And the rest of last night

6 attended, 1 stand down and still no sleep!

1. Abdo pain. When the details of this job came through I had to do a double take as I thought I had already been to this patient last week http://streetmedic-coocoocachoo.blogspot.com/2009/04/nights-again.html. It was a different address but it was a female the same age who recently had her gall bladder removed.
This lady was doubled up but as soon as we got her on the gas & air she settled. After a set of obs and the pain now under control we started to head off. But a few minutes later she was now in unbearable agony and the gas & air was having little effect, she was in tears. I couldn't sit there and see her suffering like this especially with her husband sat next to her. I put in a 20g cannula and administered an anti sickness drug and then some Morphine. As expected it really hit the spot and made her journey more comfortable. I found out she was a nurse and that she worked at the local hospital, she knew exactly what I was doing and told me so.

Psych/suicide stand down

2. Chapped lip, see last post!
3. Leg pain. A sweet elderly lady, also a regular patient called us because her leg hurt. She has arthritis and the pain came on whilst at rest. After checking her over and reassuring her we give her some of her co-dydramol. She doesn't want to go to hospital anyway so we speak to her family on the phone and offer advice.
4. Breathing difficulties. Passed as a Cat A, it was a teenage girl suffering the mother of all panic attack. She was really going for it and at one point I thought we were going to have to take her in. But just as things looked like they weren't going to get any better we managed to settle her breathing and coach her respirations. We made her hyperventilate again to demonstrate that she was in control of her breathing. After nearly an hour on scene we left her having a smoke in the garden.
5. Psych/suicide attempt. Elderly male who was threatening to pull his catheter out and jump down the stairs . He had a live in carer who had just about had enough and called us as she had reached the end of her limit. we managed to check him over and get him settled into bed. Carer to call GP in the morning.
6. Fall. Irish lady who slipped in the bathroom and banged the back of her head on a tiled wall. Severe head pain and living alone, she was always going to go in. I think my crew mate was especially impressed at my door entry skills. We didn't have a key and there was no answer at any of the other doors so I used one of my ID cards and managed to open the Yale lock.

While at hospital our 2 other crews and the critical care crew were on the way in with a Paediatric cardiac arrest. Although we weren't directly involved in the job we still couldn't escape the sight of the child being vigorously worked on by the crews before handing over to the A/E team. The crews did everything possible, Full ALS inc IO line & drugs etc but unfortunately like most Paediatric arrests it wasn't successful.
We left the hospital hearing the harrowing screams of distraught parents who had just lost their baby.