HEMS aboard

Day shift: Four calls; one dealt with by police; one treated on scene; one by car; one by ambulance.


Stats: 1 Bite; 1 Bacterial infection; 1 EP fit; 1 ? Sprained ankle.

There’s nothing quite like the stupidity of petty brawling between a boyfriend and girlfriend first thing in the morning – especially when it culminates in the boyfriend being bitten and the police being called. The girl was behaving wildly and he was holding her down, trying to control her. A passing motorcyclist had stopped to help and was on the phone to us when I saw them on the bridge. I called it in, got confirmation that it was coming in ‘on the nines’ and attended to stop it getting any uglier than it was.

A crew joined me very soon after and by that time she was making claims of assault against the young lad whilst he sported a very fetching ‘whole set of teeth embedded in forearm’ look. Luckily the skin wasn’t broken because her temperament bore a striking resemblance to someone affected by Rabies.

The cops arrived, talked to them sternly and sent them packing.


I picked up an observer later in the morning – a HEMS doctor was joining me for a few hours to see what us grunts get up to on the line. He chose a Sunday morning, so I was hoping he’d get something out of his free time. Luckily, we didn’t have too long a hiatus before things kicked off.


A 25 year-old man walked into a doctor’s surgery and asked for help with his breathing problems and an ambulance was called for him, so myself and my observer went to help and found him sitting in the waiting area, GP letter to hand and in some distress. He had a raging throat and mouth infection, tonsillitis and pharyngitis, the combination of which was giving him a lot of difficulty when it came to breathing properly, although he was in no immediate danger. The bacterial matter had spread to his tongue, such was the state of his health and I wondered why he had let himself become so run down. Then I read the letter and it detailed his personal circumstances. This young man and his partner had recently lost one of their twin children to meningitis and of course they were at rock bottom. He’d been smoking cannabis constantly and hadn’t eaten for days. His health was suffering and it wasn’t long before he was crying in deep emotional pain. I felt very, very sorry for him.

A crew arrived to take him to hospital and I advised them of the circumstances and the risk to his kidneys – he had been complaining of lower back pain just above each kidney too. He was taken to hospital where, I hope, someone will talk this through with him, as well as treating his physical illness.


Another call came in just as I was offering to pay for coffee at Frith Street for my Doctor guest (a happy coincidence for a Scot you might say), so we went to Park Lane, where a 17 year-old Italian student had fitted. She was recovering when we arrived and a motorcycle colleague was already on scene. He was the one who requested the car instead of an ambulance because the girl was stable.

She was with her tutor and a large group of other visiting students and seemed tired but otherwise okay after her 2-3 minute seizure. She had a single history of fitting but was not on any meds. She had this one four years on from the last and I think it may have been triggered by the change in light (she was in a dark underpass and walked out into the strong sunlight when it happened). She lost bladder control in the car and vomited when she arrived at hospital. In between, the trip was uneventful and she was booked in.


A mum and her two teenage daughters set off for an evening of entertainment – JLS style – but had to pause when one of the daughters, a 13 year-old, took a bit of a tumble down steps (actually as the result of her mother tumbling first). I suggested compensation may be in order if her mother confessed to attempting to throw her child down the stairs but for some reason that bait wasn’t taken. It was all in good humour I have to say.

The girl’s ankle was slightly swollen and if she had a sprain it looked no more than a grade I anyway. Her night out was important and they’d travelled a distance, so mum asked me to ‘strap up’ the ankle and I got the girl to take paracetamol for the pain, which wasn’t too bad. That way they could avoid 4 hours of waiting in hospital and having to return home empty-handed and bereft of the JLS experience. I did advise accordingly but I also understood and the young lady was perfectly able to walk on her injured ankle – always a positive sign. I left them in the care of themselves and the kind and helpful London Underground staff.


It wasn’t long after this that I went home – the sight of a bald man walking around Trafalgar Square with a little black ball balanced on his head made me think it was probably time to leave.


Be safe.