I've got a cuff key on my keychain, which I found by chance. I was coming out of a restaraunt when I came across it in the parking lot one evening. I just keep it on there because it's small and it doesn't cause a problem. And other users are right - criminals can use handcuffs just as easily as law enforcement can. So one can say I'm just being safe rather than sorry.

In 30 years of EMS work, there are many occasions where I've had to assess or treat patients initially in handcuffs. On those occasions a handcuff "KEY" of your own can come in handy. Please recall that the discussion and my comment about paramedics was merely about handcuff keys, not handcuffs. Handcuff use in a medical setting would be, of course, a deviation from the accepted standard of care. Nonetheless, one sometimes encounters handcuffed patients. This may not be your experience, but it does happen.

Jeff

So Jeff, are you saying that after receiving a handcuffed "patient" from a cop you would then use your own handcuff key to uncuff the subject and render treatment? If so, where was the cop and why didn't he uncuff, or why would you uncuff a violent (I assume), subject without the LEO present?

No attitude intended in the question...just curious

Well, EMS personnel do have, ahem... sedatives... that could make it perfectly safe to uncuff a violent patient.

Or, they could use the "universal sedative"...

You know cops... never around when you need them.(just kidding) Sometimes the cops are still busy sorting out an ongoing situation, and aren't available to remove the cuffs when they are no longer needed. Sometimes the patient was cuffed merely due to police protocol and are no danger to me. Sometimes I've already placed to patient in medical-type restraint, so the cuffs are no longer needed.

Jeff

FYI from a field medic.....I've carried both. It was very common to carry cuffs where I worked in NYC. I know many medics/emts who did. No they are NOT "approved"...but neither were some of the other things that "we" carried. No we didn't usually go in on violent patients when we were alone.....but then a lot of patients that 'weren't violent' turned that way very quickly...and when the cops weren't there....then we needed something to secure them FAST! Usually they'd get cuffed in some way:either hands together or at least one of them to the stretcher so that we only had one hand to 'worry about'. After we got them 'secured in the (soft restraints/Bellvue sandwhich) equipment...then the cuffs would come off. They were a stop gap to allow us to time to properly restrain them.

If reference to 'uncuffing' a patient that was under arrest....I've had quite a few 'prisoners' who were cuffed (behind the back) that after a short while became very medically unstable. Some of them needed Endotrachael Intubation (tube into the trachea (lungs) to breathe for them). It is very difficult to place someone flat on their back when their hands are cuffed behind them. In that case they'd be quickly uncuffed and cuffed to the stretcher...despite the fact that they may no longer have been breathing....they were still cuffed to the stretcher.

Other times I've had cops "follow" us to the hospital with the someone in custody in my bus. Sometimes they would 'take their time' getting there (Oh I got stuck at a light).....in that case we were able to temporarily remove a cuff to move the patient from our stretcher....the cop had cuff him to it. This happened several times despite our requesting that they NOT do so. Once we got to the hospital and had enough people to safely 'cover the patient' we could open them.

Some 'perps', once they settled down, would sometimes realize that "we" (EMS) were not the ones they were ticked off at. Sometimes they would actually apologize to us and become an almost completely different person....no we still didn't trust them...but we did build a rapport with them and they would relax with us and not be so violent. Sometimes we would actually get some better results from them since we weren't trying to 'fight' them.

It was/is always a 'judgement' call. I am fortunate to have enough experience to make that call...I had excellent people teach me....I wouldn't even try to explain how to make that judgement in a post....you need LOTS of hands on time in an area and with people who know what and how to really teach you.

Most importantly......OUR safety is ALWAYS FIRST !!!!!We go home alive tonight....Thus endeth the lesson.

Because some people on this site think they are James Bond.
simon

He is 007, I'm 009

Thanks for the explanation.

He been at the new station for over 2 months and just this past week re-qualified for his Boarding Officer status, so he is happy Coastie once more.

Pete