One Of Our Regulars
I can guarantee you that anyone who works in Nee Naw Control will be able to tell you who the following post is about. Most of the crews will have met him at some point too.
Mr V A Grant is a homeless gentleman who likes to ring us from callboxes immediately outside hospitals. He favours a well known hospital in Central London, but has been spotted far and wide. His ailment is always the same — “My leg hurts” (although if you question him, you’ll find he suffers from a bit of everything — breathing difficulties, chest pain — so he always ends up with a category A) and if you ask him where he is he’ll always say: “Dunno. London.” Back in the days when we used to send him ambulances, he used to run (well, limp) away before they’d arrived, and then call back from a different phone box asking where it was. If the ambulance crew were lucky enough to find him, they’d take his arm and escort him back inside the hospital. As soon as they crew left, he would walk out the hospital to the nearest phone box and call again.
These days we have a blanket “no send” policy for Mr Grant. We always know when it’s going to be him, because who else would call from a phone box outside a hospital, and if that wasn’t enough of a clue, he always starts each call with “My leg hurts. It’s Mr Grant.” We tell him “Sorry, Mr Grant, we don’t send ambulances to you any more. You need to walk back inside the hospital,” and he always accepts this stoically, without arguing… then rings back again five minutes later.
on April 3rd, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Sounds like he’s got some sort of condition or a compulsion. That he gives his name even though he ought to know he’ll be rumbled as soon as he does, maybe it’s a compulsion or he does it not quite knowing why he’s doing it?
on April 3rd, 2006 at 3:45 pm
I agree that it sounds like a compulsion and, given his circumstances, it also allows him a bit of contact with someone on the phone. Doesn’t make it easier if you’re busy though!
Mark - love this site and really enjoy reading your posts - you write very well and it’s very interesting to read about your work (from a non medico position!).
on April 3rd, 2006 at 5:17 pm
After having followed your blog (and Random Reality) for a long time I used your services for the first time Friday night. I was visiting my brother in his new apartment in a posh part of London. We decided to go out to eat at a nearby Italian restaurant. As we were leaving after our meal, just about after midnight, I noticed that there was a big fight with a dozen or so teenagers on the street outside. It was quite violent, so we decided to stay inside the restaurant and asked the owner to call the cops. As the dust settled down outside I saw one guy on his back in the middle of the road fitting, I told the owner that we will need an ambulance as well. After a minute I decided it was safe to go outside and see what I could do. The guy was unconscious and choking on his tongue so I put him on his side and made sure that he was breathing. I was trained in first aid in the army, which came in handy. People started calling for ambulances on their mobiles even though I said that we already had done so. The situation was chaotic and tense. At one point I saw/heard three people simultaneously talking to Nee Naw control with the same message. I also repeatedly heard the standard “Stop asking me stupid question and just send the ambulance”. I wasn’t in a position to talk on the phone myself since I needed to focus on the ‘protecting’ the victim from his friends who tried to revive him by slapping and shaking him. Luckily he was very bloody from having been smacked over the head repeatedly with beer bottles, so most of his friends stayed at a distance. As I started to hear the sirens approach the situation got tenser again and I decided to leave since the victim was stable on his side and breathing well, though still unconscious. In summary, it was a very educative experience and my reading of these two blogs really proved useful.
on April 3rd, 2006 at 5:36 pm
Do you have out of area Ambo around when he calls, and can you talk to the crew with out it being recorded or recived by all the ambos. if so see if you can get a out area crew to go to him and take him, oh let say. 20 or 30 miles to a hospital. or even better if there is a brum crew see if they will take time to a hospital up there. should give the Call takers a night off from him.
do it a couple of times and he may get the message.
on April 3rd, 2006 at 6:37 pm
SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!
on April 3rd, 2006 at 6:39 pm
“although if you question him, you’ll find he suffers from a bit of everything — breathing difficulties, chest pain — so he always ends up with a category A”
hahahaha! hahahahaha! haha!
Classic
on April 3rd, 2006 at 7:51 pm
To Dave M
If you are referring to WMAS collecting LAS regulars and bringing them up here, can I just point out that they have enough of their own to be dealing with thank you very much. I know, because we end up having to deal with them when the ambulance crew get sick of being civil to them.
In the old days (before the Human Rights Act and Care in the Community) these people would be taken to the next county and left to their own devices. Unfortunately, there are now so many “vulnerable” people in the community that to move them around would take up a whole shift.
On the other hand - how long would it take to get Mr Grant up to Scotland? I hear the Shetland Isles are very welcoming.
on April 3rd, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Dr Dan — a big well done and thank you. It sounds like you could well have saved that patient’s life. I’m glad you felt Nee Naw was useful.
on April 4th, 2006 at 4:09 am
dave,
I work for the service in scotland; we are no more welcoming to the london regulars as we are our own!!! we have enough of our own to keep us busy with out other area’s!!! but thanks for the mention!!!
on April 4th, 2006 at 9:43 am
I worked on reception in an A&E department and we had a whole crowd of regulars who would turn up almost every night without fail in an ambulance. One of them was known to turn up twice in a day.
The best I ever heard was:
Me: “What’s wrong with you”
Regular: “My kidneys are failing, my liver is failing, my hearts failing, and I’ve got amnesia”!! - so how did he manage to remember all those complaints.
You’ve gotta love the general public!
on April 7th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
I guess he just wants some attention, sad people find themselves in such situations in countries advanced as ours.
The Driving Instructor
on April 10th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Bi-lateral browns and 2 NP airways normally sort gimps like this out.Or so I’ve heard………
on May 7th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Reminds me of that film “Bringing out the Dead” (stars Nicholas Cage I think), where they appear to have a similar situation involving homless people.