RAPID RESPONSE
TRUE STORIES OF MY LIFE AS A PARAMEDIC
LYSA WALDER
WITH JACKY HYAMS
This book is dedicated to the memories of Stephen Rowbury, Stephen Wright and Dorothy Wynter – both wonderful friends who were sadly taken from us too young. They made a huge impression on everyone who knew them. You’ll never be forgotten.
If you live in the capital, you’re aware of them all the time. They are the noisy ambulance sirens, the helicopters whirring above your home at 3am, the speeding police cars and clamouring fire engines racing through the traffic and down the clogged city streets to the next emergency, the next drama.
The sound and fury of London’s emergency services might irritate or annoy the frustrated motorist, the pedestrian trying to talk into their mobile or the edgy sleeper, wakeful at any hour. But this background chorus, strident as it is, is an omnipresent soundtrack of inner-city life, as familiar a sound in London as the sight of red buses, nose to tail in Oxford Street, or black taxis crawling up and down Shaftesbury Avenue.
But what lies behind it all, behind the thousands of 999 calls made every day in London, home to 7.5 million people, a city that never sleeps? What happens when ambulance emergency crews turn up at an incident only to encounter injury, mayhem, danger, madness and, in a few cases, tragedy? Who are the people whose job involves walking down the city’s streets, night and day, tending to the victims of crime or sudden illness? And what sort of dangers do they face as they go about the business of responding to the emergency calls?
Over the course of a four-year period, as a feature writer for the London Evening Standard, I interviewed many people working at all levels for our public services – and Lysa Walder was one of them. I talked to doctors, nurses, A&E staff, police officers and emergency teams. These are people whose daily toil involves dealing with the consequences of illness, alcohol, drug addiction, crime and disaster – sometimes facing the very extremes of human behaviour in an unpredictable working life where anything can happen, at any hour of the day or night, in and around London’s teeming streets and suburbs.
These are the people that mop up the blood, pick up the pieces, soothe the scared or terrified and, on a good day, save lives that would surely have been lost without their input and speed of response.
I’m a fully paid-up cynic but to say these London emergency workers like Lysa are impressive in their dedication to the job, their professionalism and, significantly, their modesty about the crucial role they play in the life of the city, is not an exaggeration. Lysa, like so many of her breed, insists that there’s no time for individual heroics in the world of 999 and emergency services. Only groupings of fire, police, ambulance, helicopter and medical teams who know that the team work itself is what makes the service work efficiently, not individual acts. A nurse, paramedic, mum-of-three and Londoner, Lysa typifies to me what the ambulance service is all about – down-to-earth, professional, highly trained, caring people who get behind the wheel and get on with the job, no matter what it may involve. And in the combat zone that some of our meaner streets make up, they deploy fast response, humour and a skilled but very human approach to a job that most of us would baulk at.
Lysa’s stories include that of the woman whose husband tried to slaughter her, the baby condemned to a life of abuse, the young life that lay bleeding, trickling away from a senseless knife wound on a south London street. Her voice comes directly from the frontline – and the heart. What she tells us about the day-to-day work of London’s amazing free ambulance service – the biggest and busiest such service in the world – may be scary, shocking, sad, thought-provoking or downright funny but it also tells us a lot about human nature and ourselves, wherever we live.
But if Lysa’s stories are a form of acknowledgement of the work of London’s ambulance service, it must be said that recognition for the high standards and dedication to the job should be made equally to all NHS and St John Ambulance emergency crews up and down the country.
It’s a tough job at times but you do us proud. You cope, unflinchingly, with fear, pain, shock, death and out-of-control behaviour, and put your own lives on the line. And you usually do it with a smile and a joke. Thank you, every single one of you. You insist you’re not heroes. But to many of us, that’s what you are.
Jacky Hyams, London, 2011
Firstly and most importantly, I would like to give special thanks to my family and friends, my wonderful husband Steve and my three gorgeous children Benn, James and Katie; you make me happy and proud everyday.
I would also like to acknowledge all my fantastic friends and colleagues in the London Ambulance Service, particularly those who have worked with me at HQ and on the Croydon (centre of the universe!) complex. Between you, you have kept me sane, supplied me with tea, chocolate and – only when off duty, of course – wine! You have supported me when required (you know who you are) and at times made me laugh so hard my sides ached and tears streamed down my face. You are the best bunch of people anyone could ever work with, I have absolutely no doubt about that.
I would also like to say thanks to all the marvellous staff at Croydon University Hospital. There were nurses and doctors who became role models to me in my early years as a student nurse. They inspired me to want to be more like them and they continue to influence the way I work today. Some of these people have been there since I started my journey, but I would also like to mention the new friends and colleagues who are there for me now. These good people patiently put up with my incessant questioning and support me in my endeavour to be as good a practitioner as I can be.
Big thanks as well to the staff at the Faculty of Health Care Science at St George’s, University of London, where I worked briefly and where I continue to study.
This edition of the book is dedicated to Steve Wright. Steve and I joined the London Ambulance Service on the same day in April 1994. Together with the rest of our group we completed our basic training at Bromley Training Centre. When we finally got to put on the much coveted uniform (which back then was the bright green boiler suits) we had such fun playing at being paramedics, re-enacting all sorts of improbable scenarios. We even had a group song ‘You are my sunshine’ which we sang to our long suffering tutors on our last day in school.
At last were let loose on the unsuspecting public as Steve and I were placed together for a six week period of consolidation on a front line ambulance working from St Helier ambulance station. Steve was always the consummate gentleman and looked after me well during this time. We loved every minute of it and laughed so much as we helped each other muddle through those early days.
Steve’s career with the ambulance service was full and varied. He never stopped looking for new challenges. However, sadly in August 2009 Steve passed away after a short illness. His funeral was a standing room only affair with motorcycle out-riders, a piper and even the helicopter medical service flew past to pay her respects.
Whenever anyone speaks of Steve, they always mention his love for his family, his professionalism, lust for life and pride in his job. They also remember his ever present beaming smile. Steve was the epitome of what a paramedic should be and I am grateful that his family has kindly allowed me to pay tribute to him by dedicating this edition of my book to his memory.
Best wishes to all the other front-line staff up and down the country. This includes the other ambulance services, voluntary services, fire brigade and especially the police for coming so quickly to rescue us when we call for ‘urgent police assistance’. It’s good to know that you are there!
Lastly,