Highly Illogical - Part Two

[GornGenius]

Topic: "Medical Emergency!"

Okay, how many times has this happened?

Scene on some random location on the ship (RLOC). Random important person (RIP) is in the throes of some terrible suffering. Suddenly, in comes one of our heroes and discovers RIP. Their Starfleet training kicks in. They tap their communicator.

"Medical emergency! RLOC!"

They then futilely attempt to somehow assist RIP (you'd think standard first aid would be required basic training at Starfleet Academy), which leads to a convenient plot twist in the episode, and by the time medical aid arrives, it is too late to save RIP.

Okay. Now...this is the 24th century. We have teleportation technology. Let's put two and two together and see what we can come up with that might save time and consequently save lives. Hmmmm...

What about this?

Our hero's Starfleet training kicks in. Then his logical mind overrides.
"Hey!" he/she thinks, "I'm on a ship with transporters!"

Our hero then says,
"Computer! Medical emergency! Two to beam directly to sickbay!"

Or even better, they (or the victim, if able) tap their communicator, say the standard line, and this cues the computer to AUTOMATICALLY transport the victim and his rescuer (if present) to sick bay.

Or hey, how about emergency med kits at strategic locations throughout the ship, instead of having something like a food dispenser in engineering? (Q Who). Apparently, vending machines are more desirable than first aid kits.

Or:
1. How about two sickbays? One in the saucer section, one in the drive section?
2. How about medical staff like nurses answering the initial call, freeing up the chief medical officer to man the all-knowing medical computers and wondrous healing gadgetry?

Clearly, starships were designed without any input from Starfleet Medical or from any vulcans, for that matter. It is the only logical explanation.

Am I done yet? Oh no. More to come.

 

[JM1776]

Valid points, all ... but we've seen various bright lights say, "Medical emergency! Two to beam directly to Sickbay!"

Thus, this is only half-assed as opposed to completely asinine. Consistent writing and common sense would indeed be invaluable, here.

Wouldn't one also assume that a replicator could duplicate a medkit?

 

[Holdfast]

I think it was seen/mentioned in an episode that site-to-site transports were deemed more risky than regular transports so are used sparingly. I do agree that medical emergencies probably count!

As for the other points you mention, I think they're less pertinent -

Multiple sickbays? No need. The ship isn't THAT big. Even in major incidents they usually manage with one sickbay. One of the cargo bays is occasionally used for larger-scale crises. You can't tie up ship space with multiple sickbays that may only rarely be needed.

As for who answers the call - it largely depends on staff numbers and the skill set of the team. It's common practice for designated doctor(s) to carry "crash bleeps/pagers" in hospitals these days to respond to medical emergencies. No reason this practice shouldn't hold in the future, though instead of a bleep you have communicators. Does it need to be the CMO? Of course not, but with a relatively small staff on board ship, they're probably rostered in too. And sometimes, esp. when it's a VIP who's crashed, you hear staff specifically emergency calling the CMO to attend.

(I amusingly approve your use of RIP to refer to the patient. )

 

[Vanyel]

Dr. Crusher didstate that she had a full staff and that they were to be doctors in sickbay at all times.

I would believe that sickbay is much larger than it is portrayed in TNG. For a ship of over 1000 people it needs to be.

Site to site transports are power hogs and used rarely, but I would think that a medical emergency would be a reason to use one. Also doesn't sickbay have its own transporter pad? I thought it did, if that's so then it should be on some sort of voice command system to allow sickbay to transport the patient themselves.

Emergency medkits are widely available through out the ship, Riker tells Data and Worf to get them during Disaster.

 

[Crewman47]

On the Sternback Ent-D blueprints they have what are called Aid Stations distributed at various points on each deck of the ship. I'm assuming that these stations are where a couple of Nurses would likely be stationed during red alert situations and used when called for for the particular section they cover. They'd only be used, I guess, for minor wounds and the most major of wounds would likely be directed to Sickbay.

 

[sunbari1]

I suppose the EMH Mk.2 would help solve this problem since it can appear anywhere on the ship (at least on the Prometheus-class). Instant medical help just by saying, "Computer, activate EMH."

 

[K-Star]

Site-to-site transports are impractical/risky? Damn, that just blew a hole in one of my fanfics... I had a somewhat legitimate reason why the particular "medical emergency" would require a transport (which upon later reflection could've been solved by having medical staff bring an anti-grav stretcher) but eh.

 

[Jon1701]

Generations gives the impression that there is more than one sickbay.

If you didn't know any better you'd think that they were moving those patients from the Secondry hull up in to the Saucer. Deck 12 seems like a really good place to be in the event of a Saucer crash. Slap back in the middle of the Saucer. 4 decks up from the crash zone.

Or you could just move the patients somewhere a little less safer. Somewhere with windows...

 

[Plecostomus]

I always assumed that they were moving to a sheltered area, one that would offer greater protection against the inevitable EMP/subspace-pulse/gamma/X-ray blast from the exploding warp core. Just so happens that area also offers additional structural protection in the event of the unplanned crash-landing.

*shrug* That's how I always played it.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

I always assumed that they were moving to a sheltered area, one that would offer greater protection against the inevitable EMP/subspace-pulse/gamma/X-ray blast from the exploding warp core. Just so happens that area also offers additional structural protection in the event of the unplanned crash-landing.

It seems to me that it would make more sense to have Sick-Bay heavily shielded and used as a emergency shelter rather than have to move all of the patients in case of a crash landing.

That and I find it hard to believe that the safest place Crusher could find for her patients was on a bed underneath a window...

 

[Plecostomus]

Well there is heavily shielded against "routine" stuff and then there are the situations where you're going to have to make up new rules as you go along.

Given that they were facing a huge radiation blast from the secondary hull they went up and above the Sickbay area so they effectively had Sickbay's floor and ceiling between them. Double the shielding that way.



A core-breach is a beyond design-basis accident, and given the only other Galaxy class ship we saw on screen exploded with no survivors you have to consider that the Enterprise crew took that into consideration when they began the emergency procedures... They were assuming they could pull away in time and all they had to do was weather a huge radiation blast and debris... they weren't expecting to be caught in the shock-wave and flipped down into the atmosphere.

So the next Galaxy class ship put in this situation will take the example of the Yammato and the Enterprise into account and detach the saucer first and try to beam everyone out or have them evacuate via shuttles and escape-pods so the saucer doesn't get thrashed by the explosion.... And they'll prob'ly beef up the lower deck shielding plates or add additional force-fields so evacuating a critical station isn't required.