GPS mishap confuses ambulance

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This event alone gives a whole new dynamic to the statement about monitoring

ones patient not ones monitor!

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

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[Guest guest]

GPS mishap confuses ambulance

Associated Press

Article Last Updated:12/10/2006 07:29:17 AM PST

LONDON - An ambulance crew ferrying a mental health patient between two

nearby hospitals drove an extra 400 miles roundtrip because they relied on a

faulty coordinates in their satellite navigation system.

The 10-mile trip within London should have taken less than half an hour.

But the crew, having never driven to the destination before, relied only on

the vehicle's GPS system.

They didn't fathom that something was amiss until they had reached the

outskirts of Manchester, more than 200 miles north of London.

The ambulance crew left King 's Hospital early Tuesday of last week

and arrived at Mascalls Park Hospital in the afternoon. The London Ambulance

Trust said the patent was remained comfortable and arrived safely.

The mishap doesn't surprise Callahan, an expert on technology and

culture. He said reliance on GPS would inevitably lead people to ditch their

maps and ignore road signs. GPS is so reliable, he said, that people might

trust it more than their own judgment.

" It's very tempting to use technology to replace ordinary common sense, " he

said.

As far as the London ambulance crew is concerned, they won't be repeating

the mistake: Officials said the coordinates for the hospital they were

trying to reach had been corrected.