tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post1758714975275989105..comments2023-07-12T14:34:31.407+01:00Comments on A Life In The Day Of A Basics Doc: I'm Angry!RapidResponseDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03544668439101821499noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-67795602792747711422009-07-22T21:08:24.024+01:002009-07-22T21:08:24.024+01:00I completely agree with all the above. I have expe...I completely agree with all the above. I have experienced it all so many times as well. We have a sister in our local department that ignores you and even yawns and walks away if you don't sum up the handover in less than a sentance (i.e. male, chest pain is pretty much all you can get in). Very annoying and unprofessional!!! One of the other things I find is that the lack of belief that patients can actually make a recovery as a result of our treatment :-) So when we provide a red call requesting a trauma or medical team in rescus, it is possible that the patient may have improved by the time we arrive. It does not mean we were lying about the initial condition, I do get sick of the complete disbelief in the staffs eyes sometime, he he :-) Like we would go to the effort to actually make it up!Samoanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08336866784929992926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-55608016041690287472009-07-10T18:16:55.013+01:002009-07-10T18:16:55.013+01:00I'm pleased that a Doctor has seen this as I c...I'm pleased that a Doctor has seen this as I can only echo what the other front line guys have said before me.<br /><br />This happens very often to ambulance staff regardless of qualification.<br /><br />If we didn't think there was any point in putting a call through we wouldn't waste our breath...<br /><br />...so when we do, we expecta little more than tumble weed to meet us in resus!!<br /><br />If we all keep chipping away and blogging about it we may see a difference one day!Student Paramedichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06554558425541106953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-72211901020330737172009-07-06T03:30:18.484+01:002009-07-06T03:30:18.484+01:00And I thought it was just a US problem to have the...And I thought it was just a US problem to have the ER (A&E) people not take us prehospital monkeys seriously.<br /><br />A paramedic is one thing.. but a doc?? Wow. I've gotten in trouble more than a few times for letting the ER staff know that I expect them to "snap to" when I want them to. For a while, after I gave a "snap to" speech concerning a patient I was taking to the floor and wanted to divert to the ER who coded and died in the hospital elevator after the ER refused to take them, I was listened to.. now it's a new crew.<br /><br />A wise medic once told me that every so often a medic has to "whack them on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper" in order to get the ER staff to do their job. Guess it's not just a US thingCkemtphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02120372673086912853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-14508441109587730592009-07-03T08:35:00.067+01:002009-07-03T08:35:00.067+01:00I presume this is why my 47 yr old husband was blu...I presume this is why my 47 yr old husband was blue lighted to the major hospital but then left in a cubicle for five hours without being seen by a doctor - not even an aspirin given.<br />The ambulance crew had mouthed 'stroke' to each other before deciding where to take him, this was at 4 pm on a Friday. My 18 year old daughter went with him as I had to get hold of respite team for younger son - so didn't get to to hospital until after 9 pm - and had to go and find a doctor myself. He was by this time, fully conscious, but not able to use left side of face/body, or be understood.<br />During the night, those on duty totally ignored the information I had given them about his lumbar spinal injury. They tried, unsuccessfully, to do a lumbar puncture FIVE times before giving up.<br />Neurology were not contacted until Sunday......<br /><br />Full marks to the ambulance crew - who were wonderful, both with extracting him from an awkward place (another time I will be unscrewing the door while waiting for the ambulance!) and re-assuring daughter. Zero to A&E at major hospital.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-3551281422172516732009-06-30T15:09:25.579+01:002009-06-30T15:09:25.579+01:00Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens way too ...Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens way too often, and on this side of the pond there many of us that don't have access to RSI in the field. Granted, MD's aren't on 911 ambulances here, but there are places that RSI is available. Just not in my area. And I had a situation a little over a year ago similar to yours but with no tools. <br /><br />Patient was a 20 year-old male that was struck in the back of the head with a rather large piece of lumber. He was quite combative as well, and we were about a 10 minute ride from our area trauma hospital. The medical control doc wouldn't authorize chemical restraint so that I could secure his airway, so I did the best I could. But with all of that said, between the damage to his brain stem and the bleed that was induced by the blow, the kid had no chance.<br /><br />Needless to say, the M&M round for that call was interesting. And I had my say. So maybe someday - we'll get RSI. But - I'm not holding my breath.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03159620314795295144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-67715158222131465232009-06-29T19:40:59.887+01:002009-06-29T19:40:59.887+01:00Ohhh, been there soooooo many times just like Ben....Ohhh, been there soooooo many times just like Ben. Even just yesterday, pre-alerted A&E for a 63 yr old female sudden onset of ischaemic left leg. Classical signs and symptoms - cold to touch, mottled, no dorsalis pedis pulse, cap refill - ages! and pain +++.<br />I arrive at A&E to have one nurse waiting for me who before doing anything spends about 3 minutes searching for a pulse in the foot. I say "there isn't one, is the vascular surgeon coming down?" she says "oh no, let's just see what we really have first!" she then goes off for 5 minutes to the the Doppler then final comes back in, can't find a pulse and then says "I think I'll get vascualr down"<br />All the while I'm screaming in my head "Just bloody believe what I am telling you...!!!!"<br />she ended up having an emergency fem-pop bypass!<br />Not a one off experience though, not by a long shot.<br />Weirdly though, I find the consultants trust our judgement and provisional diagonsis far more than the junior docs and the nurses. Maybe they are just more comfortable and confident in their own abilities that they don't feel threatened by a knowledgeable paramedic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-50368602022994329672009-06-29T09:58:37.865+01:002009-06-29T09:58:37.865+01:00Doc, I hate to say it, but I'm almost glad tha...Doc, I hate to say it, but I'm almost glad that you had that experience, if only to be able to rant about it. I've also ranted about a similar issue on my own blog. I don't know if it will solve all our problems, but I still strongly believe in A&E staff, including senior staff, spending time "on the front line". Two days a year, or something such like. I'm sick and tired of being told that it's impossible for a patient of mine to be in the condition he is now, considering what I describe as his condition on scene. The anaphylaxis that I can treat, the CPR that is successful, the obstructed airway that's now clear... I could go on for days. All of these dismissed by staff in A&E as an error in my initial assessment. I'm a health care professional too, no longer just a stretcher bearer, and to that end, I try to treat my patients so that they get to hospital in as stable a condition as possible. And if that means stepping on the toes of haughty A&E staff, then so be it. <br />But really, I'd much rather be on the same side and part of the same team...InsomniacMedichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10119967573462562407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-42097685523940371062009-06-29T08:28:02.464+01:002009-06-29T08:28:02.464+01:00A usually very laid-back friend of mine had quite ...A usually very laid-back friend of mine had quite a bad head injury many years ago. He had gone ballistic when they tried to x-ray him and it had taken several people to hold him down. He told me after that he had a very clear memory of being on one of those big steam presses (like the ones you see on old prison films where they slam the lid down) and was terrified he was going to be "ironed". He saw the radiographer reach up and thought she was reaching for the handle of the lid and panicked!Shelaghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15863759766280256444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990254441624674011.post-31129638863868690622009-06-29T02:21:56.104+01:002009-06-29T02:21:56.104+01:00I find this very interesting. I would like to be i...I find this very interesting. I would like to be in your shoes one day and make a point (as one of the FY2s you mention) to speak to and get a full history from those who were treating the patient in the pre-hospital phase. <br />I am continually baffled by my colleagues (including one of our A&E consultants) who ignore what has happened pre-hospitally. <br />You are a professional (with significantly more experience than I), and if you priority-call something, there is a reason for it. To behave as your local neurocentre has done in this case is, quite frankly, disappointing and stupid.ScottGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16811590034381179247noreply@blogger.com