"Emergency Chest Pain Treatment by EMAS &..."

I telephoned NHS 111 yesterday for advice on the best course of action regarding recent chest pain that I had been experiencing over the last 2 weeks.

After asking a series of questions, the call adviser who dealt with me transferred me to a specialist who after some further probing, dispatched an EMAS ambulance crew to transport me direct to Lincoln County Hospital A&E.

I have never had occasion to make use of EMAS or NHS 111 previously, but despite some extremely bad press which I have seen, the 2x EMAS crew-members who came to assist me yesterday afternoon were a shining beacon for EMAS at its finest.

They were professional, courteous, extremely knowledgeable and more importantly, incredibly upbeat throughout the initial processing / ECG and subsequent transportation to Lincoln County A&E.

On arrival at A&E there was the unavoidable 4+ hours waiting to be processed through the sausage factory - secondary triage, blood tests, ECG, X-Ray, and summary diagnosis etc. from an obviously overworked but yet again, eternally cheerful doctor and X-ray Dept.

This despite the on-shift staff who appeared to be swamped at times by the sheer volume of ‘business’ while constantly having to juggle priorities with obvious under staffing levels, but still managed to provide a service despite almost being on its knees, in an extremely professional manner.

I’m fully aware that I am not permitted to single out anyone in particular in this review but after my own personal experience yesterday, I for one shall never again listen blindly without comment to those who would criticize the service that the EMAS crews have to deliver daily.

Hats off to these wonderful crews (female and male), they deserve to be treated with the respect due to emergency workers such as these, especially considering the circumstances they can sometimes end up in through no choice of their own when trying to help and assist the public in the nature of their duty.