A slow shift

Four emergency calls – all taken by ambulance.


A mixed bag of complaints from a 50 year-old man experiencing palpitations. He suffered from high blood pressure, a foot infection and had a history of unexplained cardiac problems, including undiagnosed 'palpitations' which sometimes required Adenosine to bring it under control. I couldn’t do much for him pre-hospital, so he was taken in and investigated further.


Another Red1 ‘life status questionable’ call for another sleeping (drunken) street foreigner. The 40 year-old Pole wasn’t amused by the presence of the police and refused to talk to them (or us). He had a cut to his eye, probably as a result of an inebriated stumble or a fight and this had prompted a MOP to call us with a report that he had been stabbed or shot and was now slumped, probably dead, in a doorway. Although the scenario was very unlikely, we were told to stand-by at a distance. The crew and I stood-by around the corner; hardly a distance I know but we are curious people and like to be near the action.


Into a horrible housing estate and a filthy flat to investigate the illness of a 40 year-old woman who languished (yes, it is the right word in this context) in bed complaining of everything wrong, including DIB, which allowed us to award her call a Red3 and a faster response. She had no DIB and probably spoke at length without pausing for breath when she made the call but she told me she felt unwell. I felt unwell too but I wasn’t going to hospital in an ambulance. All her obs were normal (not even a raised temperature).


At least my next patient waited a week before worrying about the seriousness of her condition and calling the emergency services for help. The 26 year-old had fainted after feeling unwell for the past seven days. Her colleagues put her in the recovery position on the floor of her office. She had suffered from migraine and vomiting days before but had no significant medical history. Only when she was in the ambulance and privacy was secured did she confess, after questioning, that she’d taken drugs. Some mysteries just aren’t.

Be safe.