Powerless
There are moments in my job when I feel a little sick at heart. Friday brought one of them. It was the middle of the day and I was on the town centre beat which was crowded with the first glut of Christmas shoppers and people whining “I’ll only be a minute!” (Liars). Two vans were causing a congestion problem in a narrow street which, because they were unloading I could do little about.
From off in the distance I could hear the distinctive siren of an ambulance and caught the impression of blue flashing lights two streets away. For a moment I was hoping that it wasn’t heading my way. Regrettably it was. I watched helplessly, teeth clenched, as it spent precious seconds struggling around the two vehicles against the flow of traffic.
After what seemed too long the Ambulance sped past me and pulled over a street further on. From my vantage point I watched the green uniformed crew quickstep out loaded with kit. In the back of my mind I was praying that it was a false alarm and that the delays caused by the vans unloading had not proved detrimental to their casualty.
It’s still bothering me two days on.
From off in the distance I could hear the distinctive siren of an ambulance and caught the impression of blue flashing lights two streets away. For a moment I was hoping that it wasn’t heading my way. Regrettably it was. I watched helplessly, teeth clenched, as it spent precious seconds struggling around the two vehicles against the flow of traffic.
After what seemed too long the Ambulance sped past me and pulled over a street further on. From my vantage point I watched the green uniformed crew quickstep out loaded with kit. In the back of my mind I was praying that it was a false alarm and that the delays caused by the vans unloading had not proved detrimental to their casualty.
It’s still bothering me two days on.
2 Comments:
Don't let it niggle at you mate.
The call could have been bollocks, there are plenty of idiots who use up more ambulance response time than a couple of parked cars and anything can add a few seconds to a call (maybe the ambulance officers were on the john when the tones dropped?).
The chance that those few seconds meant a negative outcome for the patient is negligible.
You might enjoy this video about a new method of speed control in Denmark.
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