One routine afternoon my partner and I, along with our engine company responded to an injured person call right across the street from the station. We found the patient to have minor injures and the police officers on scene apologized for calling us but she had some blood from the domestic violence that occurred prior to their arrival and wanted to have her checked out. We assessed the patient and offered her transport to help her get away from the scene. A patient report was completed and the patient refused, partially due to the other party being removed from the scene by the police department. Paperwork complete we returned to service leaving the patient with the police officers to complete their investigation. A couple calls later we were clearing up from one of our local hospitals and were dispatched to a Gun Shot Wound at the corner just down the street from our station. Now we are a busy department, but we dont have many violent calls, let alone many GSW, so this was potentially a serious call both due to the nature and due to the fact we dont get many of those types of calls. Several factors lead us to put an EMS helicopter on standby and then launch them to transport the patient, level 1 trauma potential in a GSW call, delayed time to patient due to staging waiting on PD to secure the scene for everyones safety, our engine was out of district answering a fire call in a neighboring city alone with our battalion chief, we were a ways away from the call – distance and traffic speaking, the engine answering was a ways away distance and traffic also, time of the day was rush hour, (we are normally 25mins away from our local trauma center without traffic). Upon arrival at the scene it was quickly identified that this was a level 1 trauma and that launching the EMS helicopter was the way to go. It was also noticed that this was the same patient were had previously ran on earlier in the afternoon. She had been shot in the abdomen with an exit wound and was lying on the grass at the corner convenience store. Our Engine and BC were returning from the call and responded to assist with the landing zone. Our Engine went to a field near the station (again just down the block) and the Battalion Chief (a practicing Paramedic joined us on scene while his Driver (Our Shift Safety Officer) went to the LZ to assist there. The patient was packaged and move to the back of the medic unit. During the treatment and reassessment of the patient she continued to plead for her purse. After some frustration with the treatment and pts screaming in pain and pleading for her purse a member of the crew now assembled in the back of the medic unit asked another FD member to retrieve her purse to appease her. Her purse appeared shortly there after on the bench seat. I personally zipped the purse due to visible paperwork that I didnt want blown around by the helicopter wash. I placed it in between her legs on the backboard. The EMS helicopter crew arrived and pt care was transferred to them, pt loaded and we cleared up and went back to quarters to clean up and do paperwork. Police investigators called and said they were on their way to collect or statements for the investigation. After another call we were contacted by the police investigators and advised that we wouldnt need to give any statements, the gun was found. It was found during the elevator ride from the helipad to the ER at the receiving Trauma Facility by a member of the flight crew. The Patient had self inflicted the GSW, and not only picked up the gun and placed it in her purse, but also picked up the shell casing and placed it in her purse as well. It was by the luck that all the people involved were not hurt during this incident.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Our Police and Fire Departments work very well together, and had just recently developed and trained on crime scenes. Unfortunately the recent training failed all of us, but has brought about several new thoughts Issues that lead to the weapon being with patient- -We had just run on the patient earlier that day, so we had all of her information in the computer system, no need to look in her purse for identification -We let the patient drive what we were doing, we shouldnt have let her tell us what to do -We shouldnt have sent someone to take the purse from a crime scene, and -The Police shouldnt have released the purse from the scene Good things that happened: -After reviewing the incident with the Flight Crew and Pilot, patient property is taken with patients all of the time, they are currently reevaluating material they carry with the patient to the hospital to include weapons, pepper spray, and similar items that can be harmful to a safe flight. -Hospital Police was with the flight crew at the in the elevator and was notified immediately when the weapon was located (Hospital Police normally escorts flight crew from the helipad to the ER) -Communication among all agencies involved after the incident has helped all agencies learn from the incident to help avoid it in the future. -The purse was zipped up and out of reach from the patient during the flight due to being packaged -Flight Crew identified new concerns from this incident without it having been a bad outcome -The Police Department has reviewed securing the scene, even from FD as well as searching belongings (within their legal ability) during other calls where they have answered with FD -We have always looked at waistbands, pockets and the scene when assessing the patient but have generally overlooked their belongings, so we now look at patients belongings in a totally different light.