Another day without photos im afraid.
To start the day we attended an elderly male that was feeling unwell. After getting him down the stairs and into the back of the ambulance we were able to take observations, all but the glucose levels seemed within their normal parameters. A short trip to the hospital and he was handed over to the emergency department for further investigation.
The next job was to an unwell middle aged female. We were directed to the house where we found her on the bed unresponsive and with no pulse. We immediately pulled her to the floor and began CPR. One of the paramedics inserted an OPA and began bagging her and another went to fetch the AED whilst I continued compressions. The pads for the AED were placed on her chest only to find out it had no battery. We continued with BLS for a little while before the patient aspirated a mix of blood and what looked like corn. At this point one of the paramedics decided to call it.
A while later we attended a motorcyclist that was claiming to be hit by a car. He was complaining of pain in the chest from the impact, but had no signs of physical injury. Regardless I conducted a chest examination, that as expected found no issues. One of the paramedics then told me that he was a frequent flyer and a drug addict that often presents in an attempt at getting a fix. The patient was left at scene with the police.
(The patient later presented to the emergency department with a completely unrelated injury and after becoming agitated was escorted from the site by the police)
The final call of the day was to another motorcyclist, the victim of a hit and run. He was ok and sustained no physical injury, however was a little shaken. I took observations on scene and he was assessed for any potential injuries, before being left with his friends on scene.
The Green Cross in Guadalajara provides a free ambulance service and very cheap healthcare at the emergency department. It is government funded however this barely covers the cost of staffing. The equipment on the ambulance is limited, often items only designed for a single application are re-used due to the budget. Many of the defibrillators have low or no battery as a result of the lack of funding. I am trying to raise some money to purchase some essentials, such as the batteries, observation kits to replace those that are old and barely functional, and other essentials that we take for granted in the UK. If you would like to help out, click the link below, as a result of any contribution you may make, you may even save a life.
No comments:
Post a Comment