- Too Tired To Move…!!!
Leaving the station with ‘Blues & Twos’ going, we made our way through the early morning traffic towards our next client. With the new ‘Call Connect’ firmly in place we were once more obliged to ping off on ‘Red’ not knowing what we were going to! Who ever dreamt up ‘Call Connect’ must be far removed from the real world!
Halfway to our destination the update pops up on the MDT. “Female, 40s, collapsed, breathing diffs…RRV en route”. Maybe it was a proper job we were going to after all. We will see. Eventually arriving at the address we pull up behind the RRV parked outside. Making our way to the house we knock on the door and let ourselves in expecting to find the RRV pilot assessing/treating the patient.
Instead we find the RRV stood over the prone woman laid on her settee. The look from our colleague says it all…‘naff job’. The woman on the settee is doing a good impersonation of a dying swan. Very melodramtic and self pitying. “So whats the craick?”I ask the RRV pilot. She shrugs her shoulders and says that the woman is tired! Our colleague has already done the basics…BP, blood sugars, 3 lead ecg…all fine.
“I,ve got an appointment at the hospital for an xray but I,m so tired. Thats why I rang 999. I think it would be easier for you to drive me there.” I clench my teeth, the room drops a couple of degrees in temperature and my heart turns black! Before I say something that I might regret the patients womans daughter walks into the room. “Whats going on?”
“Your mum is tired and wants us to take her to hospital for her xray appointment!” The daughter looks at her mum and says that she was going to drive her there. “But I cant move, I,m so weak…and tired!” Stepping towards the woman I take hold of her shoulders and sit her upright. “Right then lets see what you are like on your feet.” And with that she slowly stands…and walks…marvellous! We have cured her!
“I think you will be okay to travel with your daughter. The only place we can take you to is A/E. And thats if you needed to be there…which you dont…!” My black heart is turning back to a more normal deep purple. I struggle to fathom out this womans reasoning for calling us. She seems reasonably intelligent, has a very nice house, a wonderful daughter going by first impressions and a clinical history suggesting a stress related fatigue. The xray was for reassurance by the GP as she seemed to be becoming too tired to sleep!
I put it down to her not thinking rationally due to fatigue. At least it was not as bad as the last time I got called to someone who wanted me to take the lid off their paracetemol bottle because they had a headache!
And that is where ‘Call Connect’ is failing. We are supposed to be ‘Getting to the Right Patient at the Right Time with the Right Resources’ Jobs like this are happening day in day out up and down the country in other Ambulance Services and also in the Police but the Police can use discretion on which calls to attend…like we should be able to!
Is it a Bus? Is it a Taxi? Cant be an Ambulance?
Purpleplus 
HHmmm looks like little changes since I have been away then KM
That’s so disgraceful I wouldn’t know where to start! I’m not in favour of up front charging for NHS services, but in cases of such extreme abuse, especially of ambulances and A&E I can’t see any other option.
lil sis x
The Real Thing…nice to see you back. Kept you in my blogroll as your site has good info on photography. I must get out and use my camera more.
BG…I would like to use a bolt gun to the back of the neck but I dont think the bosses would sanction it. Probably because it would cost the service a fortune in bolts! Big Bro x.
How can there be anybody who doesn’t know what an ambulance is for – surely there cant be many people who don’t know somebody who has REALLY needed an ambulance and been damn glad to see it. Maybe we need a campaign on the goggle box – possibly in the ad break of the Jeremy Kyle show?
Please someone remind me why the hell I’m going to uni and going to get into debt to “help” these people?
We had a guy today who called us because his mates had been winding him up…………….. he had tiny spots all over his body……………… mates told him he had meningitis. No other symptoms just spots which looked like he had bad case of acne!!!
I used my discretion and politely sent him on his way with a word in the ear about listening to his pished mates and maybe to see his GP on monday if he is concerned.
There really are a lot of people out there who are this stupid!
Caroline…education will only work if people listen and pay attention. Also its not just the general public who abuse the service. Some managers with shiny arsed suits/skirts seem to think that if anyone dialled 999 then it must be serious…and that we should fly like the wind, hit the pavement running, burst through doors and treat that paper cut with agressive clinical interventions. Thats what ‘Call Connect’ is!
Henners…its all part of lifes rich tapestry. Intelligence is inversly proportionate to the amount of daytime TV watched! Good luck for your studies.
Louise…I once went to a lad whose parents had been told by a GPs receptionist over the phone that he had meningitis. When I asked to look at his rash it was blindly obvious that he had chicken pox!
As one who is about to embark on a 3 year course in Paramedic Science, I feel excited nervous and elated that I am about to be taught life saving skills together with the ability to provide the public with the assistance they need in times of trouble. I am also totally aware that those skills will be used very rarely leaving only one other life saving procedure which will be used everyday – the one which requires me to 1. hold my tongue, 2. boil inside without exploding 3. smile sweetly when I actually want to growl very deeply – skills which will save the life (ie I will not harm them myself) of the STUPID IDIOTS JUST LIKE THE ONE ABOVE, OF WHICH THERE SEEMS TO BE SO MANY!!!!