gdp's Comments

Nee Naw : Unknown Male

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:53:03 +0000

I think repeating your information over and over until someone arrives would work! Just remember to give the whole address and as much information as possible about what is wrong - and tell the call taker that you're deaf otherwise they'll wonder why on earth you are repeating yourself! Obviously, there are occasions when "following the commandments" is going to be impossible and call takers understand that - that post was aimed at people who don't know what to do, not people who have a disability or something else standing in the way of them making a "perfect" call.

Nee Naw : About Nee Naw

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:31:07 +0000

Our techs don't cannulate. You'd probably be better off asking one of them for the full list of drugs they can give - try Tom Reynolds at http://www.randomreality.blogware.com?

Nee Naw : Handling Inappropriate Calls

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:29:09 +0000

Hi Lizzie, IS YOUR CAPS LOCK BROKEN? Ambulances don't leave for hospital straight away because they need to do observations and give treatment and they can't do that and drive at the same time! The ambulance isn't just there to get people to hospital quickly - the patient needs seeing to straight away. Occasionally (for instance for babies not breathing and severe accidents), the crew decide that getting to hospital quickly is more important than treating the patient at the scene, and then they do zoom straight off, but that's the exception.

Nee Naw : The 10 Commandments of Dialling 999

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:28:00 +0000

If your mobile is registered to your address, then yes, the mobile phone company would be able to give us your address. We can tell your rough location (within about half a mile usually) from the signal but not enough to work out exactly where you are if you're at a home address.

Nee Naw : About The Author

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:36:01 +0000

Wow, even I haven't got a copy yet! Glad you enjoyed it!

Nee Naw : Christmas Spirits

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:07:14 +0000

I hate NYE, I'd much rather work Christmas. If it were a choice between the two I'd gladly swap, but I have no choice as I was rostered for both this year! All those drunks and similar sounding calls and patients who have staggered off by the time the ambulance arrives... it does my head in. This is the third NYE I will have worked in a row. Thank god, I am off next year, and let me tell you I won't be working even if they offer me a MILLION BILLION pounds to go in on overtime.

Nee Naw : Christmas Spirits

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:04:10 +0000

I was a call taker once and I agree - it's definitely the most stressful job in the control room. I did enjoy it but by the time I was promoted I definitely felt I'd done my time and I wouldn't go back to it now!

Nee Naw : Never Judge a Call by its Cover

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:15:11 +0000

Joe doesn't have a blog. I'd love to read it if he did!

Nee Naw : Amber Cars

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:48:46 +0000

You CAN get to management without having done the desk OR working on a truck. We have managers who've never done either.

Nee Naw : Amber Cars

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:11:29 +0000

See above for full explanation of the "strokes are amber" logic. A stroke patient who is showing signs of imminent arrest WOULD be a red. And yes, I can totally see why Mr Reynolds is annoyed, but I think that incident was down to teething problems and shouldn't happen again. If it does I will have something to say about it.

Nee Naw : Amber Cars

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:08:59 +0000

I don't agree with this 100%, but the reason strokes are amber is because there is a three hour window for stroke treatment (compared to heart attacks where there is a one hour window). A stroke with associated difficulty breathing or reduced consciousness is a red, because of the possibility of imminent cardiac arrest. I think that if the categorisation system were watertight and all red calls were for people who were on the verge of death, this would be fair, but as it is there are a lot of red calls that are far less serious than strokes. Call takers can't override the priority of a call, but allocators (me) can. I can only do it if I think the call taker has made a mistake or if I call back and the patient has got worse though - I couldn't just upgrade every stroke call because I disagree with the LAS's categories. Allocators are also allowed, at their own discretion, to send on an amber call before a red call (so if I have a 80 year old having a stroke and a 20 year old having a panic attack that has somehow ended up red, I can sent to the stroke first if I want). But if anything goes wrong, it would be me who'd be held accountable, so I only do that when I am 100% sure.

Nee Naw : Watermelons

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 12:44:58 +0000

Yeah it was - thanks for the info but god OUCH.

Nee Naw : Watermelons

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 12:44:20 +0000

I think there was about ten of us. Good luck!

Nee Naw : Watermelons

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:15:24 +0000

A green call, fortunately ;-)

Nee Naw : Watermelons

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:29:12 +0000

WannabeEMD: have a look at this post - http://www.neenaw.co.uk/index.php/ambulances/132/... I don't know about SECamb but we work 12 hour shifts. We do 3 or 4 shifts a week (Monday to Thu or Fri to Sun). All the shifts are 7 - 7 (am or pm) and we have to do weekends, nights, bank holidays, Christmas, etc etc.

Nee Naw : Driving Test

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:34:19 +0000

I should have said that I'd dedicate my book to him and send him a free copy.

Nee Naw : Driving Test

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:33:26 +0000

... said Alexandra from X Factor.

Nee Naw : Driving Test

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:54:01 +0000

Thanks! Yes, it was Wanstead. I have done Loughton (and Chingford) in the past, though. The reason I chose Wanstead is because it doesn't have a car park so I don't have to worry about bay parking, which I was terrible at. TBH I would have failed this test even if I'd been in Outer Mongolia with no other cars around because the other traffic didn't bother me - it was just the stupid reverse around a corner. Anyway, thanks for the tips :)

Nee Naw : Two Tragedies

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:49:34 +0000

Really sorry - didn't mean to devalue the great work you did that night. I was on the desk and know what you did. I was responding to the people above who said that HEMS was a waste of money. After all, if we had two HEMS teams you wouldn't have had to wait an hour for them.

Nee Naw : Swine Flu

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:38:46 +0000

if it wasn't appropriate, they would tell us Sadly, this isn't true. I think it *should* be the case, but in fact we are not allowed to refuse anyone an ambulance or tell them that their call is inappropriate. I think Michael meant that people should be calling the OOH for swine flu, not for heart failure! Of course if you think it is a life threatening emergency, you should call 999. There is a world of difference between making an "inappropriate" call that you genuinely believed to be appropriate and making one because you're not satisfied with your GP. A lot of the time when people call us instead of calling a GP, we end up referring them to the GP anyway, because what they really need is a prescription or long term care, and ambulances can't help with that.