Make Pillbox a safe zone

[Melondwarf]

Brief Summary:
Make Pillbox a non-combat zone. Prevent lengthy shootouts between cops and gangs that prevents Pillbox from operating properly.
A hospital should be a place where people can feel safe and not a warzone.

Detailed Suggestion:
In the last couple NHS patrols I've been on there have been massive gunfights between cops and gangs/smaller groups that inevitably gets moved to Pillbox as the wounded start pouring in.
This completely locks down the entire area and prevents anyone from entering to be healed, or the NHS to get out of Pillbox to do their job (because we're not allowed to put ourselves in life threatening situations). 
There is currently a rule that specifies an NHS worker cannot be taken hostage, but each time this happens I feel as if I may as well be a hostage since I'm not actually allowed to leave the house to help people.
 I was stuck in Pillbox for over an hour as PD was just rushing in more and more patients, putting them at my feet and saying "heal this, do that, he's wounded, here's another one", meanwhile you have 10-20 calls out in the rest of the city that we aren't allowed to respond to, because cops and gangs want to play with their guns.

There are times where the NHS struggles to reach calls as it is, don't make it more difficult for us.

The Pros:
-Allows NHS to do their job outside of what the police/gang tells them that they're allowed to do.
-Allows civs to actually use the hospital when necessary.
-Doesn't cut off the entire area around Legion.
-Gives the city a "safe area".

The Cons:
-Cops and Gangs don't get to play Assault on Precinct 13
-Can potentially be exploited by people shooting up a place and then running away into Pillbox (make that fall into the category of Powergaming?)

Does this suggestion change balance on the server ?
Not directly, other than it may cause awkwardness for transporting patients from a prolonged gunfight (have the involved parties drag their members to a safe area?)

 

[M]

I generally agree that action should be taken to uphold a peaceful environment for un-involved players to receive access to treatment. 

The problem with a 'safezone' is that conflicts may in fact just be brought to the edge of that safezone, where ever that may be. Then there will be arguments over people who have stepped foot accidentally or intentionally in that safezone mid-combat, which is another nightmare in itself. Also, the police is the supposed ultimate power. They likely will have the ability to do what ever they like in that safezone, which is unfair and unbalanced - this is what happened often in Altis. 

Perhaps a more workable solution is for the rules to provide provisions for medics that are dealing with an assault on Pillbox. Such as medics being allowed to put on protective equipment and try and work out who isn't involved to evacuate those patients and treat them elsewhere. The benefit of this solution is that it allows in combatants to not be rule-cautious over safezone rules and allows medics to have a more intense and high-risk role in the situation providing fun and enjoyment.

 

[Melondwarf]

I generally agree that action should be taken to uphold a peaceful environment for un-involved players to receive access to treatment. 

The problem with a 'safezone' is that conflicts may in fact just be brought to the edge of that safezone, where ever that may be. Then there will be arguments over people who have stepped foot accidentally or intentionally in that safezone mid-combat, which is another nightmare in itself. Also, the police is the supposed ultimate power. They likely will have the ability to do what ever they like in that safezone, which is unfair and unbalanced - this is what happened often in Altis. 

Perhaps a more workable solution is for the rules to provide provisions for medics that are dealing with an assault on Pillbox. Such as medics being allowed to put on protective equipment and try and work out who isn't involved to evacuate those patients and treat them elsewhere. The benefit of this solution is that it allows in combatants to not be rule-cautious over safezone rules and allows medics to have a more intense and high-risk role in the situation providing fun and enjoyment.

That is another good way of handling it. I basically just want to avoid the situation I had two days ago where I was essentially locked up into a secluded ward of the hospital, unable to leave, while seeing call after call tick past, which must be frustrating AF for those in need.

 

[M]

That is another good way of handling it. I basically just want to avoid the situation I had two days ago where I was essentially locked up into a secluded ward of the hospital, unable to leave, while seeing call after call tick past, which must be frustrating AF for those in need.

In this situation, you probably should have asserted your intent to leave, and just left the hospital and returned once safe. However, I don't know the ins and outs of this situation. 

 

[Hugh]

Not for me personally. I can get the pain, but I think there's a roleplay answer to it rather than applying a magical safezone which may inhibit scenarios outside of major gunfights. Just feels like a sledgehammer approach when RPUK strikes me as a server that does the least impactful thing it can to fix problems to preserve realism. It could adversely impact other less serious escalations that happen in there, like unruly patients, and Gruppe6 also regularly have violent interactions while guarding it.

As for cops flooding people in for medical aid, if you feel you really need to be out attending to calls, I don't think it's unreasonable to say "I am part of an ambulance crew and my colleagues / locals at the hospital will need to attend to these officers". However I'd imagine dealing with shot police officers is considered high on the priority list if there's a safe way of dealing with them.

There are two ways it can go in my eyes:

1. Communicate with the police on the radio and state you have medics that need to get out on the field, and would like to be if necessary securely escorted out of pillbox (or take the back entrance which I've done in similar situations).
   
2. If this really isn't an option, then I guess treat it like the real world which is if there was a gunfight at the hospital, and staff were trapped in, then there's not a lot that can be done.
   

I've never once been locked in the hospital on a patrol, but if it does happen often enough, then perhaps police need to do a better job at cordoning off the area and accommodating the NHS. I think conversations over inter-ops channels or seniors in each faction can organise things during these scenarios. In the event they really aren't making an effort to do this and enabling good roleplay, then chat to NHS command and they can talk to police command to work things out for future scenarios. Always room for improvement.

It's also worth considering the reduction in gunfights that may come with the new police crackdown on manufacturing in the latest dev update. No guarantee but I'd like to see over the short to mid term.

Sorry for the long read, just had some views to share!