List Archives

Thu Jan 13 18:18:26 GMT 2005

Janei--
With all due respect, you are now doing what so many people on this list do to the point of reall aggravation of some of the rest of us--you did not READ what Dr Mattox said in his post-PLEASE read posts before you respond, as you are obviously only seeing what you expect to see, and in the process making transparent your own defensiveness on this issue
Dr Mattox NEVER said "...all air ambulances are a waste"!!!  In fact, he took great pains to eloquently specify his exact point, and specifically delineated those aspects of air ambulance services that ARE useful, one of which was in rural and wilderness areas in which great distances must be traversed for rapid care to be reached, just exactly what you were saying!  In any other context, especially urban areas, not only has there been no evidence of value for patient outcomes, there IS evidence of adverse outcomes as a result.  Regardless of what you might think in your own imagination about "rush hour traffic" in urban areas, in fact the evidence to date does not bear that out.  As professionals, we must discipline ourselves to thoroughly examine our opinions in the light of science before making such reckless assertions and especially before acting on them as if they were true.  Your "attachment" to air ambulance services is in fact the greatest barrier to your understanding of them--let go of that burdensome bias and open you  mind a bit.
And--if you at all take offense at the above, which is the usual knee-jerk response to disagreement with such cherished but faulty preconcieved notions on this list, first ask yourself why you should take offense--there is nothing personally insulting in the above--and please read what I say, not what you imagine I am saying....
ERF

List Archives

For your convenience, find the Trauma List Archive Below

re-evaluation of heli service