By CHRIS LINDAHL
@cmlindahl
Daily Hampshire Gazette
SOUTHAMPTON — A relaunch of the town’s paramedic-level ambulance service has been pushed back for a third time since May after officials last month promised to have it up and running by Aug. 1.
Those services were suspended after a May 28 inspection by the state Department of Public Health Office of Emergency Medical Services revealed “serious deficiencies” in the Fire Department’s ambulance operations. State, town and Cooley Dickinson Hospital officials agreed that the department would resume its paramedic-level ambulance services after the problems were rectified.
The issues included a lack of a paramedic coordinator, lapses in drug record-keeping procedures and expired drugs found on both of the department’s ambulances.
Cooley Dickinson doctors supervise treatment of patients by Southampton paramedics through a state-licensed affiliation agreement.
“While tomorrow is August 1 and we did not meet that deadline, we are all working collaboratively and diligently to review the necessary documentation as soon as possible,” Dr. Raymond F. Conway, the hospital’s medical director of emergency services, said Friday in an email.
Fire Chief John Workman says he expects services to be up and running by the end of next week.
Since May 28, the department has been operating a basic-level ambulance service that is licensed to provide first aid, but not to administer drugs or perform advanced medical procedures. Emergency calls that require a paramedic-level ambulance are answered simultaneously by the Southampton Fire Department and another ambulance from a surrounding community.
Officials initially said services would resume by June 10 while paramedics were retrained and practices overhauled. That was quickly pushed back to July 1 to allow for a more comprehensive review of policies and procedures.
After officials met on June 31, Workman said he was given the OK to restart services, but chose to hold off while he hired new personnel. He predicted then that everything would be operational by Aug. 1.
On Friday, Workman said there would be a third — and what he expects to be a final — delay in the rollout of paramedic-level ambulance services.
Workman and Conway plan to hold their final meeting to iron out details of the relaunch next week, Workman said. He chalks this delay up to communication and scheduling issues.
Conway wanted to discuss something concerning the Fire Department’s food and drug license with state officials, Workman said. Workman himself spoke with an official about the license on Thursday.
“I know that there’s not an issue, but (Conway) needs to hear that himself,” Workman said.
He added, “It’s really just a matter of sitting down and having our meeting that we need to have.”
Chris Lindahl can be reached at [email protected].
