"81 year old female, fall, unable to get up"
Falls are a huge part of what we do. Very rarely is there a shift where we don't do one or more. In terms of time it is a massive drain on resources due to the sheer number of falls and time spent on scene assessing them, treating, and /or referring them. As a job I love them, and in terms of the bigger picture, there is no way to reduce the amount of calls. We are an ever ageing population and if anything, the number of elderly fallers will continue to rise.
Today we were met at the reception by the Warden who showed us round to the apartment. As I entered my head was turned by the Aladdin's cave that was in front of me. The place was full of knik-knaks and I mean full! Every inch of wall space was taken up with shelves, cabinets or photos. There were collections of crystal owls, frogs, spoons, thimbles, teddy bears, miniature houses, Kinder egg toys, McDonald's toys, cigarette cards, coins, stamps, the list was endless! A lifetime's collection in her tiny apartment, and it was all dust free! We found our patient on the kitchen floor, propped up by a cupboard and sporting a beaming smile.
"Hello my dear, what's happened today?"
"Pardon?"
"Hello there, what's happened?" I said slightly louder
She shook her head and beckoned me down to her level. I knelt down beside her and tried again.
"What's happened today?!" I said by her ear.
"I'm just pulling your leg, no need to shout, I'm completely deaf" she said with an air of amusement in her voice.
I had a little chuckle while she laughed away! I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing questions for her: Any pain? Are you dizzy? Do you want to go to hospital? etc. She seemed a very happy lady and just wanted putting back in her armchair so she could get on with her puzzle! We obliged, helped her up off of the floor and helped her to her chair. She was all smiles and had the most infectious laugh. She laughed at everything! Whilst my crew mate was doing her OBs and I was doing paperwork, she continued with her wooden puzzle; I couldn't help but join in! She squealed with excitement as I found a piece, I even got a little clap. She insisted we had a cup of tea and some biscuits with her so that is what we did. For half an hour we sat there doing a jigsaw, drinking tea and eating shortbread whilst writing down questions and having her answer them. Between the three of us we made a sizeable dent in the puzzle but not one in the paperwork!
As much as this job needed two people to pick her up off the floor, she also needed the company; maybe not physically, but emotionally. She told us no one ever takes an interest in her puzzles. I suppose having a conversation with someone who can't hear you can be frustrating but no more so than for her. A huge part of our job is dealing with the lonely. A lot of time they call simply for company and time is not something that we have a lot of. Today, however she got the conversation and entertainment she needed. I'm sure the big wigs in the Ivory Tower would have preferred we just picked her up, scribbled our paperwork and rushed off to the next job but there has to be a balance between the human element and the target driven machine that is the NHS. I love these jobs; I could do them all day every day. I moan a lot about the drunks, the abuse, the minefield of mental health, heavy lifting and time wasters amongst plenty more; one 'Nan down' and it's easy to remember why we do what we do. In terms of targets the job was probably a complete failure; the call had been held for a few hours, we travelled from a fair distance away and we were on scene for ages. For me it was a success; patient was happy, treated at home, I was happy, and I got tea and biscuits! That is how the success or failure of a job should be judged!