17:49 - 18 year old female, fainted.

A new experience for me as it all took part in a Shiska bar. Strange to have 30 young Muslim males, smoking shiska, wishing me a happy Christmas and astounded that I have to work today.

The patient was fine, and didn't want to go to hospital. As her examination was fine, I left her with her friends.

Hopefully the last job of the shift for me.

Merry Christmas.

17:06 - 23 year old female, 22 weeks pregnant, possible miscarriage, maybe 'just' an early rupture of membranes.

What a cheery day I'm having this shift.

Still, I'm doing better than a lot of my patients.

I just want to sleep now...

14:26 - 26 year old male with chest pain and hyperventilating. Probably nothing serious, but as he has had the chest pain since 4am, its wise to treat it as cardiac.

12:17 51 year old alcoholic with difficulty in breathing.

I entered the room and he had vomited blood everywhere.

Then he stopped breathing.

Then his heart stopped.

I could only find one glove, so my left hand became covered in blood and vomit.

We got him into hospital, before we got there we had restarted his heart. It probably won't last for long, but you can always hope...

11:28 - Little old lady in sheltered housing. Bit of a chest infection with some upper abdominal pain, probably through coughing too much.

An easy job, with a carer who actually seemed to care.

10:38 Set to a Bupa nursing home for a little old lady with a grotty chest infection. Quite seriously ill, and as is common in nursing homes 'it happened suddenly'.

After taking the patient away they asked for the oxygen mask back as it was the only one they had...

...why aren't we winning the fight against MRSA?

(For those that don't know, oxygen masks are one use items, otherwise illness, for example a CHEST INFECTION may be spread between two people).

Time to return to station to fill in a 'dangerous occurance' form...

First job at 6:33 - Maternataxi.

We came close to deciding to deliver at the home.

Spilt my cup of tea getting to the call, which is the real tragedy..

So it's Christmas. I'm probably sitting in my car, all alone and hungry outside Stratford town centre. Feel pity for me.

Further on in the article it talks to a homeless fellow. Seems that he is getting a full Christmas dinner in one of the homeless hostels. That is better than us poor bloody ambulance workers. Not that I begrudge them a good meal mind you, just that us in the LAS find it funny. I'd bet that prisoners will be eating better than me today as well.

I wonder how many drunks I'll pick up today.