Ignored!!

Busy responding days don't usually happen till Friday or Saturday when a large number of the local people decide to venture out and go shopping! There is always a exception to every rule and today was the exception with 4 calls in 4 and half hours!

All Cat A calls and all within 2 miles of my house.

The first was a poorly bean who needed to be in hospital without delay and the third and forth were falls with severe cuts and brusies. It was the second call of the day which developed into me being ignored!!

Control phone and asked me to attend a female disabled patient who had collapsed in the local car park.
It took me about 4 mins to reach the scene and i was met by members of the public gathered around a slumped lady of about 70.
I took my kit from the car and made my way to my patient.
"I'm a community responder from the ambulance service, a ambulance is on its way and i'm here to help until the ambulance arrives"
She moans and is incoherant for a short while, patience and a few more questions quickly establish a list of complaints all serious in their own right but added together could be very toxic!!
She suffers from heart problems, is diabetic and is suffering from D & V to name the major ones!!
It appears that her D & V are to blame as she has difficulty keeping her fluid levels up.

This poor lady, how on earth did she manage to drive her car, park it and get out of it!!!!!!
She collapsed about 70 feet from it on her way to the shopping precinct.

Her o2 and heart rate are sensible for her and her breathing is in normal range so I don't at this point administer o2. I try to dig into what brought about the collapse, what happened immediately before and after this episode.
The solo responder arrives and i hand over and work with him whilst he does the obs and starts the paperwork.
The far off wailing of sirens hit my eardrum and before long the crew have arrived.
The solo is handing over the patients details and the crew disembark and start talking to my patient.
At this moment in time they haven't acknowledge me or my existance! Not even eye contact or a smile!!
Ok, its not a problem as my little lady needs their attention and rightly so gets it!!
They finish up and start moving things to get her into their truck, this is 10 mins or so after their arrival and they have spoken to a couple of bystanders BUT........................................
They completely ignore my "would you like some help" or "can i get that for you" not a no thanks or even a grunt..............NOTHING.....

This really makes me angry ......... my apologies for being a little cross at the moment,

I must point out that the solo responder was very polite and thanked me more than once. He offered me replacement masks and an O2 cylinder, i refused because, as i mentioned earlier, i didn't need anything anyway.

Now i was brought up to be polite and if possible, always acknowledge the people around me, this crew were rude and completely out of order in their behaviour. They didn't even offer me replacement kit for my responder bag they left the scene without so much as a bye!!!

OK so what can i do about it!!
I can report them!
But what will that achieve????????
it won't achieve anything!!!!!
it will simply cause a divided split between my responder group and the crew involved. Something i have worked hard to achieve for the last 2 years.

What worries me is that they have "this attitude" and that won't change unless someone stands up and says............................. "excuse me" please be more thoughtful and at least acknowledge us with a smile next time!

So I will have to think on the best way of dealing with this!

Your comments and thoughts would be really appreciated as always.

XX

Where do you want me?

They are changing the way we are deployed! We used to have text messages and immediately a text came you you would call control on a dedicated number and you would be told if you were required to attend the job. Now this is changing!!
"Why".........
well in remote parts of this county text messages can take 6 or 8 hours to go around the satelite and arrive at their destination................
Now this has had a undesired effect on me, at 2.30am.....
grabbing the nearest pile of clothes, dropping the said phone, stubbing my toe, hitting my head on the door frame all as i stumble through the bedroom and out on to the landing without putting a light on!
Well by now the whole neighbourhood has heard my pain, my children are all stirring, the dog thinks he is going for his morning walk and his huge tail is drumming on every piece of furniture from landing to front door!!!
With the phone to my ear with control saying..
"No hun, sorry we dont have any calls in your area"
I can honestly say the phone was nearly, so very nearly, sent on free flying lessons.............
On returning to bed my partner sighed and turned over to resume snoring!!!!!
Now I am sure i am not the only one who finds a partners snoring sooooooooooooo annoying when coming back to bed after a disturbance in the night.

I digress and my apologies..............

We had a little meeting and its been decided that we will submit a rota via email to control giving our availability. Now thats good because, as soon as the 999 call is received a operator can be on the phone to the CFR on duty, according to the rota, and we can be deployed within seconds.......... a text message will follow confirming details. Now this sounds great, but what happens when things go wrong..........................yep it happened........to me.............yesterday........

The phone rings...............
I answer..."Morning control Zulu XX here"
"Morning,Can you go to a chest pains please"
So i reply..."Yes certainly control", "Can you give me more details please" (.....Like the address!!!!!!!!!!)
There is no answer..........................
"ERRR CONTROL Can i have the address please"
"WHERE DO YOU WANT ME?"
No answer, they have hung up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I am not a professor or a specialist and as yet i do not have any qualification in telepathy.............. so this piece of missing information is rather vital!
I tried to call back but they are obviously busy.
By the time i get in my car and make out towards the main road I receive the text with full details on it so little time was wasted.

Now another thought occurred to me................... Ok, I say my availability is, for example, 18.00 to 23.00 but in that time, i may need to drop off and pick up my kids at various clubs and activities, shop, eat supper or even use the toilet, so maybe the rota may have to be tweaked!!

XXX

I am Back!

Firstly my apologies for being away from the scene for so long!

I have changed my job and now work for one of the emergency services........................ Bet you know which one!!

6 weeks clinical training, 3 weeks driving and 1 week blue light driving and its all happened really fast! Not to mention the portfolio and other underpining knowledge stuff its all in a haze!!

Now i haven't attended as many CFR jobs as i have wanted to but its a nightmare fitting everything in............ enough excuses ..........

Had a call yesterday which took me to my boundary ............... thats the maximum distance from my house i can travel in 8 mins but i offered my services and control were happy for me to go.......

When i arrived i collected my bag and defib and made for the address........ I was met by the ladys husband who told me to go up the stairs,
he said
"I have just man handled her upstairs to bed" !!!
" she is very difficult to move you know"
"she is in the first bedroom"!
"I took her to bed after phoning for a ambulance".................
Now i have a question ??????
Why, oh Why.......
Do people struggle with bendy, twisty stairs haul themselves, or get their partners to, get them into bed when they feel unwell enough for an ambulance!!
WHY!!!!
This is something which has me beat from day one of working with poorly people.
Now I know this person was a poorly bean and needed to go to hospital, although in my role a a CFR I would not communicate this to the patient, I administered Oxygen and I could hear the far off wails of a siren and i gathered some history from the husband.
It wasn't long before the ambulance arrived and i was able to hand over my patient to the attendant.
The other half of the crew was despatch for the carry chair because the patient was off legs!
I moved the flowers and paperwork from the stairs to help the crew when they brought her safetly down.

She was packed off to hospital and I wish her a speedy recovery.

I know in the victorian era, if you were ill you went to bed!! But this is 2008 and if someone is ill, ill enough to call an emergency ambulance, please please do not take them to bed, make them comfortable where they are................. unless they are already in bed of course!........

XXXX

Do you mind! I live here....

Well it was cold enough to freeze a brass monkey! I hadn't had my supper which was probably by now either in the fridge or in the dog!
I have been searching every door in the street with my bag and de fib in hand to try and find 12A!!
I had, I thought, parked my car sensibly and visably so the crew could find the address easier than me!
Eventually I found 12A and 14A down a side alley...
next door to 18 and 20!!
"now how does that work"!!
I ran the bell and a lovely smartly dressed lady answered the door and ushered me to her husbands bedside.
The poor gentleman was in huge distress, his astma was totally out of control and it was one of the worst cases i have seen. Immediately I got him sitting slightly forward and onto the oxygen. He had been like this for about an hour! Because he didn't want to inconvenience anyone!!!
I immediately explained that he was NOT a inconvenience and I wouldn't worry about being called to see him at any time of the day or night.
I love my job so much......... genuine people who need a helping hand I can deal with all day everyday.............
However ...................
Its the lowest of the low who seem to take pleasure in abusing our emergency services which deserve the highest, stiffest penalty!
Although in this country, like thats gonna happen!!
They are more likely to be given legal aid to sue for imfringment of their human rights!!!!!!!!!
rant and rave over so back to my poorly man............
He was looking a little fresher in the face but still very poorly, his peak flow was only about 200!
I phoned control to find out how long it would be before my transport arrived and updated them on the severity of my patient and as i put the phone back in my pocket the familiar blue lights lit up the room.
My single crewed paramedic walked in and immediately began to put together a nebuliser to help my young man! (he was 74 but he was alot younger in looks and in his sense of humor)
After 3 more refills of drugs in the nebuliser the crew arrived to take him to A and E.
Sometimes i wished i could find out how the patients got on but sometimes the emotional side of me kicks in and believe me its for the best, I don't know.
I waited for the paramedic and ambulance to leave and as i was securing my bag and defib in the back of my car I noticed a stout lady of about 55-60 heading towards me, I thought she may have wanted to know what was going on.
(We are always cryptic and vauge in this situation - busy bodies are everywhere just waiting for that tiny bit of gossip to go shouting from the roof tops!)
"Good evening" i said as she approach me
"DO YOU MIND, I LIVE HERE" She shouted pointing across the parking area.
" Why exactly are you parked there?" "I need that area to turn my car around" she bellowed.
...Now she had a smallish car, and should of been able to reverse in the space without even a second thought.........
" Oh i am very sorry, i was attending a medical emergency on behalf of the ambulance service" I replied.
" I haven't been able to get my car out to go and get any cigarettes for my husband".
"He is furious" "You should have parked on the road, down there"
..Now this road is just about wide enough for 2 vehicles, it has intermitant street lights, it and the surrounding houses are on a reasonable steep hill. This means carrying my bags in mud and water whilst climbing a hill and negoiating a mud slide the kids have made!!....
BY now I am seething and spitting feathers! I want to give this woman either a slap or a headbutt!
" I can only apologise, but if you want to go and get in your car now i am going" I retorted.
" you don't have blue lights", "You don't have a siren" she started to raise her voice.....
"Madam here is my ID, I am a community responder, I work as a VOLUNTEER"
She thrust my ID back in my hand and told me to park on the main road next time or else she is reporting me!
I stormed into my car, phone myself clear of the job and after a moment or two of calmness, 2 thoughts crossed my mind.......

1. If I got a call to her house would she want me to park on the road and walk!!

2. What would the police actually do?

what do you think ???? ..........................................

My own gremlins

Its a fab day today, so i thought i would get up and get done every outdoor job i have been trying to do since before christmas !!
Visited the garden centre today, but really wished i hadn't..........
my littlest one decided to through a wobbly, well correction, actually it was a fully blown bloody screaming session all because I said she couldn't have a chocolate bar!!!
You know what its like, your shopping and all of a sudden you hear the screams and you know that some child is objecting to something!!
The tantrums start!!!
Well this sunday it was my child!!!!!!!!!!!
It is amazing how many people stop and stare, when you trying you best to explain that lunch is in ten mins away and noway can they have a chocolate bar!!
All those eyes staring and minds working on the theory that this poor child was being hard done by!
The tuts and sighs........
ERRR"HELLO"
"She wants a chocolate bar and probably a good sleep since she was up at 5.00am"!!
"I only said no"!!
Anyway with child asleep on my shoulder i manage to wind my way across the carpark. Its amazing how many people stop to let you cross one arm around the child and the other trying to push a trolley! One older member of the human race decided that his 3 point turn into a 50 foot parking space would result in mounting the kerb and nearly wiping me, my daughter and my trolley off the planet it was only my cry of "STOP" that prevented us from becoming the latest patient!
After 2 hours of gardening, eating lunch and drinking a cup of tea i manage to sit down and just closed my eyes when the familiar "Bleep,Bleep" brought me to my senses.

The text read"breathing problems"..

"yes please" was the reply to the enevitable question of "do you want me to attend?"

This was about 1 mile from my house, on the outskirts of town, but being a sunday it would probably only take me 3 mins or so and the crew were coming from out of town so I would be there before them.
The house was difficult to find, every house in the street was named not numbered so it was case of slowly kerb crawling past 40 or so houses to find the right one!
Needless to say i went straight past it and had to turn around and do the same thing on the way back.
This time there was a person outside obviously waiting for something. I drove up to him and he confirmed that i was indeed in the right place. The patient was less than 3 days old!!
This is my nightmare! Its the one thing i am totally terrified about!
You see...................
I had to revive my littlest one at the age of 13 months. She grabbed a hand full of crisps and shoved them into her mouth. She was so quick.............. she started choking, stopped breathing and turned blue! I had to resusitate her and i always said i could never, ever do it again.
My own fear was only just bearable..................... I walked briskly , it was a beautiful richly decorated room with exposed cotswold stone. The one thing that struck me about the room was it was so hot, I immediately asked if we could open the door even if ony for a few seconds...............
Tthe infant was so quiet, with obvious laboured breathing , I asked mum to very gently wipe the tiny mouth with the tip of her little finger, It was full of mucus and the poor little thing couldn't get rid of it herself. I was shaking so much and i felt so sick i can't begin to express it in words, I set up the oxygen with a mask and gently wafted the mask a little way from the baby's face. To my great relief, the baby coughed and spluttered and took a huge gulp of air, she screamed, within a few seconds her colour turned really red and she started to breathe so much better.
My eyes were starting to sting and i was willing them not to well up!! I am always pleased to see the crew but in this instance I could have kissed him! I spent 40mins observing the obs and tests and listening to the questions he was asking the new mum and my greatest moment was when he said...
"her obs are good, everything was done before i got here",
I hope that i have now put my gremlins to bed!
I have to admit I gave my little one a extra big cuddle at bed time tonight and said an extra "thank you god"...........

For the grace of god go I..........

It was about 18.30 the familar bleep bleep of the ambulance phone disturbed a rather big family debate.
I had borrowed 2 kids on the promise of a quiet sleepover!!
ummmmmm in my eyes there is never such a thing!
" female and fitting"
Phoned control and they would like me to attend
The dog runs for cover under the table after the previous experiences, at last he has learnt!
"where are you going mum", "whats happening?" "What about tea?"
"For goodness sake kids your mum is going out on a call" that was the last comment which fainted in the distance as my car fired up and we were off through the remaining rush hour traffic.
I knew roughly where the street was and it was in a reasonable area only a mile and bit from where i live.
I managed to park just next the property, grabbed my green bag.
Two things surprised me on entering the property, one was a sweet but chokingly strong urine smell and the other was the tired but grand decor in the property.

The patient was in a downstairs room, a makeshift bedroom,cluttered, dirty, but it was obviously, once, a happy joyful room. She lay on her side, on her bed, on a bare matress. Letters, empty coke cans, envelopes, clothes, dirty laundry not to mention fluids of all discriptions seemed to be her make shift bedcovers.
I managed to get a mask on her and administer oxygen. I was joined by a paramedic who was able to put a line in and adminsted vital drugs to bring the fits under control.
The oxygen cylinder was just about on empty when the crew arrived. The paramedic handed over and although it was a struggle to negiotiate the numerous feline residents the patient was finally wheeled on board the ambulance.

When we were walking out with our patient I couldn't help but feel that I am in a very privillaged position.
I complain about money, the kids and dog making a mess of the newly washed kitchen floor, untidness, all the usual family stuff ....but.... I have nothing to complain about.........
I live a blessed life .....
I have a loving family, I have a great job and I am so fourtunate being allowed into and be a brief part of our patients lives no matter what walk of life or what their circumstances are...........
"There for the grace of god go I"..........................................

Its the chicken Kiev!

Its about 5.50pm when i arrive home after work, straight into the fridge to see what i can magic up for tea!
Its like bees around a hunny pot when i come home and open the fridge.
My kids come out from their hidey holes!
"What for tea?"
"I'm starving" (Like he hasn't had any food all day, forgetting the biscuit, bananna and apple munched less than 15mins ago!!)
Things are always hectic around tea time...... Now I have a full blown paddy from the smallest member of the team.........
Its like the Waltons but only smaller!!
Well 10 mins later hubby walks through the door................. "Whats for tea?" "I'm starving?"
Well now i know where the kids get it from!!!!!!!!!!!
About forty five mins later the kiev(totally homemade!!) is ready.........
"we have to be at school for a meeting at 7.00pm" came a voice from the other end of the kitchen.
Sure enough its 6.55pm!
Well the kiev is abandonned and the sound of munching and crunching is far behind as my child and i stomp to school!
25 mins later we are stomping back home!
It was nothing that couldn't have been handed out on a piece of paper and brought home!
Well i suppose it saves all the mud, drink and other un-mentionables attaching themselves to the same piece of paper before it gets home!!!!
With my tummy rumbling and the thought of supper as soon as i walk thorough the door.......
Just as i dish my remaining cauliflower on to my plate and start to preceed towards the table.................
The ambulance phone goes..................
ITS THE KIEV!!!!!!!!!!
Its a chest pains call
I phone control (they may stand me down!! They might have another responder attending...)
YES please comes the reply from down the phone.........
I jump in the car and luckily for me the address isn't very far away.
Finding the place proves more difficult............
Just as I turn around and work my way back down the street the crew arrives.
I jump out and offer assistance but they stand me down (don't require my assistance)
So its back to my Kiev..............
Back in my warm kitchen i retrieve the kiev from the oven and this time i get to sit at the kitchen table, the kids long gone, probably retired to their rooms, the littlest member is watching a bedtime program on tv.
I have just reached for the cultery and the phone goes again...........................
..............IT REALLY IS THE KIEV..................................................
I phone control to ask if they require me to attend, after much delibaration they decide that the call is a cat B, and not to despatch me as a RRV (Rapid Response Vehicle)is very closeby.
I rescued the Kiev from the oven,
It looks very dry and sad!
But do i care?
No!!
I eat it anyway..............
before the phone goes again!
But it doesn't! Not one message! so its time for me to hit the wooden hill and slide down sheet lane.........

If there are any ambulance personnel reading this..... How do you manage to grab a bite to eat? I know you can arrange a break with control but even then you might not get a bit to eat?