Whilst driving home I came across a family in distress on the road I pulled in and they had called 999 however they were struggling to communicate I took the phone and said hello no response then the line went dead! Surely the phone should not have been hung up. I rang back got put through to ambulance only to be told they didn’t know where we were as they were not local, thankfully I downloaded a location app and gave the location.
50 min later the ambulance arrived, a car ambulance.
By this time the patient had come round from his fit
I explained that I had come across this incident that the patient had fitted for approx 3 min with facial droop which was now settled he had been initially confused.
The paramedic approached with no mask asked if I was related then abruptly stated they could take it from there. As a professional working for the NHS I was very shocked at the way I was spoken to and dismissed surely any account first hand would be of benefit to any paramedic. Arrogance comes to mind.
The family had been clearly distressed I had stayed with them in case the patient fitted again. I had reassured them that help was coming and that I would remain in case of a second fit. With help arriving over 50 minutes from the initial call, thankfully the patient came round and we didn’t have a more serious situation.
"Shocked at the way I was spoken to"
About: Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Emergency ambulance response Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Emergency ambulance response Belfast BT8 8SG Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Emergency Control Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Emergency Control Belfast BT8 8SG
Posted by Serious concerns (as ),
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