[zimpenfish]

> I guess we're supposed to be upset because they didn't call an ambulance for workers who were feeling light headed, or had crushed or severed fingers.

(added emph) Um, yeah, I would be.

> it isn't stuff you need to call an ambulance for

If you crush or sever your fingers, you really do need to call an ambulance.

[JshWright]

> If you crush or sever your fingers, you really do need to call an ambulance.

Paramedic here... If the bleeding is controlled, there's not really anything an ambulance is going to do other than give you an expensive ride to the hospital. Counting dispatch/response/on scene time, you'd likely get to the hospital just as quickly if someone drove you in their personal vehicle.

I'm not defending Tesla's practices here... I'm far more concerned about the other cases mentioned (workers passing out, feeling dizzy, etc).

[hef19898]

Man, am I happy to live in Europe. Because over here, your employer has an obligation to care for his employees. And that means that, yes, in those cases you have to call an ambulance. Otherwise the professional health insurance will sue the employer to death (obvious exaggeration). At least in Germany.

The stuff Tesla is doing, allegedly, is only done by really shaddy companies.

[conanbatt]

If germany had the cost of healthcare the US had, such obligation would bankrupt many german businesses.

[hef19898]

Imagine that Germany does have universal health care.

[conanbatt]

If ambulances cost in Germany what they cost in the US under a universal health care program, then they would either ration them or charge exorbitant taxes for them.

[vsl]

Overall 50% taxation sounds about right?

Yes, medical care availability and quality suffer as the consequence of the European model, and that everybody regards it as "free" (despite having been taxed through the roof) doesn't help. On balance, it's probably better than the US system, but it's not the rose garden a large chunk of HN seems to think.

[adrianN]

Yeah unless there is a traffic jam on the way, then you're fucked in your Uber.

[toomuchtodo]

This is a good point, with the caveat that it's roughly 5 miles to two hospitals north of the Fremont factory. If traffic is terrible, an ambulance should be called; otherwise, a Lyft vs ambulance will make no difference.

[JshWright]

An ambulance isn't going to make much difference in gridlocked traffic anyway. They're not going to use the lights and sirens for a stable patient.

[Retric]

Crushing injuries can result in life threatening issues even if someone appears stable. Clot or hemorrhage can go from everything looking ok to serious very quickly.

Ambulances are low risk and cheap somthey really should be used even down to ~0.1% chances of serious issues.

[JshWright]

I am a paramedic. If someone with a crushing injury to their hand is otherwise stable, I am not going to be headed to the hospital with the lights and sirens on.

If the injury is higher (with the potential for compartment syndrome distal to the injury site, or closer to major blood vessels), then sure, I may be in a bit more of a hurry (a "bit" being the operative word there... slow is smooth, smooth is fast).

[kryogen1c]

> > it isn't stuff you need to call an ambulance for

> If you crush or sever your fingers, you really do need to call an ambulance.

Why? It's not life threatening, you're diverting critical life-saving public resources from someone else, you can definitely get to a hospital faster on your own and probably faster with a ride share, and you are incurring a very high cost.

Furthermore, it's not like they get to the hospital and then are seen immediately because they showed up in an ambulance. They still have to wait in line because the injury is simply not severe

If they have first responders on site, there's no reason they can't get gauze and then go see a surgeon.

[anigbrowl]

It's not life threatening

Questionable

you're diverting critical life-saving public resources from someone else

Why, do we have a desperate shortage of such resources? Then maybe we should build more of them instead of guilt tripping people who have suffered severe and perhaps permanent maiming.

Furthermore, it's not like they get to the hospital and then are seen immediately because they showed up in an ambulance. They still have to wait in line because the injury is simply not severe

Of course it's severe. It's not the worst thing that can happen to someone, but then ERs aren't swamped 24/7 either, and to the extent that they are overburdened we should do something about that rather than minimize the problem.

[wanderr]

As someone who suffered a crushed finger accident as a teenager and did not take an ambulance to the ER, I really really wish that I had. Ambulance = immediate admittance, rather than waiting for 8 hours only to be told that you need to see the specialist who has gone home for the day.

[kryogen1c]

> Ambulance = immediate admittance

This is not true. Patients arriving in ambulances are triaged and helped according to need, just like anyone else.

[justin66]

> Patients arriving in ambulances are triaged and helped according to need, just like anyone else.

This is something rather commonly stated and it's observably not true. I wonder what that's about, but I suspect it's a case of the way things are supposed to work (triage in the emergency room is supposed to not suck, but it's usually so bad that it is the weakest link in a patient's emergency care, even at a good hospital) and the way things actually work (riding in on the ambulance gets you in front of a doctor faster very close to 100% of the time).

[wanderr]

That's not what I was told by a doctor working at the hospital.

[Fricken]

You didn't provide a rationale for your position, and I don't think you have one. You just get squeamish thinking about this stuff.

For stuff like that there's nothing a paramedic will do that someone with basic first aid can't do. Until the victim is in surgery, there isn't a whole lot to do. Staunch the bleeding. Put the severed finger on ice. That's about it. Maybe you don't have much experience working in factories and shops where these sorts of accidents happen several times a year, but it's a gross overreaction to call medical professionals in. Once, in this shop this guy was cleaning out a paint mixer, and it somehow turned on while he had his arm in there. The mixing blade ripped his arm open, down to the bone from his shoulder to his wrist. We called an ambulance for that. What a mess, lol.

[loceng]

You need to get them to the hospital ASAP - yes, where doctors can start to work on the finger(s). I can't imagine they are going to do anything in the ambulance that the doctors on-site at Tesla aren't capable of stabilizing/prepping for care at a hospital.

[StavrosK]

Why? Why do you need the equipment in an ambulance for a crushed or severed hand? Wouldn't you be better served in literally halving the time it took for you to get to the hospital (driving one way vs waiting for the ambulance to come pick you up) so you can be treated there?

[athenot]

Ambulances don't come from the hospital. They are stationed a bit all over and listen for emergencies. They also listen on the police scanners and can get to an emergency before actually being requested.

The gas station right next to my house has EMT vehicles almost every night hanging out and waiting to interveene in the area.