Tonight was supposed to be a night of working with the Ambulance service, but that plan went straight out the window when the pager went off at around 1700.
Leaving work, I headed off to base where I jumped in the first response Landrover and headed off. We’d been requested by the Cave Rescue team who had been rescuing a young woman with a dislocated knee from Porth yr Ogof. Fearing a carry out from the cave entrance and having been involved in a rescue for several hours already, they wanted some assistance to carry the lady out. As it turned out, she was of a strong mettle and hobbled herself out with some assistance. With that done, we packed our kit away and headed back.
By the time I’d gone home to change it was gone 2000 and I headed out to pick up the first responder kit. Meeting up with Nigel and Alison we chatted for a while before suddenly the phone rang – we had a red call in Abertridwr. Off we went to a lady with breathing difficulties. As we turned up it was apparent that she had chronic emphysema and as I was getting out a 100% mask to replace the 28% one she was wearing, the crew arrived. Alison and Nigel had accompanied me and I’d called Dilwyn and Rachel who were on shift with me. As the crew came in, things kicked off – a member of the public approached from outside saying that someone had been knocked down. Leaving the crew to the lady, we headed outside to check him out.
A young man was lying on the floor apparently unconscious. Eliciting a response from him wasn’t too difficult though he vaguely mumbled. It transpired he’d drunk half a litre of vodka and had been assaulted. I’d asked for a police presence and a second truck. There was no ambulance available so we kept an eye on the casualty while the police worked out what had happened. Eventually we managed to get him to respond – fairly explosively as it turns out and we backed off suddenly as the police stepped in. Dad was there by that point and as I pointed out to the police that now he was walking around there was nothing wrong with Dad taking him down to A&E as he was more drunk than anything else. The police agreed and Dad gladly put him in the back of the car as I stood down the ambulance.
Rachel and I went to fill in our paperwork and just as we were finishing my phone rang. Looking confused I answered to hear the dulcet tones of Gav, manning the RRV desk in Control. But I’d diverted the phone already…? He gave me the details of a call with a suspended patient.
Rachel and I headed off and got to Bedwas where we rushed in to help. The crew wasn’t far behind us and together we worked on the man for some time before the crew finally called a stop. Sadly we’d not been able to revive the man and a large family came to grieve for his loss. After our work we cleared up and gently moved the man onto the bed where we covered him in a blanket – he’d vomited quite a lot and we had a fair amount of cleaning up to do. Eventually, with the police on scene, we headed off home. For me, to wash my jacket and trousers which both had vomitus on them…and I’m on duty tomorrow again. For now, I need something to eat, put my clothes to dry and some sleep.