Emergency
I had a conversation with a family friend a few years ago.
This friend applied for a job as a 000 operator.
A noble profession I thought. I think it would be a tough job to do, having to calm people down who are going through traumatic events, but someone has to do it.
This friend didn't get the job. She failed one scenario.
Here is the scenario.
You receive two calls.
You have one ambulance.
The first call is a 50yr old man who's having a heart attack,
The second call is a 10yr old girl who has a life threatening injury.
Who do you send the ambulance to?
My decision was to send the ambulance to the 10yr old girl.
WRONG
Apparently the 50yr old man gets the ambulance.
Now my logic for my decision goes like this.
The 50yr old man has lived his life; sure he has at least another 20 years left in him, maybe more.
He's having a heart attack, which, if severe and he survives, will lead to severe complications that may render him unable to work.
From an economic point, if he does get the ambulance, and survives trouble free, he's only contributing to society for another 15 years (working, paying taxes etc) before we start supporting him.
The 10 year old girl...well...SHE'S 10.
No-one wants to bury a child. Send the ambulance to her.
She's 10 now; in another 10 years she'll be working and contributing to society. If she survives she will be contributing her tax dollars to help sustain this country, she will be working and participating in this thing we call "life".
This child COULD be the next prime minister (eh, maybe not, but she has the potential to change things). Once she is working there will be another 40 years of contributions coming from her. She makes her money, she spends her money, the country continues to grow, life gets better.
Apparently the Ambulance service doesn't invest in potential. It invests in the current contributing factors.
So when it all comes down to it, The 50yr old tax payer gets precedence over a 10yr old child.
And this people, is why I have no faith in humanity.
-ms
February 20th, 2009 - 20:30
I’ve been reading along for a while now. I just wanted to drop you a comment to say keep up the good work.
February 20th, 2009 - 20:42
I agree with your take on the scenario… unless I’m the 50yo.
Other that that I find it disgraceful that this is one of the real world situations where logic and emotion meet – and we still do the opposite of what our hearts and heads tell us.
May 14th, 2009 - 04:06
Thanks for posting, definitely going to subscribe! See you on my reader.