Officials dodge key point in EMS report
Cayman Islands Hospital, George Town
(CNS): Public officials from both the health ministry and authority said they welcomed the independent report by Dr Dan Cass into the medical treatment of Zak Quappe, who died following a serious road crash in 2013. But in official statements following the Quappe family’s release of the document, neither government entity addressed the core issue that no attempts were made in the wake of the collision to resuscitate the 21-year-old man, who was still breathing seconds before the paramedics arrived.
The ministry said that it was “making progress with recommendations” that came out of the review relating to the quality of care after the fatal accident. Officials stated that his work provided “opportunities to further improve on the quality of care by the Cayman Islands emergency response and EMS systems”, but made no comment about the events that night.
The ministry said the Department of Public Safety Communications, which falls under the remit of the home affairs ministry, was working on dispatch protocols and procedures to reduce emergency response times and that work was underway to synchronize event recorders throughout the system. Cass found that the emergency services are not working from a synchronized clock, leading to different times being recorded by police, fire and ambulance crews at the same incident.
Meanwhile, the Health Services Authority (HSA) released a brief comment yesterday evening following enquiries by CNS stating that it was aware that the Quappe family had released the report, which was commissioned by the health ministry at the request of the family and fully supported by the management and staff at the HSA.
However, the authority was quick to absolve itself of any culpability. “While the report states that ‘other resuscitative measures by paramedics would not have altered the ultimate outcome’, we welcome Dr Cass’ recommendations as an opportunity to further improve our well-respected EMS services,” officials said.
The Quappe family themselves have made it clear they accept that Zak may very well have succumbed to his injuries even if an effort to administer life-saving measures had been made in the early morning hours of 18 May at the scene. But the family has said it was the failure of paramedics to try and the decisions that were made outside of protocols, confirmed by the Cass report, that left the family never knowing if their loved one could have survived.
Not seeking compensation or any other specific requests for themselves, Barrie Quappe, Zak’s mother, said Monday that the family were seeking transparency on the incident and an acknowledgement that, for whatever reasons, proper procedures were not followed. She said that she and her husband, Chuck, and daughter, Terry, are motivated by a desire to ensure that in similar future circumstances standard protocols will be followed and all possible medical measures are exhausted, with the possibility of saving lives.
Related article: EMS missed life-saving chance in high-speed crash
Quality of Care Review of EMS response to fatal crash involving Zak Quappe (deceased)
Quappe family response to Dr Cass report re Quality of Care Review, July 2015
Category: Health, Medical Health
Miss you Quapps, rest in peace.
While another young man’s life ended too soon, I think the Quappe family need to stop blaming everyone else for his demise. They have blamed the EMS and the other young driver their son was racing (who received a four year prison sentence). Zak chose to race his friend at a very high speed and ultimately paid the price for his actions. Sadly it ended in tragedy and the family is left behind without their child/brother.
I’ve had to call an ambulance twice from central George town. Both times after a 20 or 30 minute wait someone has ended up driving the injured person to hospital. Shocking!
What’s wrong with these people? I am sure that our EMS paramedics did their very best. After all they too are human you know. It was not their fault that this young lad caused his own demise.
Yes his passing is tragic but so are the many others who have met with a similar fate.
Who paid for this review and how much did it cost? And what big revelations has it unearthed?
Just another attempt to ridicule Caymanians. That’s all.
If you read the report the EMS Paramedic did Nothing to try and save the young man. It is stated clearly that they deviated from protocol and tried no life saving measures such as find an airway or CPR. Read the report before you comment.
well my dear, 8:58 a.m. I regret to inform you that the EMS aren’t God/Jesus and they do not raise the dead. They have seen situations like his dozens of times, and I am sure that they know a dead man when they see one and after even checking his pulse. etc There was no cardiac electrical activity, in other words a flatline. legal death. Yes, the report stated that they deviated from protocol but it did not say that such deviation was the cause of death. I can tell you what the cause of death was. SPEEDING and negligent driving from the deceased himself. I am just happy that he didn’t take anyone else’s life with him. that is all.
As Grand Cayman develops and sprawls, our 9-1-1 and EMS dispatch need to work smarter to save lives in Cayman – e.g. one would hope that our first responders would know to take any victims of any serious accident in East End immediately to Shetty Hospital for stabilization rather than risk loosing a patient by driving the 40 minutes to GT Hospital. If Shetty Hospital is receiving countless “free” pints from the GT Hospital public Blood Bank, a basic level of reciprocation should be part of the arrangement. These are the kind of discussions that need to happen.
Yup, except that Shetty is not an emergency care facility. Never designed for it, not staffed for it, so not suitable for it.
Anon at 5:12pm has it exactly. Shetty does not have an A & E. They are a specialized center that serves a particular role, but they should not be the first choice for residents of East End needing emergency care.
One key point being overlooked here is that speed limits are in place for good reason.
another glorious day for the civil service…..
just another day in wonderland…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
What an oxymoron! How could the conclusion be that the young man would have/may have succumbed to his injuries yet call them live saving? Cannot have it both ways. Where I am from however, if you arrive at a scene and there are two or more victims, you do an assessment then you treat the one most likely to survive based on your medical assessment. I am sure that this was done in this case but perhaps the lack of acceptance would cause one to look for any reason to find another to hold accountable. What I do know is that the majority of staff at 911 are from North America and apart from being rude and unhelpful, they are hired and not given any local training etc. Once they are certified in the States that’s it. So maybe training needs to be looked at in their department and giving instructions over the phone well now, when they dont tell you that nothing is wrong with you, they are rude and get you off the phone without much help. EMS responders on the other hand, I have quite a high level or respect for their work and their professionalism.
All 911 staff in Cayman are certified as Emergency Medical Dispatchers through APCO. Part of that training includes giving medical instructions prior to the arrival of an ambulance. The proof is in the recordings of calls.
Yeah Who checks their credentials and who certify them locally and recertify them regularly? Who make sure they are oriented to our customs of being respectful to locals and residents alike? You obviously work there but I have had the experience of calling you and one time was told nothing was wrong with my relative who ended up being air lifted and second time was so rude and rushed me off the phone so fast I don’t even know what happened. SO your experience on the inside is different from mine on the outside and you cannot tell me that what I experience is not what I experience!
In regard to First responders a few years back a US tourist was struck whilst crossing the medium in front of the old Holiday Inn now Darts Kimpton’s site. The first response vehicle at the accident scene were 2 Marine DTF officers in a burgundy jeep. The victim had been struck by a vehicle which was overtaking the medium for the turn lane into Raleigh Quay drive. The force of the blow push the victim several feet down the road blood was everywhere. The victim was unresponsive and was barely breathing the officer quickly assessed the victim carefully tilted his head and used his hands to clear his airway and save the man’s life. Then a UK officer road up on his motorbike saw all the blood and left to direct traffic back up the road. The ambulance and emergency personell arrived and the man was transported to the hospital. Having capable and experienced emergency police and fire officers is essential because many of these local & overseas officers have taken the training but are unwilling or refusing to use it. The irony of this situation was that several weeks later, saw the same UK officer who rode up on his police motorbike and left at the sight of all the blood, in the local newspaper standing next to the injured tourist’s hospital bed accepting an award for saving the man’s life. It was obvious the tourist injuries were so severe he obviously could not remember who saved his life.
This report cries out for changes to be made in the emergency services department. One word…..dysfunctional .
“The report cries out for changes “etc. I missed that bit 11:19, could you quote the part where it “cries out”? Thanks.
The two dislikes and the troll couldn’t find it either!!!
You know losing a loved one is really hard and I think it is even harder for the families if you know the person died because of reckless behavior. I am not going to argue whether or not the EMS personnel did everything by the book, but also please bear in mind that when you personally pay for a report more time than not it states what you are most likely to believe.i hope the HSA will make any change deemed necessary and also that anyone who might have the urge to speed/ race that they will remember what happened to Zak. such a tragic loss.