48 hrs with a Paramedic pt2

Part 2

The second installment of 48hrs with a Paramedic!

Today we join Dan on a Late Ambulance shift.  Today’s shift starts at 1400.  Dan arrives on station at about half one to change and prepare for the shift.

Unfortunately, today the Ambulance Dan and his crewmate are due to work on is currently VOR – Vehicle Off Road – but a contractors are on their way to repair it!  Dan’s crewmate today is Hannah a newly qualified Paramedic; she arrives not long after Dan.  The time waiting for the Ambulance, a 7-year-old Renault Master, to be repaired is not wasted however.  Dan has the opportunity to catch up with some paperwork and speak with the station officer.  He then is able to fully check the Ambulance, stock it fully and give it a good clean, inside at least!

The crew are able to book on at just gone three and are soon despatched on listening watch, but never arrive as they receive an emergency call, to transfer a patient to Casualty from a smaller Minor Injuries Unit.  Having safely transported their patient the crew clear, making themselves available to control.  The MDT flashes the dispatch message to Return to Base, so dutifully the crew leave the casualty.  The traffic in the town is heavier than normal today, probably due to the weather and the Ambulance does not make much ground before the next Emergency and MDT alarms split the conversation in the cab.

As there are two persons aboard control rarely pass the incident by voice, but instead in a text message for the crew to read.  This incident is a medical call, and the crew are “backing up” an RRV.  Dan switches on the blue lights and starts weave his way through the heavy traffic but its hard work negotiating the queues of cars, red lights and pedestrians who are rushing to get home without getting wet.  Dan cycles through the sirens to make the ambulance as noticeable as possible, but still people fail to see them, causing the ambulance to come to intermittent grinding halts.  They eventually clear the town and although the traffic is still heavy, the roads open up.  They arrive on scene, receive the handover and convey the patient to the Hospital providing treatment as required. 

For the second time they clear the Hospital and are sent back to base.  Again, for the second time they are despatched an emergency call, another Medical call.  This time they are able to treat the patient at home, rather than take them to hospital.  Finally, Dan and Hannah get back to base and have their break.  While on break, the night crew arrive and confer before they themselves are despatched on an emergency call.  As soon as the break is over the ARP’s burst into life, another medical call, a patient has collapsed.  The crew arrive on scene and start assessing the patient, who looks quite poorly.  The casualty is carried out to the ambulance using a carry chair - a relatively lightweight collapsible chair with wheels to carry patients down stairs - and lays them down on the stretcher.  The crew continue to examine the patient and it becomes clear that an urgent conveyance to hospital is required.

At the hospital the crew hand over to the Nurse in Charge and register the handover using a computer terminal connected to the clinical hub (control) as they have done all night and leave the hospital.

Fortunately, the crew see the final hour or so of the shift on station, allowing them to put the vehicle away and on charge - there is so much electrical equipment that without plugging the ambulance into the mains the batteries would go flat! - restock, mop the floor and return the controlled drugs to stores.  Tonight, the crew are able to book off on time, not always a luxury, and go home.

You have experienced two days in the life of modern Paramedic.  The pay is not brilliant, the hours are unsocial and long and the working conditions can be arduous.  Some days are busier, most days are rarely quieter, and some days filled with trauma, some with medical.  Some days you are a counsellor, some days a referee, one day you maybe a teacher to a junior colleague, other days in awe of a crewmates tact, experience and skill.  In the morning, you may see the end of life, in the afternoon the beginning of a new one.  All I know is no two days are the same, no two patient the same, each demanding a different approach, skill set and outcome.

All I know is this is the best job in the world.