Please ignore an typos, grammar mistakes or utter balls-ups in the following post. It has been written while trying to recover from a busy couple of nightshifts. Were I driving I would be using the same skill as a man with a bottle of whisky inside him. I need sleep, yet must remain awake otherwise there is no way I'll be able to get my body clock 'reset' back into societal normal time. My brain is working at about quarter speed.

Thank you for your understanding - I can only hope that any emails that I answer later today will not consist of random extracts from the works of Stephen King.

We were sent to a seventeen year old boy who had been drinking too much of the nastily strong cider that our seasoned alcoholics seem to love. The sort of stuff that comes in blue plastic bottles and costs a pound for three litres. He had made his way to a friend's house and then collapsed on their kitchen floor. The family he had 'gatecrashed' were concerned and had called us.

The family were very nice, they realised that he was too drunk to be left alone but his family lived in Essex and had no way to collect him. It seemed pretty obvious that the young man needed to be in hospital, his was a case of alcohol poisoning and to leave him behind would have been dangerous.

We tried to rouse him from his slumber and were greeted with abuse and finally a thick stream of vomit. Vomit that he proceeded to lay his head in. The family told us that he was awaiting sentencing for breaking a man's jaw and that he was expecting 2-10 years in prison. They mentioned this because they didn't want to see us punched by his, now puked covered, fists.

We decided that it would be wise to call the police.

Two police officers arrived and, after apologising for calling them out, we explained the situation. We all agreed that the hospital would be the best place for him, but in a pinch the police could arrest him for 'breach of the peace' and then take him to the station where the police doctor would send him to hospital. A round about route, but in either event he would eventually be cared for in hospital.

The policeman spoke to the boy firmly, but with compassion. He noted the signs of self harm on the boy's wrists and took a fatherly tone. It was great to see the police officer persuade the boy to attend hospital when previously the patient had refused all offers of help.

Due to the chance of violence the police officer travelled in the back of the ambulance with my crewmate in order to maintain our safety. Thankfully we reached the hospital with no further incident.

While waiting for the nurses at the hospital to accept the patient I started chatting to the police officer and he agreed that it was incredibly sad to see the patient in such a state, that he was starting down a life of self abuse and crime. We could both easily see where this teenager would end up and we both thought that it was both sad and frustrating that this descent would probably be inevitable.

It was the common humanity of this seasoned police officer that is so unrecognised by the media and the public that makes me privileged to work so closely with these professionals.

While cleaning the ambulance outside the department I saw a drunken patient ejected by security. Complaining loudly, the patient headed over to the same police officers and demanded that they 'do something'. The police officers calmed the drunk down and advised him to head home.

He climbed into his car and started to drive off.

The last I saw of this man was him, stopped by the police ten yards down the road, being breathalysed.

Thanks for all the kind comments congratulating Laura and I on dating - they are appreciated even if it does feel that you lot are trying to marry us off...