What a difference

What a contrast between Monday & Tuesday. Yesterday I turned up for my car shift as per usual and started to check the equipment on the car. I was just about finished when I saw an off the road notice, it needed a securing bolt for the Lifepack. So I started to check another car but found that the lock on the boot was faulty, so off to find another car. I started checking the ECP car but was told not to use it for some reason; even though there were no ECPs on duty. There was another car at the other end of the garage but that too was off the road, blue lights faulty and a flat battery! Now there were only two more to choose from, a ropey old car and a 4x4. I opted for the 4x4 as there was someone from my base station coming over to use a car for a course. Finally an hour and a half into my shift I was ready to go. What a joke!
After that charade I was sent to a station on standby in the north of the county and spent 3-4 hours sat there twiddling my thumbs hoping for a decent RTA to come in, if you are going to get one then this is usually a good area for those. But no, nothing. I was sent back to base for my break. By this time on Monday I had already done 5 jobs.
Later on I got sent for standby at a Dr's surgery near my base station. First I must explain that where I have been working for the past two shifts is in my home town but not my base station. I sat there for a while reading and about 45 minutes later I heard an all call go out, 'Any fast responder available for a Cat A fitting please call, responding a Technician crew from ***** base.'
The call wasn't far from base and I knew a local car was starting at 15.00, I hadn't done anything all day so I decided to call up for it. And sure enough I got the job. It was a regular patient who had a history of epilepsy, he had a couple of seizures earlier and was now vomiting. Initially I was going to let the double EMT crew deal but the patient started fitting so I stayed in case he needed some IV Diazemuls. It was a nightmare getting him out as there was no real room to manoeuvre and he was a big lad as well. He kept having lots of short seizures with little recovery time in between so I put a line in him and gave him 5mg of Diazemuls. Sorted. I got the usual from his partner 'They have a hell of a job getting a drip into him usually.' Right, that's a challenge I thought to myself. No problem, straight in. I left the response car where it was and accompanied the crew in just in case I needed to give some more drugs or in case he lost his airway. If he lost his airway I may have needed to intubate him. I didn't need to do either.
Into resus he went and for some reason they weren't that interested so after a quick look they said he was alright to go into majors so off they went. Within 10 minutes he was back in resus. The problem is we have a brand new box of junior Drs so things don't always go to plan. Bless them, they are still finding their feet.
We cleared at the hospital and the crew were taking me back to my car. We nearly made it when we got a Cat A chest pain back near the hospital. So we turned round and blue lighted 7 miles back to the location. It was a Patient transport (PTS) ambulance who called us, they had a lady complaining of chest pain and they had her on Oxygen when we arrived. Funnily enough the crew I was with had taken her in earlier and the PTS crew were taking her home. I had also taken this lady in recently with the same problem. She worries alot and pretty much suffers chest pain on a daily basis. This time she just happened to mention that her chest was tight and she didn't have her nitrate spray with her so the PTS crew called for back up. We caused chaos as it was rush hour but we had a job to do so everyone would just have to put up with it. To cut a long story short she point blank refused hospital and wouldn't let us do a 12 lead ECG, she just about let us do her blood pressure! She said it was just like her normal angina and that she panicked as she didn't have her spray with her. All we could do was let her carry on back to the home and for the PTS crew to advise them of what had happened. Anyway she was pain free after the Oxygen. If they refuse then there's nothing we can do.
We cleared from that and were given a RTA back in the other direction, it was a Cat C female cyclist had collided with another cyclist. I called up and asked if the crew could drop me off back at my car (seeing as it was a Cat C and an officer had already booked on scene). That was fine with control and I was finally back at the car. I did a little bit of standby at my base station before returning back to end my shift on time. Now there's a first.

I'm supposed to be working today but my baby daughter has been ill all week with vomiting and now my youngest son, wife and now my oldest daughter are all sick. I've been up all night with them and will now have to run the show at home today. That'll be fun. I just hope I don't catch what ever they've got. I hate having time off sick especially when I'm not even ill!