I had to slip the paramedics a tenner each when I wanted to take my pet boulder to the hospital with me...weight is weight if you ask me, I'm for it.
Ambulances start charging extra for obese patients
- Thread starter VanityGirl
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I think that's the whole point. Sticking a 400lb weight in the back of an ambulance is going to wear it out faster than a 180lb weight. It wears the suspension faster, it'll add strain to the engine, increase fuel costs, add complication when moving the patient.VanityGirl said:
It adds massively to the cost as well, I don't know how much the reinforced springs, reinforced stretcher/clamps and hoisting gear in the back of a trauma truck costs but if it's under five figures I'd be surprised.
These people are coming out to get you when ou need them most. If you're so heavy they can't move you with normal gear it's very likely you need them because of something that weight's caused, it seems a bit flippant to complain about being charged extra when the entire situation is your doing more than theirs.
Heck, if I crash my bike and need the Trauma bird to come and get me I get a whacking great bill. Even with the 'free' NHS I'd get charged. Why? Because a £2million helicopter had to fly out to the middle of nowhere to get me because I'd created a situation that stopped normal paramedics getting me out. You can see obesity based diseases coming from a lot further off than a bike accident.
A relative of mine is a firefighter. He got a call once to help paramedics move a 400lb. woman down a flight of stairs.
Firstly, she didn't fit through the door. Secondly, back in those days they used stretchers to move people. The stretcher broke, so they doubled up with more stretchers. They get over to the stairs and begin moving her down, the stairs break from all the weight. 3 guys got hernia's trying to move this mountain of shit. They get to the porch, the stairs on the porch break, the fat lady falls and rolls over to the sidewalk. Now they have to lift her up and into the ambulance... Anyways she died from that heart attack. Do you blame the firefighters and paramedics? I hope not. Now there are emergency response people off the job until they heal, putting more people in the community at risk. Thanks fatty, eat more pies.
Firstly, she didn't fit through the door. Secondly, back in those days they used stretchers to move people. The stretcher broke, so they doubled up with more stretchers. They get over to the stairs and begin moving her down, the stairs break from all the weight. 3 guys got hernia's trying to move this mountain of shit. They get to the porch, the stairs on the porch break, the fat lady falls and rolls over to the sidewalk. Now they have to lift her up and into the ambulance... Anyways she died from that heart attack. Do you blame the firefighters and paramedics? I hope not. Now there are emergency response people off the job until they heal, putting more people in the community at risk. Thanks fatty, eat more pies.
I think it's the right thing to do. I've been morbidly obese my entire life (75 pounds when I was 5) and my dad has been a Paramedic for some 26 odd years. I've seen him hurt a number of times from the job but the most lasting one started because he had to get a 300 pound guy onto a stretcher by himself. He messed up his back, had to have surgery, and 5 years down the road it still bothers him on a daily basis. If I ever need an ambulance I hope to god I don't hurt anyone I really do. I've lost 120 pounds but I'm still big enough too :/.
damn right, the obese are weighing down the health services of the world (just like the smokers did before the brits kicked em outside into the cold)
maybe this might be the incentive to make a few of them loose weight and improve their health in the first place so they might not be such a drag on the health systems
maybe this might be the incentive to make a few of them loose weight and improve their health in the first place so they might not be such a drag on the health systems
Good point Smokers are discriminated against due to the choices they make so why shouldnt obese people cop it too. If something must be customised just so big ol' you can ride in it you should cop the cost not everyone else.Desert Tiger said:
Hmm.. i wonder whose fault it is though that they can't afford surgery or need it in the first place. Hospitals are full enough without the self inflicted clogging up the place.orangebandguy said:
Hm, I'm not sure what to make of this. A lot of people are overweight due to their own choices, while others can end up in that situation due to a medical condition. Is it still fair to charge them extra? Also, who would be paying for this? The fat person or their insurance company? Would most fat people consider this to be unjustified?
Explain.624 said:
If obese people can get charged more for being obese, then I think we should be able to charge smokers more for stuff like rent, healthcare (yeah, I know that one's pretty much covered anyway), or university tuition. Do you know how annoying it is to be stuck in an elevator with someone who clearly just put one out, or to be walking to class and have to pass by a line of about two dozen of them outside the building, getting in that last cigarette before class starts? Plus, that smell spreads. Any time I spend too long on a bus I myself begin to smell like a smoker.
Let's all just seek a little more compensation for those who inconvenience us throughout the day. That'll show them!
Let's all just seek a little more compensation for those who inconvenience us throughout the day. That'll show them!
Ambulances shouldn't have to charge at all.
But since they do, I agree. Unless it can be proven as a genetic condition, but if the reason is an excess infatuation with whipped cream and twinkies, then totally.
But since they do, I agree. Unless it can be proven as a genetic condition, but if the reason is an excess infatuation with whipped cream and twinkies, then totally.