And so it is with surprise that I bid a grand thank you to Richard and Judy, and their delightful article in the Daily Express on Saturday:
RISKING A BABY'S LIFE FOR LUNCH
West Midlands Ambulance Service’s finest continued to munch their lunch after a six-week-old baby boy suffered a heart attack. His family dialled 999 but had to wait 41 minutes for an ambulance to come, because a crew were on their break and couldn’t be interrupted.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service says that staff work 12-hour shifts and ‘have the right to request’ that their breaks are not disturbed. So the shift in question didn’t even know about the 999 call until they’d wiped their mouths.
Undisturbed lunch breaks? Even if that means a baby might die while you’re finishing off your Muller Fruit Corner, guys? Really?
If you believe that, you’re in the wrong bloody job, the lot of you.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/370313
This is an excerpt on an opinion piece by some experts in daytime entertainment. When you pick away at their words it becomes clear that the actual gist of the story is not quite as clear cut. I think it essentially boils down to there not being an available ambulance rather than a crew actively rejecting to "save a baby's life" as so artfully depicted in the article. It's probably worth noting that the child in question didn't die.
Now you might want to argue, just like Richard and Judy, that a baby is more important than a sandwich. But then it's easy to simplify things down to a simple black-and-white choice like that and sit back in your armchair, content that the world has been put to rights.
The article itself notes that the paramedic crew in question were unaware of the nature of the call when it went out, or even that one had gone out. I would bet anything that their Muller Corner would have been cast aside and the blue lights flicked on immediately if they had known. Not that it would have made any difference to this child... who was still alive at the time of writing.
It's not just about the nutritional elements though - the amount of things a paramedic has to see and deal with in a day, and the amount of abuse they get for it - means the break time is a stop to take stock and psychologically re-adjust. Knowing you have some time to yourself is an important element of that healing.
London Ambulance Service - Staff perspective
"Day in the Life of a London Paramedic" - video - BBC News
To be pedantic, if we follow Richard & Judy's ill-thought logic out, must we ask all trained paramedics to remain at work, without stopping, until there are no more 999 calls to answer? Should we join them in a crusade to breate anyone who does not use their skills 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of their own personal welfare?
I wonder how Judy would feel about doing such a job?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/judy-finnigan-says-she-doesnt-miss-1520878
Oh right.
Let's be clear, I don't support the idea of laziness. But I do think that we shouldn't hound healthcare workers for doing something that is both legal and sensible, and in the best interests of the population as a whole. There are plenty of decisions that have to be made that will not suit everybody, all of the time and to take the long view, I would rather have an ambulance service of focussed and mentally sharp paramedics than an overworked, tired and berated one. In Richard's ideal world, I'm not sure many school leavers are going to be jumping for the career of a paramedic, where crimes such as going to the toilet or an inability to work for twelve hours constantly at a time (maintaining excellent driving and clinical skills, of course) are inexcusable.
One question that the Ambulance Trust will be trying to answer and explain though is the length of time it took to respond - why was there no crew available. Perhaps rather than blame the Ambulance Trust, we should turn and look at ourselves. Every so often, a story like this will appear, reminding us of those who feel the emergency service is their personal private direct line to sort out any element of their life. (Just out of coincidence, the man who calls 999 in the Guardian article for his pigeon was from the Midlands... where the crews in the Express article were allegedly busy).
So to re-write the headline, "Baby lives thanks to work of local Ambulance Trust so busy paramedics made to feel guilty for eating a meal"
Oh, and to all aspiring journalists out there, and I include our favourite telly couple in that category, I spent about 5 minutes doing these searches to find the information about West Midlands Ambulance - shame good old Richard and Judy didn't have just five minutes to spare to do their jobs properly.
Perhaps they were on a break.
