Life in the Ambulance Service

Another set of night shifts completed successfully!

One job to talk about which did make me (and the crew who backed me up) chuckle somewhat!

Having done one unsuccessful cardiac arrest in my shift (RIP), I was sent to another.

Arriving at a block of flats on my own I dragged all my kit out of the boot of the car, now on your own it is no mean feat to get all this kit inside without breaking out into a sweat!

One response bag rucksack on my back, oxygen bag in one hand, defibrillator over one shoulder, and a drugs bag in the other hand! In all I have to carry what’s got to be in the region of 20-30KG of kit… (That’s 44-66lb in old money!).

So I arrive at the front door of a block of flats (already in a sweat) and find I have to climb three flights of stairs, and no lift in the place!

Now I am a firm believer of not running anywhere at work, firstly there’s no point me falling arse over tit on the way there, and also there’s no point me turning up and having to spend two minutes recovering before being able to treat the patient!

However sometimes you kind of have to move a bit quicker than an amble… SO I’m climbing three flights of stairs as quick as my legs will carry me, to a cardiac arrest, with umpteen bags attached to various parts of my body….

I arrive in the flat to a somewhat hysterical man in his 40’s shouting at me that he can’t wake his mum up, and that she’s dead.

When the son told me he couldn’t wake his mum up I made a bit of a fatal error, I believed what the son told me!

In the room I found an elderly lady with her bed covers over her. Having made the mistake of believing the son that his mum wouldn’t wake up I threw her bed covers bake and shouted as her “WAKE UP DORRIS, CAN YOU HEAR ME”.

Well I was somewhat shocked and surprised when the lady turned round with a startle to find a stranger in her bedroom.

It transpires that the patient was merely asleep and the son had just stood in the doorway and on calling to his mum, she hadn’t woken up, so he called an ambulance and we all rushed around thinking it was a cardiac arrest!

I felt quite sorry for the gentleman who was most apologetic and embarrassed having called us out. But at least the old lady was ok! It did make us all chuckle though!

Well my first night shift last night out of the run of them, and a good night!

Firstly it was Friday night and I didn't see one person who's need for an ambulance resulted from the over use of ethanol! This is somewhat of an achievement for a Friday, when usually the patients are suffering from acute alcohol intoxication!

I went to a gentleman last night, who when I arrived and saw him struggling to sit up, looking white as a sheet, and sweating more than I’ve ever seen before, with crushing chest pain! My first reaction was S**T he don’t look too well, followed very quickly by phoning control to find out where my crew was, they were 20 min away!

My time is now spent for the next 20 min with a 16 odd stone gentleman who has now put himself on his knees in the middle of the floor because he felt so faint, and who is now completely stuck in this position, as he has no strength and I’m unable to get him moved on my own!

I no find out he has only got a pulse of 38 and virtually no blood pressure, my concern has increased now!

I’ve given him Oxygen, but there is very little more I can do for him until the ambulance comes. This is one of those patients that just need to be in the back of an ambulance as quickly as possible and being taken to hospital at light speed!

So a crew has arrived and we’re now in the ambulance and started giving him some drugs to speed his heart up, and having done an ECG it is glaringly obvious that he is having a massive MI!

It’s quite funny with ECG’s when a patient is clearly having an MI, everyone in the back of the ambulance just looks at each other, and without the need for anyone to be told what to do we all just find jobs and get on.

One of my colleagues is asking the questions so we can thrombolise the patient, I’m drawing up umpteen different drugs and my other colleague is checking the ECG and doing some more obs.

It’s nice to see when you get a really ill patient how everyone just gets on with their job and the team work kicks in!

So the patient is thrombolised and the crew take him to hospital, I heard later that his was doing much better, sat up and chatting!

Another good job!

Well it's been some time since I've written for various reasons... Thought I should add something!

One particular job to write about that has been one to remember over the past few months... In fact the past few years!

As much as I love my job, and we make a real difference to so many people, it isn't that often that you do a job that you know you will remember and feel proud about for a long time.

It's Christmas day, and I'm on nights, on my own working on a car (horrid I know - but such is the job!), I've had an average evening so far, nothing exciting to write home about!

Until I receive my next job, a query cardiac arrest... So a few things happen rather quickly: I look at my map, acknowledge the job and make my way there as swiftly as my car will take me, and given that it's late in the evening on Xmas day it was a somewhat swift response! Getting further messages on route from the control room that CPR is in progress, it's a sure sign that this is in fact a cardiac arrest and not just a faint or other less serious problem...

On the way I think to myself how horrid for this poor family, it’s the one job I really don’t want to be doing on Xmas day…

I arrive at the scene (just over 4 minutes since the time of the call) to a country lane with no street lighting, only about 3 feet wider than my car, how's the ambulance going to get down here I think, then I realise I've got a few other things to sort out first!

In front of me on the middle of this small lane is an elderly gentleman lying on his back with 2 people doing CPR.... Ah I think, now this is going to be interesting, not only is this in a public place, but a small country lane, in the dark, with no street lights.

An arrest on your own can be somewhat manic anyway, but with these added extra problems, will just have to get on with it, that’s what the training is for!

By now my personal dose of adrenalin has been released!

Getting all of my kit out of the car I need, I shout to the bystander to carry on what they are doing for the moment until I can get myself organised. It should be noted that in a few years of doing this job I have yet to see two people doing CPR as well as these two were, it was textbook perfect! Our control room is still on the phone at this point and between them all a great job is being done.

By the time the ambulance and another response car arrives in about five minutes, I’ve shocked the patient once, unfortunately into Asystole, and continuing with CPR.

By the time we have gotten the gentleman into the ambulance not only has his heart started to beat by itself, but he is making an attempt to breath as well!
This is a very unusual occurrence, for someone’s heart to restart by itself from Asystole, without any drugs!

The gentleman goes to the nearest A&E, is transferred to ITU and I hear nothing else until last week. A colleague tells me that he recovered completely, and was at home with his family for New Years Eve!

Having done this job now for a few years, this is the first time I have been to a cardiac arrest and we have actually saved them to the point where they walk out of hospital!

So all in all a great job, for me as it was my first successful resus, but also for the family. What to them must have been the worst Xmas they could have imagined was turned around into I’m assuming the best New Year they’ve had!

The NHS gets a lot of stick, but when it comes down to it, when people really do need help it is the best!

Much as I compained about working on Xmas day, I think this made up for it!