Conflict between the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and Orange County Fire Authority has risen to a new high. The arguments over who should transport a patient or victim has escalated to the point that it is affecting the care these patients receive. A letter by the Emergency Medical Services described how the argument over an elderly lady, who had sustained a serious head injury, caused a delay in her getting to a trauma centre. She suffered from “subsequent disability.” Other issues that endanger patients is that both departments will send rescue helicopters, which lead to “mid-air face-offs,” reports EMS 1.