RSS/XML
View Article  Broken Ambulance
This is what happens when you swerve to miss some idiot and drive your ambulance into some scaffolding.


Luckily no-one was hurt.


I heard the crew report it over the radio, it went something like...
Crew:"Control, you better send another ambulance on this job, we've had an RTA".
Control:"Anybody hurt?"
Crew:"Nope, we're all alright here".

This happened a little while ago, but I just happened to visit the fitters where it is being stored. Apologies for the big pictures...

View Article  More Moaning About Psychiatric Services
Sorry, I know I keep flogging this dead horse...

Yesterday we picked up Phil. Phil has mental health problems in that he his schizophrenic, and sees the Devil and Jimi Hendrix. He is known to be a rent boy and is homeless. It's been a bit cold this week and we found him sheltering in the lea of an office block. Obviously the office workers didn't like seeing Phil so they called us.
Phil is normally very scared and has difficulty determining his hallucinations from reality, so it involves a bit of work on our part in order to make him feel safe enough to travel with us.
Anyway - the hospital discharged him around midnight last night - after psychiatric review. He has nowhere safe to go.
Dropping off another patient we saw him waiting in A+E again today. This is the third time he has attended A+E in as many days. At least it's warm. I doubt that psychiatric services will admit him in order to get the medications that he needs. Instead he will be discharged as part of "Care in the Community". This is the same process I saw when working in A+E, unless he is a specific danger to himself or others, people like Phil just don't get the care they need. Even being a danger to themselves is often not enough; I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of patients attending A+E because of an overdose and then going on to be admitted under the psychiatric services.
Sometimes it feels that no matter how hard you bail out the water the ship is still sinking.

I'll try and post something more upbeat later.
Welcome to Random Acts Of Reality, a Blog based in London, England, written by an E.M.T working for the London Ambulance Service. Also, number one search result for "Womble porn". All names have be changed to protect the guilty. This Blog was previously known as "Why I Hate Humanity" but the antipsychotic medication seems to have kicked in.

All opinions on this website are mine alone, and may not reflect those of the L.A.S or other ambulance crews

Find out more about me here.

Login
User name:
Password:
Remember me 
Search
This Month
February 2004
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29
Year Archive
Buy My Book (Please)

The Story So Far.

Subscribe with Bloglines

How To Contact Me.

Amazon Wish List

Reynolds is Reading...

Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.