Sunday 20 January 2013

It's all about the money

"82 year old male, Cardiac arrest"

I can feel my heartbeat almost double in speed when I accept the job. There is always a different attitude in the cab, a sense of urgency, an appreciation of the gravity of the situation and an understanding and acceptance of what was about to happen. For someone not in the know, a resus is not a pleasant affair. For starters, lying between whatever ambulance crews are there is a dead body. During attempts to get the heart started again there will be the cracking of ribs, the jolts of electricity, incontinence, vomit in the airway, gargling and a cocktail of smells. It is what it is. If you were to believe what Ann Widdecombe in my recent post then you will be off the opinion that "the service exists for the benefit of those who staff it rather than those who need it". Well, there is a man lying on floor who needs us now and she would have you think that we are in it for the money. Are we?!

15:52 Dispatched - £0 earned

15:55 Arrived on scene - £0.51 earned

15:56 Start CPR - £0.68 earned

From what we could gather he had woken in the morning and had felt fine. He had been sitting in his arm chair reading the paper when he suddenly felt hot. He then fell to the floor and we were called. Unfortunately, there was only the two of us. We were told that there were no other resources available and I can all but guarantee that none of the other crews were on a rest break at the time! There are simply not enough ambulance for the number of calls and even if there were, there is not enough staff to man them. 

15:59 1st shock given - £1.19 earned

Between the two of us we went through the resus protocol. We put in an airway and ventilated the patient, we gained IV access to give drugs and fluids, all the while doing CPR. A lot to do with just 4 hands! We were giving adrenaline every 5 minutes and shocking every 2 minutes

16:14 8th Shock given - £3.74 earned

His heart started beating, albeit slowly. His blood pressure was low so we raised his legs and started running more fluids in an attempt to raise it. While my crewmate monitored him and attached ECG leads while I went to get the scoop and the bed. Luckily the bed was able to be brought into the house. We packaged him up and got him onto the bed and on to the ambulance.

16:27 Start CPR - £5.95 earned

Unfortunately his heart stopped again so we were back to beating his heart and breathing for him. More drugs were given as were subsequent shocks. With only two of us we were in no position to drive to hospital, there was simply not enough hands to do CPR, ventilate, push through drugs and drive. We asked if there was any other vehicle on route. Any ambulance, an car, any manager, any community responder. Nothing available. There was a car on their way but they were 13 miles away. 

16:33 11th Shock given - £6.97 earned

His heart started beating again, all the monitoring was still attached so we took our blood pressures etc and decided now was our chance to leave. The ECG showed he had suffered a heart attack so we put in a blue call to the heart attack centre where the blockage in his heart could be fixed within minutes of arrival.

16:36 Left scene for hospital - £7.48 earned

16:45 Arrived at hospital - £9.01 earned 

16:48 Transferred patient to the surgical table - £9.52 earned

16:49 Gave full handover to cardiologist - £9.69 earned

16:51 Left the department to do the next job - £10.03 earned

The procedure was a success. The blockage in his heart was cleared and when he was taken up to ITU 40 minutes later his heart was beating well, he was breathing on his own and his outlook was much more positive. They are no guarantees, his brain my have suffered damage due to lack of oxygen before we arrived but he had been given the best chance possible.

I think you'll agree, we are all in it for the money. It's all we think about throughout the day. For every two minutes CPR I do, all I can do is think about how I will spent my 34p. It's all money money money with us. We don't deserve any more either. According to the Health Secretary with are just 'ambulance drivers'. It's not as if any of us have put in years and years of work to get Honours degrees, foundation degrees, BTEC qualification etc to qualify as a registered Paramedic. Oh no. We are just drivers and as such we should be paid as such. Besides, we think that the service exists for our own benefit don't we?! It's all about working out when can next eat isn't? We use the service to our benefit time and time again. We wangle it so we can work bank holidays, work on Christmas eve, Christmas day, boxing day, new years eve, new years day, our birthday & our children's birthday. And you know what?! We selfishly make sure we do most of them on a night shift too.......for our own benefit, obviously.

Just for the record, to Ms Ann Widdecombe, Mr Richard Madeley, Mr Jeremy Hunt, Mr Andrew Lansley and any other member of the government or press that actually believe what they preach.....this cardiac arrest I am talking about, where there were not enough ambulances to meet demand, was done on the back of another cardiac arrest. It was done having been at work for 10 hours, without a break. The shift itself was started only 8 hours after the previous 15 hour shift finished. It was done on a weekend. It was also done on a shift which was the 11th in 12 days. That's 12 days I have been unable to spent time with my child and I have another 3 to go before I can rest. But who cares, us 'ambulance drivers' are the ones who  'have sunk Britain to new depths' and are just in the job to line our greedy pockets. Right?!






56 comments:

  1. So well written, I thought simialr yesterday, while we were on 2 cardiac arrests.

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  2. It's a good job that the majority of the general public don't believe the garbage spurted out by these pampered politicians and privileged few. Keep up the good work guys you are greatly appreciated by the people that count.

    Maggie

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    Replies
    1. I know, fingers crossed the witch hunt continues to fail!

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    2. unfortunately the general public DO believe this garbage,,,,,I have been on the wrong end of a verbal attack because I did not arrive promptly

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  3. I sent this to my MP via twitter. She said she doesn't know anywhere that politicians have called you just drivers. Help me out with a reference so I can chase her some more?

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    1. Here in this guardian article ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/16/paperless-nhs-medical-details-online ) is the Health Secretary referring to us a ambulance drivers. He also said it live on television in a speech. It shows what little respect and appreciation he has for our profession. Its no different to calling a Nurse a maid! We work for years to qualify as Paramedics, as to the Emergency Medical Technicians and Emergency Care Assistants. It's no longer the 1950's where ambulances were just 'stretcher monkeys'. We are well trained and are medical professionals and for the health secretary to belittle us like that sums up exactly where we are in the food chain!

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    2. kenneth clarke,,,,,during the 1989 1990 ambulance dispute

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  4. Malcolm Saunders20 January 2013 at 16:11

    superbly put..pity we dont have a P.R.dept to put this out for all the public to digest..and methinks(and hopes) that the devil will come for the likes of Ann Widdicome soon enough..

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    Replies
    1. We need the PR department that the fire service has! Always portrayed as the heroes! No mention of the 95% time spent sleeping and working out lol!

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  5. Well done for hitting the 8 min response time. Take over 8 mins to reach an incident then save a life is bad for statistics. Arrive under 8 mins & the patient dies improves the figures & everyone is happy . Keep up the good work

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    1. Haha! Yes ive touched on that in an old post called Success or Failure!! ;-)

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  6. Yes. You do a fantastic job under very difficult and stressful circumstances. I agree the comment in the Guardian article shows EXACTLY what the ConDems think of you. It's criminal what they're doing to the NHS.

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    1. I know, yet the electorate seem powerless to stop it!

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  7. I think the point is there is several people who aren't required for every worker, every organisation needs to reform regularly and the NHS hasn't in decades! At the end of the day as a social enterprise the NHS like all other services need to stay within an allotted budget so yes it is all about the money isn't it!

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    1. Seriously? While i would agree that the NHS has too many middle managers and consultants not the medical kind the idea that it hasn't been reformed is ridiculous, one of the major problems within the NHS is the constant reform with reorganisations and new policy's every year none been given long enough to settle down and be evaluated before the next ones introduced.

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    2. If you really think that there are too many ambulance staff and too many nurses for what is needed you are deluded. You wouldn't be saying that if your relative was this patient. How would you feel if your loved one was dying, desperately needed hospital and there was only a responder there? Would you enjoy watching them die in front you? Or would you blindly say it was for the greater good and reform is essential? You need a reality check. The NHS is near to collapse. I suppose that would suit most you lot though seeing as most people dead against the NHS have shares in private medical companies.

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    3. I think that the anonymous person above was referring to the middle managers and consultants (at least that is the way I read it - several *people* who are not required for every *worker*).

      My aunt was a paramedic until she did major damage to her back on a New Years Eve job for a drunk who refused to co-operate. On an undermanned shift and ambulance. I have total respect for what you do, and for the fact that you do it whilst being treated like I don't know what.

      But there are far too many middle managers, consultants and others in the NHS and Department of Health who are only in it for the money (and get enough out of the system) who's salary and expenses could be used to more real people like yourself, and the kit needed to do your job well.

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    4. I hope so then! There are too many managers throughout the NHS but they are still huge losses in front line staff across all services. Too many managers making that decision lol

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  8. Have worked in the NHS for 19 years this year, as a nurse and midwife. Often have relied on paramedics to be able to do my job. it's getting harder for those of us on the frontline as each year goes by!

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    1. According to a midwife I was with for a few days in the maternity unit ive now delivered enough babies to be a registrar midwife! Ive delivered 11, including 2 breach and twins!

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  9. I personally think you're saints and need much more pay etc.!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Ha thank you! The pay isnt too bad, I knew the salary when I applied so Im not too fussed with the wages. It is sometimes frustrating to see people who work in McDonalds etc earn more lol!

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  10. Terrific post. #savebfhospitals

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  11. I am horrified by what I have just read. You all deserve so much more. My late husband suffered a heart attack whilst parked in his car. A paramedic spotted him slumped over his steering wheel and stopped to see what had happened. It gives me great comfort knowing that he had the best possible care, and that everything possible was done for him. This government and the tiers of NHS management should hang their heads in shame.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, sorry to hear what you went through.

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    2. that wasn't in kent in a retail park was it? sounds very familiar to me x

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    3. that wasn't in kent in a retail park was it? sounds very familiar to me x

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    4. It has been a hard journey, but I cannot stress to you enough Ella how much it has helped knowing that the Paramedics were there to help him, even without a 999 call. No Louise, it was not in Kent, I live in Cheshire.

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  12. well said !!

    its easy for these people to say we do it for the money when they get paid the same amount as we get in a year in one month

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  13. A superb post, would you mind if we linked it from our Facebook and Twitter accounts?

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  14. Fantastic Post Ella! Thank you.

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  15. what a great and accurate post.......we had to drive for 45 minutes on blue lights tonight to get to someone who had an ongoing probably that's being investigated but who's family decided a and e would fix it quicker than the specialists......best of all.....the patient was only TEN MINUTES from that hospital!

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  16. Very good indeed, well thought out & reasoned, sarcasm for the benefit of Ms Widdecombe noted & approved ;-)

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  17. a few days ago at the start of this bad weather, there was a paragraph in a national paper,praising nurses for staying at work to cover those that could not get to work,,"a paragraph" if on the other hand an overworked nurse dares to sit and take a cup of tea that makes the front page....

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  18. Fantastic post, just wish more people could see it. Shame none of the big newspapers with their political affiliations would print it! Having worked front line for 9 years it also grates that dispatch staff who sit in a nice, safe, cozy room with tea, coffee, toilet facilities, regular breaks and no late finishes generally get paid more than us. All because somebody decided that they 'manage people' whilst we do what? After all we don't manage difficult patients, their relatives, the drunks, horrible accident scenes, members of the general public, cardiac arrests, complex medical conditions..................

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Thats the problem with the media! The truth will a) compromise their political affiliation and b) make their previous stories look like complete nonsense!

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  19. I take my hat off to all of you. You all deserve to be treated better and payed a lot more for what you do. Our Service personnel get treated crap as well..maybe you should have all taken up football £100,000+ for kicking a ball around.... Shocking

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  28. I really don't get how they can actually say that we are "in it for the money". At every level in the NHS from fresh-faced HCA to senior top paid consultant, that person will have had the experience and qualifications to go get themselves an easier and better paid job elsewhere. Instead they chose a vocation where they try to make things a bit better for someone else (same can be said for teachers, police etc. etc.). The politicians (who perhaps can't imagine someone *not* being in it for the money?) take advantage of this to try to turn the public against us.

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