As the year comes to an end, I am taking stock of the articles and news related to paramedicine in recent months. Interestingly, the nature of a paramedic's job and the hazards it entails have started to get a higher profile on national media. It is therefore hoped that the public will better understand the job of an emergency care professional, but also that authorities will recognise the need to look after these frontline staff.
South West Ambulance Service personnel from Exeter recently appeared on the BBC's One Show. As the 999 call-respondents talked about their typical day at work, it was evident that receiving emergency calls and acting on them is as strenuous as serving as a paramedic on the ground. The number of paramedics who have taken more than a month's leave due to stress-related illnesses has doubled in the last 5 years. Physical and emotional stresses are common occupational hazards among paramedics.
Ambulance Service staff in Exeter are now offered support to alleviate these work-related illnesses. It may be in the form of emotional support, counselling, or help to visit the local GP. An on-site paramedic's plight is more obvious, but it can be harder to imagine the pressures of emergency telephone respondents. These ‘first helpers’ in an emergency are often subjected to verbal abuse and emotional breakdowns while trying to glean information crucial for the patients' treatment.
This, along with the sheer volume of calls in a day, calls for a quick switch in temperament according to the demands of each phone call. For example, consoling or reassuring the caller becomes a necessary part of their job as well as mobilising paramedic units to reach the emergency site.
It may take a while for the impact of these demands to manifest in terms of symptoms, but prevention is better than cure for the first-aiders of emergency medicine. Mental health support for the paramedic unit in Exeter has reportedly been a helping hand for the staff in the past year. Emergency services across the country are now being encouraged to provide similar medical support – a well looked after professional team lends to a stronger healthcare system, and consequently, optimum care for the population.
The intensity of incidents that paramedics attend gives rise to many a story useful for reflective practice and self-analysis. An article in this issue by Furness and Gardner (p. 589) highlights the value of what seems like casual storytelling, in evaluating an emergency.
‘Please put your oxygen mask and life jacket on before helping others.’ We are all familiar with this in-flight announcement before take-off. It is time to extend the same duty of care to our paramedics. We will all reap the benefits of happier and healthier individuals working in emergency care.