Frequent flyers

A night of rain, rain and yet more rain. In fact, it rained all night and well into the morning. Wouldn't you know it, most of the calls were outside, so I got wet a few times. Thank goodness for my over-sized yellow hood.

I met a new frequent flyer too. He called us for 'chest pain' and when I got on scene, he was smoking a fag and wandering about. He saw me and directed me over to him. He smelled bad and he kept spitting on me when he spoke, so I politely asked him to stand a little further away so I could assess him from a safe distance. He was complaining that he had angina pains but had lost all his meds. I noticed that he had a hospital gown on and that rang alarm bells with me. I waited with him for ten minutes and an ambulance arrived. The crew knew him and I was told that he was abusive at times and had been thrown out of hospital earlier for racist remarks directed at the hospital staff.

It was decided not to convey him because, true to form, he became abusive to us too and wandered off with a foul mouth and a bad attitude (neither of which are treatable or curable).

Later on I received a call for an 'assault with chest pain' at another underground station. I saw the age of the caller and it matched my friend from the previous abusive call. I thought it might be one and the same person as I sped off to the job. The police arrived just ahead of me and as I pulled up, I could see my new friend standing with the Underground staff in the station, which isn't even open at that time in the morning! I let the police know that he was trouble and they gave him a new set of rules to live by and sent him on his way.

I saw him again later on, standing at the entrance to the hospital. I mentally wished him good luck with trying to get in.

Ironically, at the beginning of my shift I was called to an 'asthma attack' in a fast food restaurant and found another frequent flyer at the table, feeling sorry for himself. I have had the pleasure of this man's company on quite a few ambulance trips to hospital for phantom illnesses and so I recognised him immediately (even if I couldn't remember his name). I did my bit and checked him out, after cancelling the ambulance, and discovered that his asthmatic wheeze became more pronounced when I put a stethoscope to his chest. Strange phenomenon.

I took him to hospital (what can you do?) and he found a warm bed to sit on for a few hours before they finally and inevitably get fed up with him and send him home. At least he wasn't abusive.

I got an early morning call to a drunk with a head injury and sped off to the location only to find that he had gone back to his hotel and wrapped himself up in bed for the night. Best check, I thought, so I went up to his room with a member of staff and lightly tapped on his door. He confirmed (through the closed door) that he was alright and declined an ambulance. Not required. Off I went.

Maybe not a funny moment, unless you count a wry smile at the cheek of it, but as I sat in the car at traffic lights in Oxford Street, I saw a woman stagger into a shop doorway and begin to undress her lower half. There were people around but she didn't seem to care. It is rare to see a woman go for a pee in public (well, maybe not rare but unusual) and as she surreptitiously squatted down I moved along swiftly in case I was branded for life by the memory! I'm sure the CCTV guys have got a 'You've been framed' moment to cash in on now.

So, a steady and routine sort of shift. I did have a couple of calls that required hospital treatment, including a severe DIB, but it was an evenly paced night for me and I'm glad of that because I needed it.

Be safe.