My father just died in his sleep. He had passed by the time the paramedics arrived.
They still did their best, which I am very grateful for, but they even an entire trash bag full of used instruments that were stuffed under the bed for some reason
I’m glad that I found it sooner over later but it’s mildly infuriating that they just discarded their medical waste under his bed.
(NSFW some blood)
I’ve been taking care of him for over 5 years and it’s made things a lot harder for me, seeing all of that all over.
OP, sorry. Resuscitation can be chaotic and there is a chance that the bag got pushed off to the side and then they missed it cleaning up.
That does not make it okay because it looks like their BVM is in the bag, which means that was placed their after the resuscitation. Your picture doesn’t show anything aside from the little bit of blood that isn’t just garbage, so don’t worry about how to get rid of it, just throw it in the trash. But again, sorry, I’ve never personally and I haven’t worked with anyone who would intentionally leave garbage on a scene after an attempted resuscitation, it’s a small detail that someone’s family shouldn’t have to think about in this kind of situation.
That’s good to know, thank you.
I had nightmares about this bag last night so I’ll be glad when it’s out of my life.
My condolences on your pop.
Regarding leaving behind biohazard… You’d be surprised that the vast majority of first responders aren’t trained for it and are liable if they try. Yes, it’s kinda crazy and varies heavily by state.
First responders of any kind aren’t trained for the cordiality or technical aspects of cleaning up biohazard scenes. It’s very common. They’re trained for patient care and that’s it. They leave messes behind. They won’t wash blood off your sidewalk. It’s like walking into a personal nightmare for most people. Trained EMTs and paramedics are supposed to keep their PPE bagged and taken out with them, but if things get hectic, which is why they’re there in the first place, stuff gets overlooked. Someone below already mentioned that it would’ve gotten shoved away to make room and it just gets forgot since it’s not visible anymore
The fact of the matter is that they’re there to triage and get them to the hospital, not tidy up after attempting to save someone’s life.
The situation is macabre but it’s a common one. A lot of people have felt that same weird surprise going back to where there loved one was to just find it a mess. There’s no laws about them needing to clean. It’s not the first time it’s been brought up though.
If you’re in the right state of mind you can call the nonemergency county line and ask if they have cleanup services for first responder scenes… the vast majority don’t though. Those that do usually take a day or more to get there.
9/10 times it’s family doing all of it.
I work pretty closely with just about every type of first responder in my line of work just to qualify this a bit… I’ve had to deal with this same issue in my personal life and professional. It’s the same just about everywhere from what I know.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2013/05/02/cleaning-up-crime-and-accident-scenes-a-grim-task/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499999/
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1123029
EDIT: I did forget to say that those cleanup services are usually going to cost YOU out of pocket. Some states or counties subsidize them though…
Also minor grammar/clarifications.
First off I’m terribly sorry for your loss. While I am by no means a paramedic I took first aid classes from one and this very subject came up (what to do with used PPE and such after an incident). We were told to just leave it pending hazmat-trained folks responding for cleanup. At a patient’s home it’s left and frankly not their responsibility - the patient alone is.
Sucks but they will indeed leave stuff behind - I wish it had been a better outcome for your family but I assure you they meant no offense or harm.
I understand and I know that they were focused elsewhere, but the trash bag was stuffed far under the bed with everything spilling out…
I reached for what I was and was, as I couldn’t see, and my hand got covered in blood and other fluids.
They were here waiting on the medical examiner for over an hour, so they must have forgotten about it somehow.
I’m sorry about your dad.
Thank you very much for the information
The thing that got me so confused over it was that it was stuffed under the bed. When my grandmother passed in Feb, they took all their trash with them.
I’m not going to put significant moral blame on the paramedics, but I wish they would have left the trash out for me at least to see.
Having to reach under the bed to see what was under there and getting my had covered in blood and other fluids seriously about made me vomit in shock alone.
I appreciate that they tried to save my father’s life which is why I’m only mildly upset. I’m not wanting to “karen” them as I’m sure it was a mistake, and a weird one at that.
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Thank you very much. This is something that I really needed to hear.
I feel like I’m walking through a fog, having to do the same things I did dealing with death stuff that I had to do for my grandmother not but 3 months ago.
I will for sure do that sort of meditation and I will see if it works. I’m sure it will as it seems like a good way to hack a memory…
Thank you so much for taking the time that you did to write that out for me.
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It’s likely that it was kicked under the bed by accident. Cardiac arrests are one of the most stressful calls a paramedic can run. The fact that it was bagged up at all means that were trying to keep the scene neat as they worked.
But once they terminated resuscitation efforts the call switches to documentation, paperwork, medical examiner notifications, dealing with an upset family who may have trouble processing or accepting the death. They probably just lost track of it at that point.
If you don’t feel comfortable touching it, there are cleanup services that will remove it. My agency doesn’t have a special way of disposing it, it just goes in the regular trash (except for sharps or course, but I don’t see any in your picture, and I hope they wouldn’t leave those around).
I’m a paramedic and echo these sentiments (especially about the sharps).
Sorry for your loss OP
That’s excellent to know. I was about to ask about the best way to dispose of it. I can handle it now that the shock of it all has gotten milder
So long as I don’t need to call a biohazard team, and I can just clean the blood up, then I’ll be able to do it.
Do you have a good way to get a blood stain out of a rug
Oxyclean or peroxide like they say in the documentaries?
Dab and press, don’t rub. Dawn in cold water first dabbed on and soaked up with a towel, then hydrogen peroxide the same way for what’s left had always worked for me.
Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
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