Inside Business
The closing of the County Hospital , Ryde
“ Of course , alcohol and drugs can make people very poorly , but you do sometimes wonder about the way it affects the service we can give to other sick people who need help ”
begins – you learn for real on the road !” One thing that was pretty certain in those days was that every patient would be taken to hospital – and in the back of what was then a relatively primitivelyequipped ambulance . The typical vehicle at that time was a ‘ bone shaker ’ says Steve , with two stretchers in the back and very little equipment or drugs on board . Very different from today ’ s ambulances with just one stretcher ( because they only ever treat one patient at a time ) along with a battery of hi-tech equipment and a huge stock of medications . Modern paramedics are also universitytrained – a situation which Steve , as a former trainer , has mixed feelings on .
“ The university trained paramedics definitely have more knowledge but perhaps not the grounding experience that we had from working as a technician first ”. On the other hand , 21st century paramedics can better assess and treat patients on the spot – often avoiding the need for them to be rushed to a hospital at all .
At the sharp end
The side effects of drink and drugs have undoubtedly become an increasing problem for paramedics since Steve started out on the ambulances . “ When you work on a Friday or Saturday night it can be depressing to consider how much of your work was worthwhile and how much wasn ’ t ” he says . “ Of course , alcohol and drugs can make people very poorly , but you do sometimes wonder about the way it affects the service we can give to other sick people who need help .” It means that increasingly , calls have to be filtered , so not everybody who calls for an ambulance will get one – unlike in the former days of the 999 service . Because of the nature and population make-up of the Island , many calls for medical help are for elderly heart attack and stroke victims , and people who ’ ve had falls . Drug abuse here is also a bigger issue than many Islanders realise , according to Steve . “ The trouble is , these days people don ’ t know what they ’ re taking and can end up in real trouble : if the medics are in the dark about what ’ s been taken , they will obviously find it hard to treat ”. One big difficulty about being in the emergency service in a small community like the Island is that often , paramedics
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