Sorry I haven’t posted lately! I have been dead busy but I promise to provide you with some new ambulance tales soon - but not right now as I am supposed to be working on a presentation about the 999 system for some St John Ambulance cadets!
To give me some inspiration for new posts, I’m throwing this one over to you lot: ask me a question or give me a topic and I promise to write a blog post about it. (Er, assuming it’s on topic and not breaking the law or the bounds of decency.)
November 28th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
dead busy eh - you’ll go far in this job (the further the better)….lol
November 28th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
What’s the one call you wish you had not taken and why?
Where do you think your skills would be best used outside of what you do?
When will one of you NHS bloggers organise a big do that us readers can come and meet you all at?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Should members of the public do first-aid courses, and if so what kind?
I get the impression from reading the emergiblogs sometimes that semi-informed people do more harm than good…
November 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
What are your views on ECAs and how are LAS dealing with them?
November 29th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I’ve been seeing a lot of stories coming in to me at the moment about Community first responders - I’d be interested in anything you’ve got to say about that, though i don’t know if they have them in London or just in the sticks.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
ref first aid courses for the public
the main problem is getting people to update and practise
often heard quote: i’ ve done my first aid course.when? oh 10 years ago.
things change
my county keep a data base and send out reminders.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Why did you decide to do this job?
Do your bosses know about this blog?
November 29th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
BRI,
Try a ex first aider telling me that direct pressure was WRONG and i need to use my belt around they upper arm to stop the flow. Reply “what century were you training in first aid”
im a site first aider as well as an SJA member. do to the fact that im sja, i end up treating cause the other First aider is unsure or out of practice.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
I started to reply about first aid training, but it rapidly developed into a post on its own. So, I’ve popped it on my own blog instead!
Thanks for the inspiration and if it gives you some as well, well and good.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:54 am
Here’s a few questions to prepare for.
“Why did the operator tell me to put someone flat on their back when I was trained to put them in the recovery position?”
“I was told to send someone to call 999 while I treated the patient, why did they come back to ask lots of questions when I was busy?”
“Why can’t you tell where I am when I send someone to call 999. The media always has people just dial 999 and then you know exactly where we are?”
“Why is it whenever someone falls over outside a nightclub there is always a drunk nurse trying to take over the scene, shout abuse at anyone else medical, vomit, and then argue that just because they’ve had a drink or two that doesnt affect their judgement or skills (in an unrelated area of medicine)?”
Ok, maybe the last one you could re-word as dealing with others at scene.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
As an SJA member who does a fair amount of duties in a nightclub, we do manage to keep a lot of passed-out drunks out of A&E by looking after them for a few hours until they sober up enough to be taken home by their (by then totally sober) friends who have also stayed with them the entire evening.
However there’s always the odd few that, at kicking out time, are still so totally wasted that they can barely open their eyes and can only move when they need to vomit (again). Our only “safe” option is to get an ambulance to take them to A&E, which we don’t like doing because:
a) It’s a waste of an ambulance
b) It’s a waste of a hospital bed/trolley
c) It annoys the ambulance crews
Do you think there should be “safe” houses where drunk people can be taken (by the house’s own transport team) to be kept an eye on (by trained people) while they’re sleeping it off so that they don’t take up ambulances and hospital places?
November 30th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
LOL Whatever happened to getting drunk and going home to sleep it off? I really don’t get why a medically trained person needs to baby sit a drunk.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Someone should come up with the alcohol equivalent of Narcan, but longer lasting and leaving the now sobered drunk with the world’s worst hangover - immediately.
Failing that, drunk tanks.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Hi Mark,
Any chance you could send me a copy of that presentation you are preparing?
December 4th, 2007 at 6:59 am
I’d like to hear more about the over-the-phone first-aid instructions (we call them pre-arrival instructions in my part of the US) that you give for various situations.
Also, when allocating, what kind of division do you have for your span of control? Do you control a geographic area? A certain number of units? What happens when one ambulance has to go into another area?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Some good questions here (and some good “devil’s advocate” ones from you, Dullahan 999!) - keep them coming and I’ll start answering them at the end of the week!
December 4th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
One of the things that used to bother me as a newby in the EMS field (and I have found out it was not just me), was when I arrived at a still alarm (scene I just happened to walk in upon), did a great job of stablizing things and getting a great set of baseline vitals….I was often ignored and pushed aside by “official responders” as they did not recognize my ability to assist, as I was not in uniform at the time. The only time I was ever paid any attention to, was if the responders personally knew me.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
What would be the best way to slip a briefcase bomb into Gold Control before the winter pressures start?
How can I disconnect the camera that lets you know when I’m reaching for the boiler tap in order to make myself a cup of tea.
More seriously - has the MDT ‘countdown’ timer helped anything?
and
How many times have you wanted to tell an ambulance crew to stop whining when they ask during every call if they are really the nearest vehicle?
December 8th, 2007 at 4:39 am
“How can I disconnect the camera that lets you know when I’m reaching for the boiler tap in order to make myself a cup of tea.”
Aha Tom, if you do disconnect it, the backup “just shut the toilet door” buzzer comes into effect!
December 8th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Dullahan_999 - very true, forgot about that one.
Another question, stemming in part from a post I made over on my site.
If someone asks for a specific gender crew - do they get it? I know you try to look for a female crew to deal with rapes (and does that work the same way with a male rape?) but if someone demands a female crew, do they get it?
December 10th, 2007 at 7:03 am
“If someone asks for a specific gender crew - do they get it?”
Maybe. But we don’t bend over backwards unless theres a good reason.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
What’s the best way to ‘hand’ over to the ambulance crew/paramedic when you have been first aider treating casualty and what information should you have for them?
December 12th, 2007 at 5:36 am
“I really don’t get why a medically trained person needs to baby sit a drunk.”
If there’s first aid somewhere fantastic - because you never know when you’re going to have someone who’s more than ‘just drunk’.
Another SJA here with a LOT of duties in concerts, raves and the like… I’ve had ‘drunks’ stop breathing because they’d ALSO taken GHB, I’ve had ‘drunks’ start vomiting blood and even a few ‘drunks’ who turned out to be hypo’s everyone just assumed were drunks. I’ve also had a lot of just plain drunks who irritate the living hell out of me
“What’s the best way to ‘hand’ over to the ambulance crew/paramedic when you have been first aider treating casualty and what information should you have for them?”
Quick outline of the problem, brief medical history (if available), what led up to the event, what you’ve done thus far. They’ll do the exact same run through with the patient - don’t be offended, it’s partly to double check, partly to check cognitive status of the patient and also acts to catch any missed details. This will vary greatly from crew to crew though - my thoughts on this at http://followingchiron.blogspot.com/2007/12/take-long-deep-breaths.html
Cheers!
December 15th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
I’m sure MM will have wittier answers, but here goes:
“Why did the operator tell me to put someone flat on their back when I was trained to put them in the recovery position?”
a) Because you can monitor breathing better
b) Patient is in right position to start ventilations or compressions if required
c)Not everyone actually does a good job of R******y postion (or maintaining effective airway)
d)R******y position is mainly for leaving patient ’safely’ alone while you do something else (eg run off for help or deal with the nextpatient)
“I was told to send someone to call 999 while I treated the patient, why did they come back to ask lots of questions when I was busy?”
Because there aren’t enough ambulances, and we have to prioritise the calls by asking questions. Also, as people have mobile phones at nearly every incident, you can ‘treat’ the patient AND asnwer questions at the same time…
“Why can’t you tell where I am when I send someone to call 999. The media always has people just dial 999 and then you know exactly where we are?”
Because where you are phoning from might not be the location of the emergency (eg your friend texted you to say they had taken overdose/ your granny phoned to say she has chest pain/ your wife’s friend’s brother’s aunt does not speak English but has fallen down the stairs/there is no mobile phone signal at the scene (not in London but does apply in Peak District!)/you passed a man laid out on the pavement 20 minutes ago when you were on the bus so phoned for amb when you got home….
Also if we don’t confirm the address we get the blame if it’s wrong. End of. Goodbye job in NeeNaw control. Self preservation and reduces day trips to Coroners Court.
December 31st, 2007 at 4:41 pm
What’s your typical day like? How many calls? How many are ‘rubbish’? How many are from GPs? etc..