BEAUFORT CO., SC (WTOC) -
Normally, an ambulance takes a patient directly to the emergency room but on Friday the Department of Health and Environmental Control sent out an email to all 911 dispatchers that had them thinking that might not be the case anymore.
The email made it seem like all private EMT's could no longer transport patients to the ER.
DHEC says that is not the case. The email was not meant for all private companies. It was only meant for those private companies that are not following state laws, which are having a contract with local 911 dispatchers and being up to code.
"What we have to look at, according to state law, is what's in the best interest of the patient. The obvious answer is that the responding ambulance service must have the proper equipment, staffing, training, and medication on board to respond to true emergency situations," said Jim Beasley, a spokesperson for DHEC.
Beasley says the email sent out was too broad. He said many companies are following the law, but some are not.
The president of Shoreline Medical Transport, a private company that provides EMT services to Jasper and Beaufort Counties, said he thought there was a new rule prohibiting all EMT's from transporting patients. He was happy to hear that that's not the case.
"I don't think they're wrong in thinking that something does need to be done. It's they're job to make sure the sick people get where the need to go, and some people weren't doing it the right way," Scot Parsick said. "It is their job to look after that, and that's what they're trying to do."
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