Guest blog: If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here today
In August 2016, Essex resident John Michaels set off for work on his motorcycle, but little did he know he would never make it there…
It was the 25th August when I was hit by a car. I was hit so hard my leg was seriously injured and I was catapulted 100 metres down the road. I was in a rural area so the odds were stacked against me from the get going.
Miraculously one of the first cars to stop was an off-duty student paramedic. She had no equipment with her but quickly placed me into a safe position and tried her best to keep me conscious until her on-duty colleagues arrived.
I was air lifted to hospital where I remained before being discharged in October. Unfortunately I had to call upon medics again a few days later when I developed a blood clot in my lungs which made my breathing very difficult. Again, they worked incredibly hard to save my life and I am now on the long road recovery.
I had absolutely no intention of being a patient that day when I got on my motorbike, but I take great comfort in knowing that the staff at EEAST care immensely about their work. Everyone worked quickly, efficiently, and cohesively to save not only my leg but my life that day. In my case if it wasn’t for them, I would have died at the side of the road.
It is clear to see that not only do these people care about their job but they care about their patients too. I have worked in hospitality most of my professional life and the level of service myself and my wife received was second to none.
I was very fortunate to meet and thank my life savers personally earlier this year, which meant so much to me, my wife, and the medics. Quite often they work hard to save patients but once they are taken to hospital they rarely find out if they have recovered.
As a patient it is extremely important to provide feedback as it not only helps improve the patient experience in future, but also provides a valuable learning process for the crews involved.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) will be posting stories from patients and patient teams throughout the week which you can find on Twitter and Instagram @EastEnglandAmb, on Facebook, and online www.eastamb.nhs.uk using #patienttakeover.