Scoop and Run is a colloquialism for the practice of immediately transporting ill or injured medical patients to a medical facility. The phrase comes into use most commonly for the very seriously injured, such as at a violent automobile collision, when it becomes obvious to the first responders that the person may die without immediate treatment at an advanced facility. The responders may then "scoop up the body and run" to the ambulance and then on to the hospital, ignoring relatively minor injuries. The implication is that palliative or first aid treatment in the field will do little or no good for the patient, and that any delay in arriving at the hospital will be severely detrimental.
In general, it is common practice in the United States to transport patients to a medical facility as soon as possible, meaning as soon as it is safe to do so. Past practice was to treat as many ailments as possible in the field (stay and play ). This was discontinued as it developed that some undiscovered injuries may become critical while the patient was still many miles, and many minutes, from advanced assistance.
Also known as, GTHTTH (Get The Hell To The Hospital), an acronym used by some Emergency Medical personnel to prevent alarming the patient.
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