Tag: #caringforthecarers

You Give Love a Bad Name.

I’ve read a lot of news stories and posts on the socials about ambulance waiting times, and people who may or may not have died as a result of ambulance delays (the fact they don’t get investigated makes me sceptical).

We all know news companies and media companies love scandal and sensationalism, but why have a go at ambulance crews?

I regularly get messages from a friend and former colleague about the waiting times at their local A&E department. 3 hours, 4 hours… An ambulance crew doesn’t just dump patients at the door and trot off to the next job. They must wait for a nurse or doctor and give a detailed handover before they can leave. I know of one major hospital where the A&E department that was rebuilt and doubled in size a few years ago, and is still manned by the same number of staff as the old department.

Nor do ambulance crews hang around once a job has been allocated to them. Whe someone calls 999 (or 112) and requests an emergency ambulance the call taker will ask questions and follow an algorithm on their screen. The result will add the job to a list according to the level of priority the system decides. Ambulance crews have no involvement in this process.

There are, and always have been faults in the above system, and paranoia on the part of the call takers can often make smaller jobs into bigger ones.

Then there are the time wasters, the ones who know all the key words to use to get up the list, when they don’t actually need to go to hospital at all. And the ones who call for an ambulance because the waiting time for an appointment at their local surgery is too long (yes, that happens…a lot!).

These things all add on to the time before the job is even allocated to an ambulance. I could list many other types of time wasters.

Maybe, instead of the Scottish government talking of using the army to drive ambulances (so they can add to the waiting times standing in the queues in A&E departments too?) they and the other politicians could look at the overall problems and maybe find a sensible solution to the whole problem.

In the meantime, don’t take it out on ambulance crews. This problem is far from new, it’s been an issue for many years now. Those ambulance crews (and call takers, dispatchers, A&E staff…) are doing their best with what they have.

Those ambulance crews are the same ones you made rainbows for, the same ones you stood on your doorstep and clapped for this time last year!!!

I’ll stand by you.

It’s coming up to that time of year again. The time when all the charities ramp up their appeals on TV and on the streets. All the main organisations have started. In this post, I’m not going to tell you who to give your money to. I just want to mention a few causes that I feel deserve extra support around now, a couple not often thought about. All have already been mentioned in previous posts but they are still important, perhaps more so to me because of my personal experiences with them (that is what this blog is all about after all).

Firstly, elderly people. Winter is a dangerous time for many. With fuel costs rising, hypothermia becomes an actual killer. When you casualty turn up your heating without, think of the older ones who can’t afford to. Loneliness is a huge problem too. Some elderly people may have recently lost their partner of many years, possibly facing their first Christmas alone. More than once I was called to such a person around this time of year, who saw no reason left to live any more and just gave up.

Those are the people who need practical support. Friendship, food, heat, people who show they still care about them.

Secondly, not only the people with terminal illnesses – also the frequently unsung heroes who support them. Family members, who are terrified that this might be their last Christmas with the loved one they are supporting. Also the support charities. The people who try to help it all be that little bit more bearable for everyone, while trying to walk away and hold on to anything they can to keep themselves going.

There are many others but finally, I want to mention one very close to my heart – of course, emergency crews, primarily ambulance crews. I’ve already highlighted PTSD, stress, depression…all the problems brought on by giving everything they have to help other people, while very few people give anything to help them cope. Suicide season is near, it’s a difficult time for ambulance crews. The ones who cut down bodies, who try to save someone after an overdose. Many times the patient doesn’t want to die, their “attempted suicide” is a cry for some attention, someone to show them that they are interested. That’s hard to walk away from at the end of a callout, but ambulance crews have to do it.

This next part is not an appeal, I just want to highlight a few charities that help with the situations I’ve mentioned, a couple I have been involved with personally:

For the elderly –

Help the Aged. Essential work with elderly people, especially at this time of year, with your support.

For victims of cancer, and their families –

Maggie’s cancer support centres. They provided a lot of valuable support to my partner after surgery. The staff are amazing and give more than we could have ever expected.

Two(ish) for the Ambulance crews –

PTSD999. PTSD is starting to be recognised more and more in our emergency crews, it’s not rocket science, but no one thinks about that when they see ambulances around towns and cities. PTSD999 is one of a number of charities highlighting this, and helping emergency crews up and down the country.

Frontline Coffee (https://frontlinecoffee.co.uk). Set up by ex-firemen, they have created a number of different very high quality coffees in various forms (beans, ground…), the profits of which support different emergency services. One of the blends is specifically for Tasc, an ambulance support charity that I know does good work from inside the service. They also give you the opportunity to send a bag of coffee to your favourite emergency services station so you can show practical support. Coffee and emergency services – genius!

And finally, one for all of the above –

You! You can give practical help to them all –

Keep an eye on elderly neighbours, cook something for them, show them you are interested in their welfare.

Ask cancer support groups how you can help, many require volunteers for events etc.

Emergency crews love when someone shows their support by dropping a box of chocolates or biscuits at their local station, or drops by on Christmas Day with a wee gift. I know this because I spent one Christmas Day single crewed, and was visited by a few people who made the shift much more bearable.

I hope this post hasn’t been boring, and that it has made you consider some of the groups I’ve written about. Don’t leave it to “somebody else”, be that somebody. They say Christmas is about sharing, I say it’s about caring too.