999 My Life on the Frontline of the ambulance service by Dan Farnworth

999 - My Life on the Frontline of the Ambulance Service by Dan Farnworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 304

Publisher - Simon and Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Dan Farnworth brings vividly to life his astonishing experiences as a medic working on the frontline of the UK Ambulance Service. When the 999 call goes out, he has little idea what he will find - and how he will cope with the challenges he faces when he gets there.

Having worked in the emergency services for more than fifteen years, Dan Farnworth has seen it all. There was the time he was called to take away a dead body - only for the 'corpse' to jolt back into life and demand to know what he was doing in her house. Earlier in his career, he unwittingly disturbed a crime scene as he shared the sad news of the victim's death with her son. Along with the 18,000 other paramedics in the UK who serve us day and night, Dan constantly finds himself pushed into extraordinary circumstances where he not only has to deal with those he has been sent to help, but also their worried families and friends - and even with irate drivers who object to his ambulance getting in their way as he desperately works to save someone's life.



My Review

I always think Joe Public should read these kind of true stories type books, have a bit of appreciation for the service and what the workers go through. This is Dan's story or rather stories, a paramedic who takes us through his career from starting out, during, to present day.

Emotive, shocking, horrific, sad. Farnworth takes us on a few of the callouts he has attended, some heartbreaking and how it impacted on him. How the job takes a toll on his personal life, his mental health and what he did as a result of that.

I would say this book has a more personal look, the actual affects on Farnworth himself, his personal life and a fair bit about him. Some of these books focus purely on the job and things they encounter, this has a bit more laid bare approach and a lot about the author himself. 4/5 for me this time, I do like reading true stories about other professionals, makes you appreciative to the services out there and the people who keep them going.



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Can You Hear Me? by Jake Jones

Can You Hear Me? by Jake Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 304

Publisher - Quercus

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.

A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won't let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.

Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? - the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene - is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.

As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes - the hoarder who won't move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely - Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.



My Review

I feel I should open with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who puts on the paramedic uniform. The book gives us a brief glimpse into the working life of the heros in green. Jones takes us through some of the things he has seen in his career over a decade, the characters he has met along the way and his relationship with his co workers.

I think every person in the UK should be reading this book, the abuse of this amazing service is utterly appalling. From Physical abuse, verbal abuse to the misuse of the system, the manipulation - some folk will be utterly horrified at the behaviour of some of our fellow humans. It also highlights the amazing work and some of the horrors these guys see day in and day out.

Not that long ago we saw bampots leaving notes on ambulances because their driveway or car was being blocked. Reading this book may make them rethink their behaviour and appreciate the (often) life saving work/treatment they are doing. But for the grace of God go I, any moment it could be us in need, our heart stopped beating or that of someone we love *touch wood* these heros need/deserve much more appreciation - actually even just respect (how bad is it this needs to be said!). Ha sorry I have went off on a rant whoops.

The book covers some heart stopping (literally) moments, some touching, some ridiculous and some that will stay with the reader long after the last page. I think stories like these are so important, especially now, people can be so self involved. This reminds us how precious life can be, how things can change on a dime and you never know what is around the corner, be kind and look after yourself, we cannot pour from an empty cup, 4/5 for me. I have bought quite a few true life healthcare type stories, hopefully get to them sooner rather than later.

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Review - Dial 999! by Les Pringle

Call the Ambulance! by Les Pringle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Being an ambulance driver in the 1970s was what most stood out for me when considering this book (I got it from a friend on the mobile library) as I have read a paramedics books before (recent times) and thought one from the past would be a good comparison.

The book is more about Les and how he decided to be a paramedic and his journey from first going and asking for an application form to his struggling to find his feet and bond with his colleagues. There are stories from his early years and whilst it is good to see it from a paramedics eyes I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't read the other book.

This story has a more personal side to it, not just picks from people he has met and situations he had to cope with but also his feelings and musings on them and his career along the way. Still a good story but I expected more in the difference of how they worked then compared to now and didn't really get that which is more to do with my own expectations than the book failing to provide what was on offer. If this is something your interesting in then it is a great starting point, just for me I wanted that wee bit more and would have probably been happy enough if I hadn't read the other book, 3/5 for me.



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