FA's are Paramedics and FF's ???
UMMM not quite. Case in point. My last trip back to DXB. DL from MEM to AMS and KLM home Aug 14th. About midflight, girl having difficulty walking up the aisle, I look and she appears to having a physical limitation that of polio or CP. She attempts to pass by me and was I was about to ask if I could help, she goes back and is unresponsive. I get up and ask for CC to turn on lights, bring me emergency equipment and 02 and notify flight deck. Out of both of the mouths of these 2 are " we don't know how to turn on the 02, we're formerly NWA crew. There is no AED on board ( or they couldn't decipher an AED from a DVD player. So shame on the CC for taking responsibility of these passengers safety and shame on management for allowing them to without proper check off of this equipment. Fortunately an EMT was sitting next to me who's trip was of a different venue. I wake her up and we start treating this girl. Now in response to this equipment that send VS to medical personnel so that a diagnosis can be made and treatment based on those VS. First of all.. you NEVER treat the machine ( BP cuff, AED, PC02 oximetry etc) you treat the patient. Breath sounds ? why do you need to identify specific breath sounds ?? In this situation, the only thing you need to know is whether they are present or not, and is there equal rise/fall of the chest ? That is all part of what we call a general assessment of a patient. You need to note color of skin, are they blue ? then you have an airway problem.. they aren't profusing. if they are pink, good, they are profusing ( delivering oxygen to periperhals aka arms legs) Depicting certain breath sounds can only be done by an advanced care medical provider and certain breath sounds can determine your emergency but without advanced care ( diabetics with kussmal respirations or asthmatics with wheezing which both require meds and advanced breathing treatments) you can't fix them if you dont have the right training or equipment. Ok so you have a patient who presents with a blood pressure of 80/60.. What now ? the machine is gonna tell you to do what ? First of all put the pt on 02.. Hey.. 02 has never killed anyone.. they should have already been placed on it.. BP is 180/100 ? machine gonna tell you to give them nitroglycerine ? OHHH you better find out if they have taken viagra first. Bottom line, there is NO machine or first responder that can take the place of a Paramedic and you can't do crap for someone with a respiratory problem or cardiac emergency with a bp cuff, 02 or even an AED in most cases aka about 99% without cardiac meds. If you have a Paramedic on board, that person is trained and licensed to deliver that care and now you can do great things without having to land the a/c ( with the exception of a full arrest and less than 5% survive one if they make it to the hospital within minutes. I'll take death any day over surviving a full arrest only to become a vegetable the rest of my life. Guys.. comparing CC to Paramedic is like comparing a Captain to a graduate of flight school. Same thing with a CC being a firefighter! They aren't fully trained to know what to use in which type of fire and if they do.. they are going to have no less than 100 pax freaking out and then guess what, the problem becomes too overwhelming. Why not offer volunteer paramedic positions in lieu of flight benefits ? Was it Lufthansa started talking about doctor's being offered this in lieu of air miles ? I would do it in a heart beat! I'm a UAL retiree's daughter who is married to a freight dog with no family flight benefits. I would volunteer a few hours a month in lieu of free travel and I know alot of other Paramedic / Firefighters who would as well. I also have years of experience in not only flying as a pax but I have worked for Fed Ex and Pinnacle and I know ramp operations as a ramp rat ( took the job for the flight benefits on my days off from the FD) Especially when we're doing this job for less than 50k a year. I would also offer 8 hour courses each month to CC and pilots for more advanced training which teaches them how to really assess and treat a patient in an aisle rather than a classroom where they have all the space in the world and 10 assitants at their fingertips. Sorry to have gotten off the beaten path of the thread but the simplest of things are prevented thanks to bean counters, deregulation and profit mongers . My heart and mind are still with Dawn and Matt's family as well as Dougs. I thank God every day my FO arrives home safely as he flies dangerous goods all the time. Stay safe guys..