People assume working for the ambulance service is about blue lights, sirens and saving lives. However, the reality is our staff may provide the best clinical treatment possible to patients but sometimes are not able to save them.
Our frontline staff can often be the ones who inform family and friends about a patient’s death. They remain with them to offer support and comfort at a time of sadness.
Today Rosie Taylor from Grimsby attended Grimsby Ambulance Station to say thank you to the staff who attended her husband after he suffered a cardiac arrest in December 2017. Rosie wanted to personally thank Paramedic Wayne Maddison, Paramedic Lisa Hall and Technician Jamie Huntington as she knew they did everything they could possibly do to save her husband.
Despite Wayne, Lisa and Jamie’s best efforts, Rosie’s husband Andrew sadly passed away at Castle Hill Hospital shortly after arrival. Rosie said she will be eternally grateful to our staff for giving her the chance to say a dignified goodbye and for the emotional support they provided to her when the doctors told her the news.
Rosie added: “You wasn't just supporting my husband medically, you was supporting me emotionally throughout the journey. When something like this happens as much as you think you might be prepared for it I found I was scared and felt helpless to do anything for Andrew. I cannot describe my relief when you arrived and dealt with the situation. "There are no words to express how much you cared for us both that night. You are all a credit to the ambulance service and I could not have wished for a better crew to have been sent that night.
Paramedic Lisa said: "I knew that we couldn't do anything else for Andrew medically, but I knew that I could be there to support Rosie when she was given the news about his death. I have built up a relationship with Rosie during the time we was there, I didn't want a doctor who she didn't know to tell her the news without anybody else there to support her."
Paramedic Wayne added: "80% of our job is about talking to people, supporting patients and their family."
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