Last night in a suburb of Montreal, a 50 year old man died of cardiac arrest while in a local pool. The man suffered cardiac arrest at 21:12 CPR was started immediately, and 911 was called The ambulance received the call at 21:14 and arrived at 21:18 Most likely the Dollard-des-Ormeaux fire department's First Responders. The station is only 3-4 minutes away.
The onscene time was 20 min. With ACLS on scene Since when do we have ACLS units? Perhaps it would be another interesting subject to talk about on this list.
There is one level of EMT in the Province of Quebec and it is called "Ambulance Technician". They aren't licensed to give any medication other than pure O2 and I believe they just recently got permission to give nitro. They have 840 hours of training and when any medication is needed, they have to call one of the few (you can probably count them on one of your hands) medical doctors patrolling around on the Island of Montreal. How advanced for a North American metropolitan city (as well as the second biggest city in Canada).
The transport time was 6 min. with arrival at a general hospital at 21:44
We're lucky to have hospitals practically at every corner. But I think if we had REAL ALS units and REAL paramedics, people would have more chances of surviving critical cases.
The problem I have is this, in the same building as the pool is the municipal hockey arena, it has a staffed first aid station, ( staffed with an EMT ) and it is equipped with a defibrillator. The EMT was never requested nor advised of the ongoing emergency, until after it was over. He sat 45 seconds away from the patient and was not called.
The Dollard-des-Ormeaux civic center, where this took place, is about 5 minutes from my house. I have been going there for over 10 years whether it be for swimming, watching a hockey game, the library, etc. I have passed in front of the First Aid booth several hundred times and I have only seen the person (which you claim is an EMT, which in Quebec would mean an Ambulance Technician, and I doubt anyone that is certified and has waited several years just to get in to the AT course and has a guaranteed job waiting for himself upon graduation, so if you ask me its most likely a First Responder with a 50 hour course) ONCE. Let's *suppose* he was working in the establishment but that he patrols around on foot, it most likely would have taken someone longer to find him than it would have taken for the firefighters to arrive with their defib. The A.A.D.D.O. pool has specific guidelines that their lifeguards are trained to follow in order to provide the best care possible for the victim. Having done several lifesaving courses at this pool and dealing with several of their lifeguards, I can assure you that they are well trained and undergo regular staff training. Two of my friends witnessed the incident and the treatment while in a lifesaving class, and they said that the guards did everything they could to treat the patient.
We have to make sure this NEVER happens again, anywhere.
I believe I read somewhere that some of the very big public pools in Montreal are becoming equipped with AED's. Perhaps this incident will encourage the city to consider purchasing one. While I am not saying that life guards are useless, I am saying that they should be held responsible for their actions or in this case inaction.
Lifeguards are sued left, right and center and for once I think they deserve a bit of respect. Most lifeguards are teenagers that have taken the time to go through lengthy and demanding courses in order to help the public for a rather "standard" pay. I read somewhere that there is a big lack of lifeguards all over Canada, so the ones who actually successfully complete the courses sure aren't in it for the "title". To work at the Dollard-des-Ormeaux aquatic facility as a Lifeguard/Instructor, one undergoes over 270 hours of training. From Bonze medallion, Junior Resuscitation, Bronze cross, Senior Resuscitation, AquaLaders, Aquatic Emergency Care, Red Cross Instructors to National Lifeguard. These courses cost money and you really have to be determined to study and miss out on going out with your friends in order to become a lifeguard.
We should NOT let them go unaware of specialized equipment that is essential to giving proper care. If lifeguards were offered to follow a PHTLS course, an AED course or any other advanced First Aid course, most would accept to follow it. I agree with the person that said that its mostly management's fault and I won't even start voicing my opinion on the EMS system here in Quebec. It is simply pathetic.
In this case there was also an off duty MD on scene. In Quebec, we have the good Samaritan act saying that anyone witnessing someone in danger must come to help. The minimum one can legally do is call 911.
The doctor has no obligation to do anything, he may even be a psychiatrist that doesn't know or forgets how to do CPR. If any of you have any specific questions about the pool/facility in question, feel free to ask. I have been taking swimming lessons there since I was 4 years old and if I don't know the answer, I'll find it out for you. I intend on applying to this pool in the fall as a lifeguard/instructor and if the quality of staff training and the whole environment wasn't as I mentioned above, I wouldn't even have considered it. There are literally hundreds of swimming pools on the Island of Montreal and the Dollard-des-Ormeaux aquatic facility is without a doubt one of the best. Anthony, National Lifeguard
"Barnet Wexler"
