D.C. EMTs Who Missed Gunshot Wound Transferred to Training Academy

Two D.C. firefighter/EMTs who missed a through and through gunshot wound on a patient last week are now assigned to the training center.

The ambulance crew transported a patient, believed to have ingested PCP, to George Washington University Hospital last Friday evening.

Nurses cut off the man's clothes, and discovered the man had a gunshot wound that entered his back and exited through his stomach, according to a WTTG report.

The EMS personnel said police officers didn't see any trauma on the patient, and neither did they.

The head of the union representing EMTs and medics explained patient assessment to reporters.

"When we come on the scene as EMTs and paramedics, we are then the highest level of care,” said Aretha Lyles, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3721, “MPD is not the highest level of care. We should not be following what MPD tells us. We need to do a physical assessment – meaning we need to touch the patient, we need to speak to the patient, the patient needs to speak back to us..."

As the incident came to light, D.C. fire officials sent the following statement to the station:

“Our initial investigation has determined that the patient exam conducted by our personnel was not sufficient.

“From the outset, one of our goals has been to establish a medical routine that provides a high level of patient care. This month, hands on refresher training will begin that will reemphasize the basics of how our members conduct patient assessments, execute high performance CPR and accurately document patient examinations. The training is expected to take about six to eight weeks to complete.

“Once the third party provider contract is implemented, additional training will begin each month allowing our members to become more proficient in our standard of patient care.

“There was a breakdown in upholding our standard in this incident; we must be diligent and thorough. The first leg in achieving and maintaining our standard of patient care starts with training.”