimed that he could not walk. The response was, ‘Well, we are not going to carry you.’ After approximately three minutes of trying to convince Terel to walk downstairs, the paramedics left.” (6/4/98 Dispatch, Metro, 2C). These two statements show one of two things. The paramedic doesn’t know what he is talking about, or is trying to cover up his inappropriate actions.”Reports – so far unconfirmed – have stated that Tinsley refused to be taken to the hospital on the first visit by paramedics because he did not have the money to pay for transport” (6/4/98 Lantern, front page). “A report released by OSU communications indicated that on the second visit, which occurred at about 10:15 on Saturday night, the paramedics refused to carry Tinsley to the ambulance after he said he could not walk” (6/4/98 Lantern, front page).If I was sick, and my friends called 911 (especially if I could not even walk to the bathroom for an attack of diarrhea, as in the case of Tinsley) I would expect the paramedics to either carry me to the ambulance, or help me walk there. This case clearly evidences that the paramedic system in existence needs fixing or replacing. Paramedics said that “We can’t force someone to go to the hospital if they are of sound mind.” (6/4/98 Dispatch, Metro, 2C). “Symptoms [of bacterial meningitis] include severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, a fever higher than 101 degrees, a rash and mental confusion.” (6/4/98 Lantern, front page). Note that on the first report, nausea was listed as Tinsley’s chief complaint.I would hope that someone reading this would be able to give me a straight answer as to what I should do if I am at home, feel very ill, and want to call 911. Would the paramedics help? Or would they tell me to walk down several flights of stairs to the help?
Christopher WellsCivil Engineering
