The City of Brady received notice on October 28, 2014 that an anonymous complaint previously filed with the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) against Brady Fire/EMS had been investigated and closed. They did not recommend any remedial action or find any wrongdoing by Brady Fire/EMS.
Going back to the beginning, TDSHS notified the City of Brady that they would investigate anonymous complaints against the Brady Fire/EMS on July 16, 2014. The following Monday, (July 21) they sent details of the complaint.
The complaint alleged that the Brady Fire/EMS "has failed to follow the Medical Director's protocol; performing advanced level or invasive treatment without medical direction or supervision; or practicing beyond the scope of certification or licensure; and routinely bypassing the local hospital emergency department".
The complaint did not name any specific ambulance run, procedure or protocol that had been violated. It was general in nature. TDSHS requested written statements and documentation that support or deny the allegations be provided by July 31, 2014. In addition to the general request, TDSHS also requested ten specific supporting documents.
On July 23 Brady Fire/EMS Chief Lyle Daniel responded to the complaint with thirteen pages of supporting documents and several letters addressing the allegations against his department. Included in the supporting documents are:
- Seven pages from the Brady Fire/EMS Medical Protocols governing how EMS personnel should handle different situations.
- An agreement with Brady Hospital (dated June 21, 2011) governing where emergency patients should be transported and a letter signed by Brady Fire/EMS Medical Director Dr. Charles Benham, MD, endorsing that agreement.
- A patient Facility Request Form which allows a patient to request transportation to specific hospital.
- A copy of the Brady Fire/EMS complaint awareness policy and a form for filing complaints against Brady Fire/EMS.
Brady City Manager Kim Lenoir sent a letter stating, " There have been no complaints by patients or family members filed in our offices relating to the above allegations or any other services provided by City of Brady Fire/EMS". She also pointed out that Brady Hospital was bypassed less that 10% of the time so far this year.
Brady Mayor Anthony Groves said he had not received any "customer" complaints about Brady Fire/EMS but that he has had conversations with members of the hospital board and one local doctor about communication between Brady Hospital ER and Brady EMS before transporting patients.
Brady citizen Mary Ann Chase offered a letter explaining why she would not want to be transported to Brady Hospital in an emergency.
Several other letters were sent but those individuals did not want to be published here.
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