16. Stroke for first responders – August 2015 Stroke is the second leading cause of death or disability in Australia. The Australian Bureau of statistics report 60,000 strokes occur each year with one quarter in Victoria. As many as one […]
Continue ReadingQuick, call the police – August 2015 I normally write either about when something went well for me as an ambo and left a great impression or, more commonly, where something went not so well and left an even more […]
Continue ReadingExcuse me, whilst I place this foot in in my mouth A patient once said to me, as he lay with pain in his chest on an ambulance trolley in the reception of the emergency department, that that he had […]
Continue ReadingPlease make my mummy better – August 2015 I once performed CPR on a young woman whilst her two pre-school children watched on. One of them, the older of the two, then said those simple words, “please make my mummy […]
Continue ReadingOxygen therapy for first responders – July 2015 There was a time in pre-hospital practice where the administration of oxygen therapy was considered so routine that it was simply part of early management. The responders entered the room, introduced themselves, […]
Continue ReadingThe paramedic food hierarchy – July 2015 To the outside world, few things say paramedic more than blood, guts, trauma or cardiac arrest. That’s true. Inside the paramedic world though few things say paramedic like the food you eat. This […]
Continue Reading36. Hypertension as a pre-hospital emergency – June 2015 Hypertension is a very commonly used word in pre-hospital practice. Sometimes it seems that every patient attended has it in their past history with antihypertensive medication frequently found in the pill […]
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