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Ambulance: It's A Long Way To The Trauma Centre, It's A Long Way To Go

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 14^th January 2012 at 0:42 - A Ambulance Blog
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Ah, peace at last!! My gentle drive home from the hospital is in stark contrast to the week I have had. Busy doesn't cover it. But, at least I am free all weekend. I have great plans for tomorrow morning - I won't be surfacing until at least noon.

Before that, however, I have an evening at home with the family. A nice quiet, relaxing evening, that I have been looking forward to all week.

Arriving home, I am assaulted by the wonderful aromas of my dinner, simmering in the oven! Can it get any better? RRD-Dad rings, and we have a chat about who's been busier than who.

My other phone rings.

My heart sinks as I realise that, at least for me, dinner will just have to wait.

As I ride the motorway to my destination, I muse on how long it has been since I have been called to a job. Sure, I have been woken; on one occasion I even got to the car and started driving. But, an actual job - well, many weeks. And then I start to wonder quite how I will manage this one. Will this job be the one...

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Ambulance: It's A Long Way To The Trauma Centre, It's A Long Way To Go

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 14^th January 2012 at 0:29 - A Ambulance Blog
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Ah, peace at last!! My gentle drive home from the hospital is in stark contrast to the week I have had. Busy doesn't cover it. But, at least I am free all weekend. I have great plans for tomorrow morning - I won't be surfacing until at least noon.

Before that, however, I have an evening at home with the family. A nice quiet, relaxing evening, that I have been looking forward to all week.

Arriving home, I am assaulted by the wonderful aromas of my dinner, simmering in the oven! Can it get any better? RRD-Dad rings, and we have a chat about who's been busier that who.

My other phone rings.

My heart sinks as I realise that, at least for me, dinner will just have to wait.

As I ride the motorway to my destination, I muse on how long it has been since I have been called to a job. Sure, I have been woken; on one occasion I even got to the car and started driving. But, an actual job - well, many weeks. And then I start to wonder quite how I will manage this one. Will this job be the one...

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Ambulance: Rope

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 15^th December 2011 at 22:45 - A Ambulance Blog
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I rush into the Department, pager in hand, and am swamped with people wanting to join me on another shout, High Tower and New Boss are the chosen two, and we jog over to the car, the two of them jostling for the front seat. There's a lot of joking around: with High Tower in the car I am not going to have the same acceleration as I would normally get. New Boss is very excited at the chance of seeing some action on the streets. I'm quiet; I know what we are going to, and I know the impact it will have on these two.

New Boss is in the front seat, holding on for dear life as I hit the road. The two of them continue to joke about my driving skills, and about how different I am out here, compared to in the Department.

The rope hangs from the banisters: a mute reminder of what this man has done. The screams from the back room echo around us as we determine what we already know: this man has managed to do what he wanted to.

We drive back to the Department, each lost in our own thoughts of what we have witnessed.

I have seen many hanging victims,...

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Ambulance: Rope

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 15^th December 2011 at 11:31 - A Ambulance Blog
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I rush into the Department, pager in hand, and am swamped with people wanting to join me on another shout, High Tower and New Boss are the chosen two, and we jog over to the car, the two of them jostling for the front seat. There's a lot of joking around: with High Tower in the car I am not going too have the same acceleration as I would normally get. New Boss is very excited at the chance of seeing some action on the streets. I'm quiet; I know what we are going to, and I know the impact it will have on these two.

New Boss is in the front seat, holding on for dear life as I hit the road. The two of them continue to joke about my driving skills, and about how different I am out here, compared to in the Department.

The rope hangs from the banisters: a mute reminder of what this man has done. The screams from the back room echo around us as we determine what we already know: this man has managed to do what he wanted to.

We drive back to the Department, each lost in our own thoughts of what we have witnessed.

I have seen many hanging victims,...

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Ambulance: Avoidance

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 15^th December 2011 at 11:17 - A Ambulance Blog
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I've been avoiding you, dear Constant Reader. I look back, and see that the last time I ventured here was three months ago. It's not that I haven't thought of you, nor that I haven't had anything to say, no jobs to post. In fact, quite the contrary. There are some that I want to tell you about, and some that I need to tell you about. It's not even the dreaded writer's block. Posts and stories rise unbidden into my mind, and ache to be transposed to the page.

But I can't.

My anonymity on this blog has always been paper-thin. Some comments have even refered to me by name, and I have rapidly removed them, or asked the commenter to edit them. Those of you across the pond, or just in another part of the island, won't know me, and therefore won't know my patients. But, let's be honest: anyone who works where I work knows who I am. There aren't many of us around, and it only takes one or two jobs for the connection to be made.

I cannot have my patient's confidentiality breached. That's an absolute. There is no grey area. Anyone who...

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Ambulance: 2.3 x 10!!

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 15^th September 2011 at 22:33 - A Ambulance Blog
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Oh my legs!! And other parts of my anatomy!! I can barely stand, let alone walk up the stairs to my room. But, as I lie here, a mass of knotted muscle, I can't help but smile at what I have achieved today. And, I mustn't forget that MiniRRD was there too, struggling with the ups and downs, but mostly the ups, that today brought. In fact, the downs were what we were both looking forward to, more than anything.

Brands Hatch Race Track is a killer. I can say this with authority. It is 2.3 miles of pain and effort. How can most of it seem to be going up? It felt like I was riding in a picture by M C. Escher. You know, the one where the steps just keep going up and up, and yet still join in a circle.

Let me just take you through the first little bit of the circuit, just so you get a feel for what MiniRRD and I experienced today.

Come out of the pit lane and speed up, before a gentle incline slows you down as you go through the timing arch. Turn sharply right and shoot down a VERY exhilarating hill (I reached a top speed of 39.6mph...

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Ambulance: Decisions

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 09^th September 2011 at 15:01 - A Ambulance Blog
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What a busy day I have had!! On the shop floor all morning, meetings all afternoon, and now I am sitting in my office sorting out the multitude of emails that have built up over the week. I decide that enough is enough - my family are all at home, and that is where I should be. I power down my computer, get my coat and leave. I need the loo, but decide that as it's only a short drive I would forgo the pleasure at work, and wait until I get home.

5 minutes from home my bluetooth phone rings. Assuming it's MrsRRD, checking on my arrival ETA, I answer with a "Hi, Darling!!" After all, who else would be ringing me?

Control are quite surprised at my friendliness, but it doesn't stop them from tasking me, to a pedestrian hit by a car, in MilesFromAnywhere Town. They tell me that the crew are having difficulty with the airway. I sheepishly begin to explain my forwardness, then give up and hit the blues and twos, and set off.

I find myself on the M25. What on Earth am I doing here?? Fortunately, my faithful Sasha (the SatNav - don't you...

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Ambulance: What's in a Name?

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 04^th September 2011 at 23:31 - A Ambulance Blog
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I am angry! No, not really angry. More frustrated than angry, to be honest. I've been shouting at the TV for the last 30 minutes. Fortunately, I like my TV too much to throw anything at it.

So, what programme has insensed me so much? Well, MrsRRD and I sat down to watch "Emergency" with Angela Griffin. This is an excellent programme, where the star of Waterloo Road follows the ambulance crews of the West Midlands, and does a damn good job of portraying the highs and lows of the work the crews do.

This evening's programme, recorded a few weeks ago, had good old Angela shadowing the CARE team as they went about their business. The CARE team are a group of volunteer doctors, nurses and paramedics, who are called by the ambulance service to provide more advanced medical care to the victims of serious accidents and assaults, and to patients with severe, life threatening illness, at the roadside or in their own homes. Sound familiar? Yep, CARE is the West Midlands arm of BASICS, just like BASICS-London are the London group....

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Ambulance: Only Joking!

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 04^th September 2011 at 11:32 - A Ambulance Blog
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There's not a whole heap of blood around, considering he has a gaping wound in his neck. Probably because he had crawled half a mile or so before anyone had spotted him, and lost what he was going to lose someplace else. He's very, very drunk!! He tells me he was having a lark with some youngsters in the town when one turned nasty at some comment he had made, some funny joke that went wrong. The joke led to him having a bottle shoved in his neck, and a beating he will remember far longer than any of the punchlines he has stored up.

He is refusing treatment, and six burly policemen have cuffed his wrists behind him, and strapped his legs together to stop him lashing out. He is struggling hard against his bindings, and the cuffs are digging in to his wrists, leaving angry marks.

I lean in close. "Jimmy, do you want those cuffs taken off?" He nods. "Then stop p***ing around and let us look after you." He calms for a moment and looks at me. "You get one chance, and one chance only. I'm not joking around here. You muck about...

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Ambulance: For All The Wrong Reasons

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A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc on the 10^th August 2011 at 16:45 - A Ambulance Blog
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It's a quiet day in A&E. Not all that unusual; after all, a lot of people are on holiday in August, so the population has gone down. The emergency 'phone rings in the Department. It's for me! A call to the M1, where a car has rolled multiple times. The occupants are not badly injured, Despatch tells me, but, as there is only one ambulance available, I may be able to help by triaging them away from hospital, thereby saving a vehicle or two. This is an occasional use of my time, and I am always happy to oblige.

I call out to the staff that there is an opportunity to accompany me. There is a scurry of activity, as Baldy and Newby fight for the right to join me.

"Steady on, lads!" I say. "It's not that exciting a job! No point getting all worked up."

"We know," replies Baldy. "It's not the job, it's the possibility of being mentioned in your blog!"

*sighs*

Ambulance: It's A Long Way To The Trauma Centre, It's A Long Way To Go

Ambulance: It's A Long Way To The Trauma Centre, It's A Long Way To Go

Ambulance: Rope

Ambulance: Rope

Ambulance: Avoidance

Ambulance: 2.3 x 10!!

Ambulance: Decisions

Ambulance: What's in a Name?

Ambulance: Only Joking!

Ambulance: For All The Wrong Reasons

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