Our local hospital, usually, can avoid ramping but unfortunately today there was a massive influx of patients which resulted in all five operational ambulances being ramped.
So, today, I was fortunate and obtained an overtime shift as the ramp team which involved taking over a crew’s patient and babysitting them until a bed is available within the main department.
This was expected to last five hours. In the end our team was there for over twelve.
At 5am, we were looking after a patient whom was hypotensive. As there were no beds available, we had to look after him in the corridor and attempt to increase his blood pressure through intravenous fluid replacement.
Next to us was a minor treatment room where low acuity patients were brought in by the triage nurse.
In came a female patient complaining of abdominal pain and a friend whom had driven her to hospital. The nurse on duty asked here the usual questions – how long had it been there for, any diarrhoea / nausea / vomiting, any allergies, had she eaten anything unusual.
As a doctor did not normally staff this area, the nurse had to go back to the main department down the hall to obtain a doctor’s order for some medication.
At this time, the patient decided she needed to use the toilet which was diagonally opposite where we were caring for our patient, supported by her friend.
“Help me…” came from the toilet 30 seconds later.
“Help me… Help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!” she yelled
The patient’s friend and I looked at each other.
From the toilet emitted a buzzing noise and an orange light flashed about door. She had pressed the emergency assistance button.
The friend rushed to the door and as I was the closest person around (and was opposite the toilet), went to assist and tried to open the door.
The patient had locked the door so it took some forceful statements from her friend to get her to unlock the door.
Click.
The friend swung open the door and let out a scream.
We were greeted with a bloodied floor and blood in the toilet. The patient was half bent over and a baby crowning.
Without thinking, I rushed in and supported the baby as it delivered the rest of the way. Grabbing the shoulders and the legs, the baby turned out to be a full sized baby boy and before long, he started crying.
“Oh my God, Oh my God” she kept saying over and over again.
The toilet was stained red with blood and amniotic fluid.
A nurse had arrived by now and poked her head through. It must have been an odd scene; a woman bent over, arse in the air, paramedic at the back end next to a bloodied floor and toilet holding a very slippery baby boy.
“Delivery pack!” she shouted and disappeared.
I tried to gain rapport with the patient.
“What’s your name? I’m Andy”
“I’m Emma. Oh my God. I didn’t realise I was pregnant!”
Right.
She continued.
“I’ve missed three periods but I didn’t even know.”
Another head appeared inside the door, this time, thankfully being the senior registrar. She was really quick and rapidly applied two arterial clamps to the umbilical cord and with a pair of scissors (after some tugging) managed to cut the cord.
A nurse handed over a warmed blanket and after wrapping firmly the baby boy in the blanket, quickly gave the new bundle of life away to another nurse.
I poked my head through the doorway and was surprised at the large group of doctors, nurses and orderlies now surrounding the toilet. They even had the foresight to roll the humidicrib over with which the baby boy was now in.
“A towel or a sheet please… for mum” I asked to no one in particular.
A towel appeared from nowhere and after wrapping mum, supported her as she walked outside into an awaiting wheelchair where she disappeared upstairs for her placental birth.
In spite of the blood on my shirt and with very bloodied gloves, I had a massive grin on my face. What an expected delivery and the first one in a hospital setting (in a roundabout way).
So, today, I was fortunate and obtained an overtime shift as the ramp team which involved taking over a crew’s patient and babysitting them until a bed is available within the main department.
This was expected to last five hours. In the end our team was there for over twelve.
At 5am, we were looking after a patient whom was hypotensive. As there were no beds available, we had to look after him in the corridor and attempt to increase his blood pressure through intravenous fluid replacement.
Next to us was a minor treatment room where low acuity patients were brought in by the triage nurse.
In came a female patient complaining of abdominal pain and a friend whom had driven her to hospital. The nurse on duty asked here the usual questions – how long had it been there for, any diarrhoea / nausea / vomiting, any allergies, had she eaten anything unusual.
As a doctor did not normally staff this area, the nurse had to go back to the main department down the hall to obtain a doctor’s order for some medication.
At this time, the patient decided she needed to use the toilet which was diagonally opposite where we were caring for our patient, supported by her friend.
“Help me…” came from the toilet 30 seconds later.
“Help me… Help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!” she yelled
The patient’s friend and I looked at each other.
From the toilet emitted a buzzing noise and an orange light flashed about door. She had pressed the emergency assistance button.
The friend rushed to the door and as I was the closest person around (and was opposite the toilet), went to assist and tried to open the door.
The patient had locked the door so it took some forceful statements from her friend to get her to unlock the door.
Click.
The friend swung open the door and let out a scream.
We were greeted with a bloodied floor and blood in the toilet. The patient was half bent over and a baby crowning.
Without thinking, I rushed in and supported the baby as it delivered the rest of the way. Grabbing the shoulders and the legs, the baby turned out to be a full sized baby boy and before long, he started crying.
“Oh my God, Oh my God” she kept saying over and over again.
The toilet was stained red with blood and amniotic fluid.
A nurse had arrived by now and poked her head through. It must have been an odd scene; a woman bent over, arse in the air, paramedic at the back end next to a bloodied floor and toilet holding a very slippery baby boy.
“Delivery pack!” she shouted and disappeared.
I tried to gain rapport with the patient.
“What’s your name? I’m Andy”
“I’m Emma. Oh my God. I didn’t realise I was pregnant!”
Right.
She continued.
“I’ve missed three periods but I didn’t even know.”
Another head appeared inside the door, this time, thankfully being the senior registrar. She was really quick and rapidly applied two arterial clamps to the umbilical cord and with a pair of scissors (after some tugging) managed to cut the cord.
A nurse handed over a warmed blanket and after wrapping firmly the baby boy in the blanket, quickly gave the new bundle of life away to another nurse.
I poked my head through the doorway and was surprised at the large group of doctors, nurses and orderlies now surrounding the toilet. They even had the foresight to roll the humidicrib over with which the baby boy was now in.
“A towel or a sheet please… for mum” I asked to no one in particular.
A towel appeared from nowhere and after wrapping mum, supported her as she walked outside into an awaiting wheelchair where she disappeared upstairs for her placental birth.
In spite of the blood on my shirt and with very bloodied gloves, I had a massive grin on my face. What an expected delivery and the first one in a hospital setting (in a roundabout way).
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