Laughter is the best medicine

The Cadets in their smart tunics were often “volunteered” to conduct the collection at the annual Regional Health Carol Concert at the Anglican Cathedral at which the great Liverpool Comedian Sir Ken Dodd always made an appearance and gave his Christmas address from the pulpit.

Much to the amusement and disbelief of T Squad “Doddy” proudly and cheekily addressed the congregation and said “whereas most people enjoyed turkey for Christmas he much preferred a good goose every Christmas Morning”

The world of emergency ambulance response is sometimes an unforgiving environment and throughout our careers we have all been faced with very challenging and harrowing situations. There is not one easy answer as how best to deal with such situations and there are many papers and textbooks offering best advice. What works for one does not work for all. The post traumatic stand-downs of today did not exist and expectations were that you simply got on with the next job.

What is certain is that talking things through with colleagues often helps the situation; and the ambulance team has a great skill in lifting people’s spirits when they are deflated; often with a nice sense of mess-room humour. Experienced professionals have a hidden talent to calm things down, put things into perspective and help wipe the mental slate clean for that next call.

Liverpool people are famed for their sense of humour and are very quick witted sometimes cutting by nature. We have gathered some of those lighter moments that have become infamous over the years and are judged okay to share. As you can imagine there are many more that are legendary but unfortunately must stay within the Chatham House rules of the messrooms.

So, for all those paramedics who whilst taking their final practical examinations walked into the assessment centre and proudly shouted “Paramedics can you help me” ...This is for you:-

We all have our moments with call signs and radio procedure. In the 1980’s there was a call sign at Old Swan Station called Delta 22. Pity the poor ambulance technician (ex-cadet) when he meant to say, “Delta Two Two Twenty-Two to base” but inadvertently proudly called up “Delta Two Two Tootie Two”.

Tongue twister

We received a call from a GP to take a patient with pneumonia to the Royal. When we arrived at the address, I asked the patient’s husband if the Doctor had advised him what was wrong. The innocence of the reply has always caused me to chuckle when the gent said, “oh yes son my old lady has got harmonica of the lungs”.

Steve Clarke

In response to callers that had been waiting a while who used to shout out “where have you been you have only come from Anfield “(As the spare fleet used to show Anfield on the door)

“It’s got India on the tyres, and we haven’t come from there either” Practically every Ambulance Man or Woman that served in Liverpool.

You must have seen some awful things son. What’s the worst thing you have ever seen “my wage packet sir”

Dave Hart

In 1990 when I was on PTS, I was taking an elderly lady home to High Street in Woolton. When we arrived at Woolton Village, there was a large police presence and a crowd of people, but we were unaware of the reason for this. I was unable to park in the High Street, so I parked by the Coach and Horses pub and proceeded to assist the patient to her home address. When we turned the corner, I looked up and saw a huge elephant in the gardens. I said to my patient ‘do you know that you have an elephant in your garden?’, you can imagine her reaction.

I managed to safely deliver the patient to her home address and when I was leaving her house, I saw a police superintendent running down the middle of the road, with the elephant chasing after him, it was a hysterical sight. The elephant was brought in as a publicity stunt to start the foundation dig for the new Marie Curie centre, (which was replacing the old Sunnybank home) and escaped and decided to have a good walk round Woolton including St Julies school before being captured

Jeff Keig