Lift Assists in 911
Posted July 25, 2021
I am a Community Paramedic working on a Falls Strategy for our community. Community Paramedics are paramedics who are outside the 911 system focusing on redirecting frequent users of 911 to more appropriate resources / solutions in the community. One of the most common calls 911 gets is for 'lift assists' - the client calls 911 because they have fallen and can't get up on their but are not injured and don't want to / need to go to ER for assessment OR they need help moving from bed to wheelchair / toilet to wheelchair etc...
For context, between April and June 2021, we responded to 2418 calls (911 calls) for lift assists where only 14 required transport to the ER. Of these, approx 59 were specifically identified by the 911 paramedics as pt required moving vs picking up due to a fall.
It is about the lift assists I am looking for ideas...
- most calls are for helping moving not falling, bed to wheelchair / wheelchair to bathroom / wheelchair to bed
- these callers have PSW support in the home but not at the times the client wanted to move / right time... eg: PSW there at 4pm but client not ready to go to bed at 4pm so when they are ready they call 911
- most clients have MS, CP, previous strokes or recent surgery
We are trying to figure out a strategy to help mitigate these 911 calls. It isn't appropriate for an emergency ambulance to be called for this and when call volume is high these calls are low priority waiting for hours.
Our Community Paramedics (CPs) do home visits to look at referrals we can make, assess for lifting / moving aids or supports and discuss LTC placments. Having the clients call the CP unit to send someone to assist with the lift isn't feasible as the client could still be waiting for hours for us to be available (due to other committments the team has in the community) and the unit is not 24/7 so likely again not during the needed times.
I am looking for ideas, suggestions, brainstorming on other strategies that could be used so these people don't have to rely on 911 or CPs for lift assists.