"28 year old male, overdose, ? paracetomol, ? suicidal"
Drug overdoses are very common, although when the term overdose is used most people think of class A drugs. In actual fact these are quite rare but in recent years there has been a huge increase in over the counter and prescription medication overdoses. Some by mistake but most as a cry for help or an attempted suicide. That said, most we go to are cries for help where there will be little or no long term damage. With the exception of some opioid drugs, there is very little we can do for an overdose other than transport to hospital.
Going by the details on the screen we weren't excited about the job we were going to. It had been a long night and it certainly wasn't going to wake me up. We drove through the rain and darkness and after much peering, reversing and investigation found the ally-way we were looking for. We climbed the metal staircase to the flats above the shops. A worried looking woman answered the door.
"Come quickly, he's through here"
Her sense of urgency suggested the patient may be iller than first thought. We entered the living room and our patient, the ladies brother, was sitting on the sofa. He was rather distressed and it took a few minutes to ascertain what exactly had happened.
"What exactly have you taken?"
"Three paracetomol"
"Is that all? (slight tone of resignation) Did you take anything else with them?"
"Half a pint of Vimto" (Through tears)
"Vimto?"
"Yes"
"No other medication, just three paracetomol taken with Vimto?"
"Yes"
"OK, you are going to be fine, did you take an extra one by accident?"
"No, I wanted to kill myself"
"Why?"
"My girlfriend has lived in Switzerland for five years and I can't get a visa to go there and tonight my Skype connection has gone down and I can't talk to her and I don't think it's working between us"
"When did you last see her?"
"We've never met"
"Never?"
"No, am I going to die?"
"Yes, but probably not for 50 years or so, all things considered"
"What about tonight?"
"No"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes"
Not really sure what else to say about this. He called an ambulance because he'd taken three paracetomol with Vimto. Not a crime but a huge error in judgment and calculations. He wanted to go to hospital to talk to someone about his suicidal feeling. Fair enough. I've come across a lot of people who've wanted to kill themselves for all sorts of different reasons but a lost Skype connection? Really?!