As predicted, Nee Naw Control was ringing with the sound of suspendeds today. The girl sitting next to me must have taken about five billion, but for some reason all I got all day were blokes who had dislocated their knees or similar playing football. I must have had at least fifteen of these. I even had two who injured themselves on the same football field, five hours apart.
There was just the one suspended call, the first I have taken in about four months. I’d forgotten the way people skirt around saying words like “dead” or even “not breathing” and was initially rather confused by the call, which went rather like this:
Me: “What’s the problem? Tell me exactly what happened?”
Old lady: “I need an ambulance for my husband!”
Me: “What’s wrong with your husband?”
Old lady: “Everything’s wrong with him!”
Me: “What happened?”
Old lady: “It’s very urgent!”
Me: “What is wrong with your husband?”
Old lady: “It’s an emergency!”
Me: Is he conscious?
Old lady: “No!”
Me: “Is he breathing?”
Old lady: “NO!!!”
It’s rather frustrating when someone is telling you that something is very urgent and an emergency, and from their tone of voice you are inclined to agree, but they won’t explain why. Unfortunately just putting “It’s an emergency and very urgent” on the ticket is not going to inspire Dispatch to send anything in a hurry, so you just have to plod on with the questions and hope it all becomes clear, as it did in this case.
The doctor son was doing CPR all along and the patient was blued into hospital, but I don’t know anything beyond that.
I also can’t believe that I didn’t have one single firework related incident all day. I know the night turn will probably cop a few, but still, three hours of darkness with no fireworks up noses or thrown on to commuter trains is good going. Those telly adverts must have worked.
November 5th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
i shall never forget listening to a house officer trying desperately to extricate himself from the mire heap after telling relatives that he had lost their father -
“what do you meant you’ve lost him, where did you loose him”
he couldn’t say the D word
November 6th, 2006 at 1:07 am
At least he was telling the right relatives!
We had a few bonfire burns and drink related injuries this weekend, but no fireworks that I’m aware of.
SD
November 6th, 2006 at 10:43 am
The caller had said “My husband has fallen on the floor, and I can’t get him up.” A 999 call which received (pre-AMPDS) an immediate, swift response (even though I’m sure we pictured just an elderly gent who had tripped whilst going for a small-hours pee.)
The patient was a 42 Y.O. in cardiac arrest.
In 16 years, my one and only bonfire-night-associated job was to a house with a front garden like Steptoe’s Yard. In the darkness beyond the bonfire, an excited, sparkler-waving little boy had tripped, sustaining a bone-depth, 6″-long gash in his knee and shin, courtesy of a discarded fish tank. You couldn’t make it up!
November 6th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Layman’s reactions to a dead relative is totally irrational. when my husband collapsed, I just stood their and drooled in disbelief.
November 6th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Actually, I stood there not their. Excuse typo.
November 6th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Hey,
Stumbled across your website, quite by accident but have never read something so close to home that is so funny!!
I recently started working in York Control (North Yorkshire) **draws shield as evils come from down south ;)**
Anyway, your blog is the perfect example of what we go through every shift….as for your most recent post….i fortunately escaped the bonfire night shift…but have had such a similar experience with a distressed daughter who repeatedly told me that it was an emergency…to which i believed again due to tone of voice but the exact emergency took a long time to determine as when i proceded to the questions in hope to get something out of her…she still would not answer them…informing me that she is not a Dr, how was she meant to know!
November 6th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
That post is hilarious! I knew what was coming before I read it. Great stuff.
November 6th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Good luck with the suspendeds, sounds like someone else got the hot seat today..
Have just done first day of my SJA First Aid course.. all well and good, bless ‘em, til it came to “what to tell the people on the other end of the phone if you call 999″.
I’m going to really get up their noses tomorrow - I’m taking your 10 commandments in with me. Spread the word!!
November 6th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Yes, I’ve done the first aid course with St John too and was rather surprised that they obviously hadn’t consulted with the ambulance service about the calling an ambulance bit!