Back from hols….

I just got back from a week away, I have approved all comments and have enjoyed reading them, thanks for the contributions.

The trouble with living your life working for an emergency service, is that everywhere you go, you feel like your on a busman’s holiday, walking down the road with the kids, and not a care in world, when all of a sudden it’s rudely disrupted by NEE NAW NEE NAW NEE NAW, and you end up pitching up first on scene at the scene of an RTC on the M5, they were extremely lucky!

I am also medically trained, and able to use RRV’s to attend emergencies, so when your off duty, your never really off duty, because things always tend to happen around you, this week I have been to the coast, during which I helped someone out who had ditched their car, I was first on scene at a rollover RTC on the M5, and also helped out someone having a panic attack!

But you know, I wouldnt have it any other way.

What would you do?…..The answer

As you can appreciate the job of being an Ambulance dispatcher is sometimes a very difficult one, and it’s one you get zero praise for, making decisions is a key part of the job, if you cannot make decisions then you cannot do the job.

Below I set a question for you all to have a look at and decide what you would do in that situation, some readers asked if they could have more information, sometimes you just dont get given all the information and you have to work with the limited info you have been told. Another said that he would send to the trauma patient first because most 1 year olds with difficulty in breathing only have a cold, and yes he would be right most of the time, but I cant go on what “normally” happens, lets say for example that the trauma patient has a minor knock, and whilst I sent my ambulance to that patient, the other child had severe breathing difficulties and died, that raises two issues for me, the first issue is that I alone have to live with the fact that I let a child die because I thought it just had a cold, and the second issue is that when the coroner starts asking questions, what do I say to him??

“yes sir in my advanced medical opinion I thought the child had a cold”

“but the call card says breathing difficulties, so why did you ignore the life threatening information that was presented to you?”

I wouldnt be able to answer the coroner and I would be in serious trouble.

The correct answer to the question is that there is no correct answer, but you have to be able to justify the decision you made, so if you decided that because trauma victims go down hill rapidly that you would send that child the ambulance that would be fine, the same goes for the child with breathing difficulties.

What would you do?

My job is all about making decisions, I have to decide who should have an Ambulance over someone else who is in desperate need of help. Sometimes whichever option you chose it will be the wrong one, there is no getting away from that fact.

Let me put a question to you:

You have one Ambulance left to utilise, two 999 calls come in at the same time and in the same area, one 999 call is a one year old child with breathing difficulties, the other 999 call is 5 year old child who has been hit by a car.

Both calls came in at Exactly the same time, and details of both children are from a 3rd party, so they are unknown.

Which would get your Ambulance and why?

Following on..

The previous post which concerns the ASU announcment is somewhat worrying, I have calculated my earnings now against my earnings with their new proposal, and I will be £477 short.

Another blow to the overworked and understaffed NHS ambulance workers.

ASU announcement

Proposed changes to Unsocial Hours Payments

The proposed agreement for Unsocail Hours payments has now been published for consultation we have reviewed the document and now seek members views

The NHS Staff Council have now agreed a draft proposal for enhanced payments for working nights weekends and public holidays, the full document can be dowloaded by clicking on the link to the right of this page.

It would now appear that the earlier concerns expressed by the ASU have been addressed in so much that;

• The new payments will be count towards your pension.
• They will be paid when you are on annual leave.
• They will be paid when you are off sick.
• They may also now count towards your total salary for pay on promotion to a new pay band.

The new agreement can by local agreement be used as either a prospective (what we currently use) or retrospectively (paid for what you actually work).
If you are on a set shift pattern it would make sense for it to be calculated prospectively, however, if you are not on any set pattern and you work a lot of nights and weekends you may benefit from the retrospective scheme.

It is planned that this agreement will be implemented by 1st October 2007 for the NHS and the !st April 2008 for Ambulance staff, with transistional arrangements for those staff in band 2 & 3 moving onto the schem by April 2010.

AfC protection arrangements will apply to those staff who require it until 2011.

We would ask that you read the document fully and use the calculator provided, by clicking on the link to the right of this page, to make an informed decision and feedback any concerns you may have to your local branch representatives

EDIT: I have added the calculator to the blogroll!!

Oh no, It’s another full moon

I am absolutly convinced that full moons play a part in the human psyche, you can guarentee that when it is a full moon outside you will get an influx of psychiatric calls and overdose’s.

Or maybe it’s just one big conincedence, either way it’s very frustrating. I dont really have much time for people who have nothing better to do then take an overdose and then ring 999, the majority of such people are attention seekers, occasionally you get a genuine cry for help, when someone really has lost all hope and taking an overdose is a drastic conclusion for them. Then you get the idiots that take overdoses every day and abuse the 999 system.

But there is something about a full moon that makes normal people go that step further, maybe they are close to the edge and the influence of a full moon pushes them that little bit further?

Anyone who is reading this who works in the control room or on the road, just make a note of the amount of overdose’s and psychiatric jobs next time there is a full moon.

“I phoned 10minutes ago”

People who work in control will be able to relate to this.

“hello, yes, I phoned for an Ambulance at least 10mins ago, and its still not here yet”

“Yes sir, that’s correct”

“Why isnt it here?? it should be here by now, I pay my taxes, I demand my Ambulance right now”

“yes sir, the Ambulance is on the way, it will be with you shortly”

“this is unacceptable, it should have been here 10mins ago”

“I am sorry sir,  we are extremely  busy, and will be with you shortly”

“how long is shortly? I pay my taxes”

“yes, but sir you live 15mins away from the nearest town”

“that’s not the point”

Here is a little tip for you people with more money then sense, if you buy a great big house in the middle of nowhere, do not expect Ambulances to just drop out of the sky and land outside your front door, it’s not going to happen.

“My wife is having a baby”

“I need an ambulance my wife is in labour, I need one quick we are outside the maternity ward, the head is coming, quick get here, oh no the baby is out now”

“caller, what is the addre….”

“doesnt matter its here now”

Thats how quick the call was, it was all over in about 30 seconds, but two things really annoyed me about this call:

1) why on earth did they leave so long to a) get to a hospital and b) call an Ambulance?

2) Why on earth didnt they ring the bell on the maternity ward?? they were outside a major hospital!

Some people really should need a licence to breed.

“I cant move away from the noise”

Why? all your drunk hysterical friends are shouting right next to you because your friends cant handle their drink and have picked a fight with someone who has knocked them sparko, and you cant move away from the noise??

There is no need to start cussing at us down the phone because you and your binge drinking cronies cant handle your ale. If you are standing next to noise and have to shout down the phone to hear yourself, how are we supposed to understand what you are saying?

Criminals, how dumb?

We just took a call from the Police for a male wo had been assaulted, he wanted the police to help him out, of course the Police will call us to see if he needs to travel to hospital.

So the crew get on scene and tell the patient there is nothing wrong with him, the patient not believeing what the crew say, demand that they look in his ear because it is full of blood, the crew take a second look and confirm that there is no blood in the patients ear, or brain matter either.

The Police then inform the crew that the male has a warrant for his arrest and that he had phoned the police for assistance in  the belief that they would not arrest him for being assaulted!!

Crime does not pay!