You.
You waste of space.
You waste of time.
You waste of energy.
You wasted your money on too much vodka, and now,
You're wasted.
And while I'm here,
while you're swearing at me,
while you're swinging punches at me,
while I wait for either the police or the ambulance that's backing me up,
I listen.
I listen to the radio.
I listen to the calls going out.
And I hear.
I hear the chest pain calls waiting for ambulances.
I hear the breathing problem calls waiting for ambulances.
I hear the RTC calls waiting for ambulances.
And I freeze.
I freeze because now the radio calls once more.
I freeze because there's a baby who's not breathing. And I'm here.
Here with
You.
7 comments:
'nuff said...
Well written and all to true.
Excellent. I am sure most of us share the sentiment completely.
Well done lad.
Expecting flak on this one... As I seem to be in a minority who doesn't particularly mind dealing with drunks, I thought I'd add to this. I find most drunk patients manageable with the correct attitude and patience (like children), and we do live in an alcohol tolerant society. Our culture even encourages it in times of stress. However I do have a problem with the elevated categorisation drunk calls get, we can now direct Aspirin for chest pain so why not "roll on his side for when he vomits"? And in our temperate environment the likelihood of severe hypothermia or heat stroke is minimal at most times of year, so why not auto categorise alcohol related as Amber2? Saves FRU for appropriate Red calls and still fails (relatively)safe.
Maybe we should roll out more drunk buses, and go in tandem with the Police to enforce Drunk and Disorderly/Incapable type laws? If you end up in the Ambo, you will be getting a fine!
(Or maybe this is just 12 hrs of drunks only and now a beer in hand before bed... :) )RH
anonymous,
notwithstanding whether they are managable or not, i think the issue is that when people are not only ill due to their own voluntary stupid actions, but are also abusive to those who help them, there are people with a real need who suffer...
RH - No flak. Just disagreement. The problem I have with drunks are the fact that so called adults, when presented with alcohol, don't know their own limits. The "My drink must have been spiked", or "I normally drink much more than this" brigade. Every time a drunk vomits in an ambulance, that vehicle is then out of use not only for the time it is actually with the patient, but also another chunk (pun unintentional) of time while all the surfaces are wiped clean, the crew change their uniform, etc... A bed is taken up in A&E, and the abuse of the health system continues. I have no objection to being an alcohol-tolerant society, just to an alcohol-abusing one. Booze buses may solve the short term problem, but the long term solution has to be better education, whether through deterrents in the form of fines for abusing the ambulance service, or whether through other means. By all means, go out, have a drink, or two, or however many. But know your limit. Know when to say enough.
Post a Comment