Cutbacks that will kill in Detroit: emergency service workers

[Hannah Bell]

DOZENS OF Detroit paramedics protested June 25 because they want to be able to come to people's assistance quickly in case of an emergency--and proposed budget cuts would make that impossible...
Alarmingly, 75 percent of the demonstrators had worked all night, their shifts having only ended at 7 a.m.--and they would be returning to another full night on the job at 7 p.m. "That's how big of an issue this is," said Tim Goodman, a paramedic of 15 years...

Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack plans to cut 75 emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic positions from the Detroit Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division as well as cut 33 active members. That cutback would leave only 12 ambulances on duty to cover the entire city of Detroit. As it stands, the city has only 24 ambulances available at any time--a number that paramedics say is completely inadequate.

"Some people are actually dying," said Kent Hammer, one of the protesting paramedics. "This can't go on." Hammer explained that the national standard for response time is four minutes--the time it takes for an untreated brain injury to leave permanent damage. "Our response time is already over 10 minutes," he said. "And that's with 24 ambulances."

THE PROPOSED ambulance cuts have shocked a city that has become numb to the harsh budget cuts driven by the economic crisis. Even police driving by the demonstration enthusiastically honked and shouted in support... "The cops are in support of us because every time they call for us, we're not there...Even when we had 24 ambulances, there was one case--that wasn't out of the ordinary--where there was a man in critical condition with a spinal cord injury only four blocks away from Medic 17's quarters....Even four blocks away, we didn't have anyone available, so the police had to put the man in their car...Because the man wasn't handled properly, his spinal cord was permanently damaged. Now he'll never be able to walk again. If we had been able to reach him, we could have handled him correctly, and he could have been saved."

http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/28/cuts-will-kill-in-detroit

[opihimoimoi]

1. Just like BP...when ya need um...they ain't there..

Cities everywhere cutting to the bone

fire depts down on manpower...way down past NFPA guidelines

ditto for police depts

and now, even the Parameds too...many of which are turning to the nursing feild as a result of cutbacks...

in the future...should there be a hugh need...we will have a shortfall


It Takes years for a MICT to train graduate....longer than Firefighters/cops...

[Nikki Stone1]

2. The destruction of the private sector will be accelerated after the G-20

...

[Scuba]

3. The PTB will continue to gut anything that might help....

...the people of Detroit. Then, when the city becomes a lawless free-fire zone, they will blame the minority citizens.

[Cal Carpenter]

4. Yes indeed

All the 'austerity' being dumped on the least powerful citizens of Detroit (or Greece, or Spain, or the US in general) and none of the ruling class having to feel any of it...People are DYING, not just in some distant land but right down the street now, and we still barely get crumbs, while the corporations get huge profits and huge tax breaks and huge bonuses, the war machine marches on..and we get basic services cut, housing, health, education, water...

Detroit is a case study, in a way, for what may happen everywhere in coming months and years.

These protesters were out in front of the US Social Forum last week.

[Hannah Bell]

5. kik