Two calls – Yep, two (2)! Both went by ambulance. I've recently started another six month secondment on the FRU and the new rota includes a nasty four night run over the weekend every five weeks. I wasn't looking forward to this first one but tonight surprised me. The usual drunken fools gave way to decent law-abiding veterans and their loved ones who had been out all day for Remembrance Sunday and now they were spending the night in London; drinking sensibly, going to the theatre and eating out. This produced one of the quietest nights I've known for years and it reflected what used to be the case on every night shift for the ambulance service years ago when the world wasn’t out to get as drunk as possible.
I don’t know if all of my colleagues had such a quiet one but there seemed to be more crews sticking around stations (I work between two) than usual. I’m not expecting to experience a night like this again for some time, if ever, but I was glad of the slow-down in pace. I felt a lot more relaxed when I went home.
So, my shortest posting of a shift ever begins with a 52 year-old man who was described as ‘not alert’. The police were on scene because the call came from the City and they are very good at responding to medical emergencies out there (they are specially trained and carry defibs). Unfortunately, when I arrived they had gone into the hotel mentioned on the address when the patient was actually outside in a black cab. This fact was made known to me by the cab driver, who, obviously confused, had not alerted the police when they arrived but had waited a few seconds until I got there and came to get me. The police followed when they saw I wasn’t going into the building.
The man in the back of the cab was collapsed on the floor and he was deathly pale. Sweating profusely, he could barely speak but his colleague told me what had happened. He had a history of kidney cancer and was on a cocktail of drugs. He had suddenly collapsed after making one of the most ominous (and often last) statements we hear second-hand; ‘I’m not feeling too good’. He then passed out onto the floor and remained unconscious for a few minutes.
I gave the man some oxygen, the universal waker-upper, and he began to recover slowly. He became more lucid and explained that this had happened to him twice before and the doctors could find no cause for it. It didn’t help that he was fully recovered by the time he arrived at hospital, so there was very little for doctors to go on. I suggested he should go back to hospital and try again and he agreed. He was a visitor from up North, so letting him get on with his evening would have been a mistake, I think.
When the crew arrived to take him away, he had completely recovered, just like he said he would. To be honest, I think his one remaining kidney (he had one removed because of a tumour) is being affected by the cancer he has and its function is becoming impaired. One of these functions is the regulation of blood pressure. But then, what do I know?
A few hours into the shift and I was sent to a lovely little ‘Christmassy’ crescent near King’s Cross. It was one of those streets that look as if it was designed by the Disney Corporation for one of their ‘this is how olde London looks’ films. Charming. Unfortunately, these handsome townhouses are now broken up into flats, one of which housed my patient. He had been smoking cannabis and was now suffering from chest pain.
When I got on scene, I was directed to him by his slightly embarrassed girlfriend. The man, a 30 year-old, had right-side chest pain which, as he described it to me, sounded pleuritic, not cardiac. We never rule heart problems out, however, so he was given the works, including an ECG to determine the possible cause of his discomfort. He had a few anomalies on the 12-lead but nothing that screamed imminent cardiac arrest, so he was taken to hospital for further investigation. Obviously, drugs can irritate the body systems and its possible he has just abused himself and was now being penalised.
Speaking of Christmas (is it still legal to say that word?) I can't believe the Oxford Street lights are up and ON already! Give us a break. It's barely gone Hallowe'en. How desperate are we to shove consumer tat down everyone's throats. No wonder the 'real' religions think we are hopeless. Leave it 'til December please!
Then I sat on stand-by for a while and watched the old men and women and the not so old men and women (and related children) go about their peaceful business in the West End. I saw no drunks, no fighting, no stupidity and no vomit on the pavement. All I saw were poppy-wearing heroes with chest fulls of medals. Maybe the youth of our Capital went home early because they couldn’t compete with men and women like these. Maybe they were intimidated by the presence of so many good people.
Whatever it was, I thank you all for allowing me and, I hope, many of my colleagues a bit of a break from the usual stress. For once in a long time I am able to sign off a posting with the same phrase I have used many times on calls. Not required.
Be safe.
I don’t know if all of my colleagues had such a quiet one but there seemed to be more crews sticking around stations (I work between two) than usual. I’m not expecting to experience a night like this again for some time, if ever, but I was glad of the slow-down in pace. I felt a lot more relaxed when I went home.
So, my shortest posting of a shift ever begins with a 52 year-old man who was described as ‘not alert’. The police were on scene because the call came from the City and they are very good at responding to medical emergencies out there (they are specially trained and carry defibs). Unfortunately, when I arrived they had gone into the hotel mentioned on the address when the patient was actually outside in a black cab. This fact was made known to me by the cab driver, who, obviously confused, had not alerted the police when they arrived but had waited a few seconds until I got there and came to get me. The police followed when they saw I wasn’t going into the building.
The man in the back of the cab was collapsed on the floor and he was deathly pale. Sweating profusely, he could barely speak but his colleague told me what had happened. He had a history of kidney cancer and was on a cocktail of drugs. He had suddenly collapsed after making one of the most ominous (and often last) statements we hear second-hand; ‘I’m not feeling too good’. He then passed out onto the floor and remained unconscious for a few minutes.
I gave the man some oxygen, the universal waker-upper, and he began to recover slowly. He became more lucid and explained that this had happened to him twice before and the doctors could find no cause for it. It didn’t help that he was fully recovered by the time he arrived at hospital, so there was very little for doctors to go on. I suggested he should go back to hospital and try again and he agreed. He was a visitor from up North, so letting him get on with his evening would have been a mistake, I think.
When the crew arrived to take him away, he had completely recovered, just like he said he would. To be honest, I think his one remaining kidney (he had one removed because of a tumour) is being affected by the cancer he has and its function is becoming impaired. One of these functions is the regulation of blood pressure. But then, what do I know?
A few hours into the shift and I was sent to a lovely little ‘Christmassy’ crescent near King’s Cross. It was one of those streets that look as if it was designed by the Disney Corporation for one of their ‘this is how olde London looks’ films. Charming. Unfortunately, these handsome townhouses are now broken up into flats, one of which housed my patient. He had been smoking cannabis and was now suffering from chest pain.
When I got on scene, I was directed to him by his slightly embarrassed girlfriend. The man, a 30 year-old, had right-side chest pain which, as he described it to me, sounded pleuritic, not cardiac. We never rule heart problems out, however, so he was given the works, including an ECG to determine the possible cause of his discomfort. He had a few anomalies on the 12-lead but nothing that screamed imminent cardiac arrest, so he was taken to hospital for further investigation. Obviously, drugs can irritate the body systems and its possible he has just abused himself and was now being penalised.
Speaking of Christmas (is it still legal to say that word?) I can't believe the Oxford Street lights are up and ON already! Give us a break. It's barely gone Hallowe'en. How desperate are we to shove consumer tat down everyone's throats. No wonder the 'real' religions think we are hopeless. Leave it 'til December please!
Then I sat on stand-by for a while and watched the old men and women and the not so old men and women (and related children) go about their peaceful business in the West End. I saw no drunks, no fighting, no stupidity and no vomit on the pavement. All I saw were poppy-wearing heroes with chest fulls of medals. Maybe the youth of our Capital went home early because they couldn’t compete with men and women like these. Maybe they were intimidated by the presence of so many good people.
Whatever it was, I thank you all for allowing me and, I hope, many of my colleagues a bit of a break from the usual stress. For once in a long time I am able to sign off a posting with the same phrase I have used many times on calls. Not required.
Be safe.
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1 comment:
I have to say the way you ended this blog made me smile, *even if it was a few years back* It's nice to read a short paced blog :) *even if it is only once every few years*
Japhia
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