The Ambulance: 8 Minutes to Disaster ~ A Review
Last night was the latest in the Cutting Edge series and offered an excellent insight into the work of ambulance crew 212 in Reading. Via cameras in the ambulance and shoulder cams for the crew, we saw what they have to deal during their ten or twelve hour shifts. We saw how much of their time is spent dealing with people who seem to have made a hobby out of calling 999 as well how they are often put in situations that threaten their own safety.
Now without wishing to detract in any way from the marvellous work carried out by not only this ambulance crew, but those across the country, I was surprised to find that of all the paramedics shown in action last night, the only one who seemed to genuinely care a great deal about his job and his patients was Rocky, real name Paul. His partner Vicky was a close second and clearly did care, but I don’t think she feels as passionate about the job as Rocky does.
Granted, it must be incredibly frustrating for the paramedics to be called to false alarms, repeat callers who have nothing wrong with them and the non-stop flood of alcohol related dramas, but in particular, I took a pretty much instant dislike to two crew members, Iain and Stella.
One of the stories shown last night was that of a Polish immigrant called Chris who was an epileptic and who lived rough. His friends had called an ambulance for him when one of his seizures left him clearly distressed and injured. Despite the fact that his nose was pouring blood, Iain and Stella were very reluctant to take him to hospital but in the end, had no choice as they couldn’t stop the bleeding.
As Stella drove, Iain sat in the back with Chris and told us that he’s often called out by Chris’s friends and resents it because Chris himself won’t control his epilepsy and most of the time doesn’t take his medication. Iain then somewhat smugly said that the chances are, Chris would be dead in a few months and it was plain to see that this option wasn’t one that he himself would find unpalatable. The show’s narrator then told us that in fact Chris had died two months later.
Iain and Stella moaned throughout the entire programme, and in the end, I wanted to slap my TV in the face and shout into it that they should get jobs better suited to their temperaments, such as – for Stella – anything that involves sarcasm and wasp chewing and for Iain, a job where he might legitimately be rude to people, such as telesales or debt recovery. Sorry, but I thought they were both pretty odious people who inappropriately enjoyed their bit of power. To be fair, Stella seemed more compassionate than Iain but that’s a bit like saying Herod was probably a bit better with kids than the witch out of Wizard of Oz.
That said, not all the crews were like Iain and Stella and I’ve pretty much fallen in love with Rocky. For a start, he’s fit, and secondly, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the South African accent. Not only that, uniforms kinda do it for me too, so I may become Rocky’s stalker. He is clearly devoted to his job and does it because it’s a vocation. Even when his patience was tested by a group of lads who’d needlessly called an ambulance for their friend – who was high on pot and booze – he dealt with them firmly but kindly.
Rocky and his partner were discussing how the all together too common problems of both alcohol and a lack of common sense mean that they are forced to attend to some people who clearly don’t need or deserve their time. Their worry is that real emergencies may not be responded to fast enough simply because the 999 resources are overstretched by attending such calls.
“It’s amazing how people cannot look after themselves and rely on the ambulance service to do it for them but little old ladies will sit at home for hours and hours because they don’t want to bother us.” Rocky said.
We then saw Rocky and another partner Vicky attending to a five-year-old boy who had been seriously injured in a car accident. They fought to keep him alive en route to the hospital and I was very impressed by how fast and professionally they responded. “This is what the ambulance is for” Rocky said once they’d delivered the child to the hospital.
Another emergency that Rocky and Vicky dealt with was the very gory attempted suicide of a man on their patch. This man had cut his own throat as well as various parts of his body and Rocky had to work very hard to stabilise the man as they made a dash to the hospital. Despite the fact that this man had done this to himself, Rocky and Vicky treated him with as much care and compassion as they had treated the little boy; I very much doubt that Iain and Stella would have done to be honest. I suspect a lot of their time might have been taken up with a whinge to camera about how there’s people more deserving of their time.
Again, I can understand that people who self-harm must present a frustrating set of circumstances to people who dedicate their lives to helping those who’ve been hurt or are ill through no fault of their own, but nonetheless, mental illness is something that must surely be considered every bit as genuine an illness as a broken leg?
Having said all that, seeing the harsh realities of the day to day lives of these crews –who constantly put themselves in harm’s way to help others – was an eye opener. It is appalling that the majority of their call outs are to people who don’t genuinely need medical help and who are taking up valuable resources that should and could be better deployed elsewhere. Personally, I think those who deliberately waste the time of paramedics and other 999 resources should be billed for their time or prosecuted for actions.
Next week’s instalment of Cutting Edge explores the controversial ‘purity’ movement that’s currently sweeping across the United States and which is supported by some of America’s pop stars among other celebs. One-in-six American girls now pledges to remain a virgin – and some even to save their first kiss – until their wedding day. But is this their decision, or is it made for them by their fathers?
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I read your review with interest. I work for an ambulance trust and would perhaps suggest that you spend some time with an ambulance crew before making your judgemental comments.
From a clinical point of view, Rocky’s treatment of the suicide victim was very poor and quite unbelievable. I won’t go into detail, since it I feel it is not important, but I think it would give you a great insight if you were actually prepared to spend a day or two on an ambulance.
You suggest that one of the crews seemed to be in wrong job due to their temperaments, but I wonder what sort of temperament you would suggest is required to deal with the nasty, gruesome and horrific sights that are a regular part of the job, and still be able to function efficiently?
Also, if the entrance criteria for the ambulance service were to be physically attractive and have a foreign accent, I would be slightly concerned for ill and sick people who need this service….
I’ve been treated by Iain the Paramedic that you seem to have problems with, and he treated me with nothing but care & compassion. i’m also an epileptic like Chris was, but the difference is that i don’t drink till i can’t stand & i take my medication. And when i’m offered help i take it.
Oh the other difference between me & chris, is that cos i decided to follow a medical professionals advice i’m alive & he’s not. (theres a lesson in there)
You also suggest Iain & Stella should try a different career path . . . . . . . perhaps writing up factious TV reviews, it quite obviously seems easy enough reading above. (although i think using King Herod will be lost on most of yr readers)
I think the reviewer was watching a different program to me. I found ‘Rocky’ to be irritating, with extremely poor clinical skills. I’d much prefer the maligned Iain and Stella to turn up if I needed a paramedic, rather than the confused and panicky ‘Rocky’.
Clearly you have missed the entire point of the documentary and the situations that the crews find themselves in time and time again. Just because you ‘fell in love with’ one particular participant does not make him a better any better at doing his job compared with others. May i remind you that this was not ER and therefore was not remotely interested in providing eye candy for it’s viewers.
With regards to Iain’s treatment of Chris, he clearly did not resent Chris for not taking his medication he was highlighting the frustrations felt when repeatedly being called out to ( and taking a front line ambulance off the road) to someone who is obviously struggling with maintaining a medication regime and how Iain felt powerless to be able to do anything about that. There has hardly ’smugness’ regarding Chris dying, if you are unable to handly the reality of these types of situations i suggest you review other more fluffy programmes. The narration clearly said at the beginning of that section that crews have to try a treat on scene to reducce pressures on A&E beds, it is not as though Iain and Stella abandoned him on the side of the street and told him to get a taxi – although you probably missed that bit because you were too busy day dreaming over Rocky. Similarly regarding individuals who have called ambulances of their own accord for overdoses that they have a taken and then refuse to go to hospital!At NO point were Iain or Stella rude to any of the individuals they met, what is said afterwards is a reflection of those particular situation and the circumstances, and at NO point impacted on their care and treatment of those individuals. This was but a 45 min snap shot into 1 month with these crews so therefore they were probably unable to show you the hours they spent trying to encourage someone to come into hospital.
Whilst you are throwing around comments regarding suitability of jobs you had better take a hard look at your own if this is all you are able to produce…
i’d have to agree with all the comments above. i’ve known rocky and iain for a number of years, and have worked alongside both of them on many occasions. i did my paramedic training with iain and you couldn’t hope to meet a more genuine or compassionate man, who is also in possession of excellent clinical skills. rocky has always had a somewhat excitable nature, particularly when trauma is involved, but isn’t as irritating as most people who’ve commented on this programme seem to suggest. when he’s calm, he’s a very funny man, and when he flaps, he swears a lot.
instead of wishing to slap your TV in the face, perhaps you should consider slapping yourself in the face for your blinkered and uninformed views.
no-one adopts a cavalier attitude to mental illness. why should someone who self-harms be treated any differently to someone who is the victim of an assault? your paragraphs on people “who’ve been hurt or are ill through no fault of their own” really beggar belief in their naiveté.
to judge rocky’s abilities as a paramedic because “For a start, he’s fit, and secondly, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for the South African accent” really show how deeply you understand the subject matter.
other risible remarks you have posted include:
“Despite the fact that his nose was pouring blood, Iain and Stella were very reluctant to take him to hospital” were you not listening to what was being said? the ambulance trust are advised by the strategic health authority to reduce the amount of people conveyed to the ED. epileptics fit, it’s part of being an epileptic. fits are normally controlled effectively by medication, but those with epilepsy have to be careful to maintain their regular dose, and not indulge in pursuits that might trigger a fit, such as excessive drinking. if an epileptic does have a fit, the fit in itself is not an incident that requires hospitalisation. it’s only when repeated or prolonged fits occur, despite maintaining regular medication, that further neurological investigations are necessary.
“Iain sat in the back with Chris and told us that he’s often called out by Chris’s friends and resents it because Chris himself won’t control his epilepsy” except that this isn’t what iain said at all. try listening properly to the words coming out of his mouth. he said that chris had the opportunity to take control of his fits, and take some responsibility for them, but chose not to, despite the efforts of others.
“Iain then somewhat smugly said that the chances are, Chris would be dead in a few months and it was plain to see that this option wasn’t one that he himself would find unpalatable.” really? he stated that there were two options for chris, and that one of those was that he could carry on for some considerable period of time, not managing his condition, but surviving anyway. it’s somewhat outrageous of you to assert your opinion that iain would be happy to see someone dead.
“Iain and Stella moaned throughout the entire programme… they should get jobs better suited to their temperaments…for Iain, a job where he might legitimately be rude to people, such as telesales or debt recovery. Sorry, but I thought they were both pretty odious people who inappropriately enjoyed their bit of power.” what power? perhaps something a little bit like someone who writes an amateur TV criticism blog and takes the opportunity to slag-off people she knows little or nothing about whilst making sweeping but ill-informed statements about their personality traits or their suitability to carry out their chosen profession? and that’s before you compare them unfavourably with a fictional character and a baby murderer.
another point which shows you weren’t really watching is that rocky and vicky don’t attend the five-year-old boy, the air ambulance does. they simply transport him the 300 yards from where the helicopter lands at reading school up craven road to the doors of the ED. The attending paramedic is ian teague, formerly the head of the training department.
“Despite the fact that this man had done this to himself, Rocky and Vicky treated him with as much care and compassion as they had treated the little boy; I very much doubt that Iain and Stella would have done to be honest. I suspect a lot of their time might have been taken up with a whinge to camera about how there’s people more deserving of their time.” yeah…we get your opinion of these two, misguided though it is.
might i suggest that if you’re going to write reviews of television programmes, you do so without taking such a prejudiced and judgemental stance? the ambulance service has enough problems of its own, as the documentary clearly shows, without the ignorant and inflammatory comments of others making more.
dummy … Rocky is gay ….
I think the programme helped to make the public slightly more aware of the difficult issues faced by frontline ambulance staff at present. Educating vast portions of the populous on correct usage of the emergency medical services may help in the long-run, but for the time being we have to cope with ever decreasing response times, with minimal crewing plus keeping up-to-date with CPD. It’s hard to keep a smile on your face at all times, especially when people take the royal p•ss (ie, no taxi money\druggies need a fix of morphine for “abdo” pain). Having said that, we can’t allow people to carry-on thinking that it’s ok to abuse the service. Alternative care pathways spring to mind (use perfectly good legs to get to GP etc). I work for South Central and we are down to the wire here in Bucks on most shifts. Maintaining professionalism and the ability to laugh in the face of adversity is the key. Teach those who need it and praise those who don’t and who use the service appropriately. 10 years in (6 as a Paramedic) – Still love the job despite the crap!