Delays and Disciplinary Action
NB: Read post "AAC" first! It's below this one!!
And so we get on to booking delays at hospitals. Officially, any crew who has been at hospital for 30 minutes, should call up EOC and book any problems or delays. Great on paper but we all know that it's not always that simple especially if you have blued your patient in or have more than one patient. On Saturday, management informed all the Radio Operators that it was now our job to send crews a message at 30 minutes asking them to book delays. So what's the problem I hear you say. The problem is ... if we are "caught" not doing this on 3 occasions - we are subject to ADVISE AND GUIDANCE. For those you of you not aware of that term - basically it's disciplinary action. So if I don't hound my crews at hospital, I am subject to disciplinary action. If I am busy on the radio (which I usually am as we have no dispatchers anymore), then it my responsibility to delegate the job to someone else such as my Area Controller.
Now if a crew has been taking the piss all day (and sadly there are crews that do although I promise not to tarnish everyone with the same brush) and are taking 40 mins at an empty hospital with a patient, then I don't mind chasing them up. However I object to chasing up a crew who had been at hospital for 36 minutes after blueing in a Cardiac Arrest. If it were me receiving that message I'd want to turn around and tell EOC to Foxtrot Oscar so I certainly don't take any offence when a crew comes up all arsey on the radio with "we were assisting in resus". Of course you bloody were - we already know that coz you were on scene for 40 minutes doing everything in your power to keep this poor chap alive and now you are doing the same at hospital with the Doctors. It makes me so angry. I've accepted the fact that the service is now stat related and not patient care related but it now feels like they are doing their utmost to destroy any good feeling left between EOC and Road staff. If it weren't for the fact that we do our best to stay friendly with crews, we'd hate each other forever. Morale is so low now, you'd problem have to root around in molten lava to find it.
We had one hospital this weekend that was working at 50% capacity. We were all well aware of the delays, we'd a DSO down there 3 times during the day. The problems had been fully outlined to us on numerous occasions - we'd even been informed they were possible going to close or go on divert. So why do I need to harass crews to find out why they're delayed - the hospital has no bloody staff and only half a minors area - I KNOW WHY YOU'RE DELAYED!!!!
So crews, I'm sorry when I send you out for hours on end to sit on a roundabout. I'm sorry when there are no calls and you have to sit in a hospital car park at 3am. I'm sorry that when you are doing everything you can to turn around at hospital and I sent you a message so that you can give me information I already know. I'm sorry that I am no longer allowed to use my integrity and knowledge I have spent 3 years learning. I am now a Service Robot controlled by the PTB (Powers That Be) who have neither worked in the room or out on the road but have miraculously found the answer to all our problems - Piss us off so much that we'll simply leave and they can bring in the automated system that will do everything for us anyway.
Rant over ........ for now.
And so we get on to booking delays at hospitals. Officially, any crew who has been at hospital for 30 minutes, should call up EOC and book any problems or delays. Great on paper but we all know that it's not always that simple especially if you have blued your patient in or have more than one patient. On Saturday, management informed all the Radio Operators that it was now our job to send crews a message at 30 minutes asking them to book delays. So what's the problem I hear you say. The problem is ... if we are "caught" not doing this on 3 occasions - we are subject to ADVISE AND GUIDANCE. For those you of you not aware of that term - basically it's disciplinary action. So if I don't hound my crews at hospital, I am subject to disciplinary action. If I am busy on the radio (which I usually am as we have no dispatchers anymore), then it my responsibility to delegate the job to someone else such as my Area Controller.
Now if a crew has been taking the piss all day (and sadly there are crews that do although I promise not to tarnish everyone with the same brush) and are taking 40 mins at an empty hospital with a patient, then I don't mind chasing them up. However I object to chasing up a crew who had been at hospital for 36 minutes after blueing in a Cardiac Arrest. If it were me receiving that message I'd want to turn around and tell EOC to Foxtrot Oscar so I certainly don't take any offence when a crew comes up all arsey on the radio with "we were assisting in resus". Of course you bloody were - we already know that coz you were on scene for 40 minutes doing everything in your power to keep this poor chap alive and now you are doing the same at hospital with the Doctors. It makes me so angry. I've accepted the fact that the service is now stat related and not patient care related but it now feels like they are doing their utmost to destroy any good feeling left between EOC and Road staff. If it weren't for the fact that we do our best to stay friendly with crews, we'd hate each other forever. Morale is so low now, you'd problem have to root around in molten lava to find it.
We had one hospital this weekend that was working at 50% capacity. We were all well aware of the delays, we'd a DSO down there 3 times during the day. The problems had been fully outlined to us on numerous occasions - we'd even been informed they were possible going to close or go on divert. So why do I need to harass crews to find out why they're delayed - the hospital has no bloody staff and only half a minors area - I KNOW WHY YOU'RE DELAYED!!!!
So crews, I'm sorry when I send you out for hours on end to sit on a roundabout. I'm sorry when there are no calls and you have to sit in a hospital car park at 3am. I'm sorry that when you are doing everything you can to turn around at hospital and I sent you a message so that you can give me information I already know. I'm sorry that I am no longer allowed to use my integrity and knowledge I have spent 3 years learning. I am now a Service Robot controlled by the PTB (Powers That Be) who have neither worked in the room or out on the road but have miraculously found the answer to all our problems - Piss us off so much that we'll simply leave and they can bring in the automated system that will do everything for us anyway.
Rant over ........ for now.
posted by Beaker at
3:35 PM
8 Comments:
Well said - I observed that happening at the weekend, and I was less than impressed with our so-called management.
They seem only to care about figures these days - patient care and staff welfare are bottom of the LAS pecking order these days.
By
Charlie, at 4:08 PM
Thanks for voicing what we all feel. Staff welfare has been ignored for road and eoc staff for many, many months and apparently patients just get in the way of stats these days
By
Anonymous, at 5:19 PM
your not alone at all alot of control rooms up and down the country are strugling the same way
By
Anonymous, at 7:31 PM
The one good thing about so many of us at the moment leaving EOC to go out on the road is that there'll be that many more crews out there who actually understand what control has to do and put up with.
And besides, how low can morale sink with a joyous ray of sunshine like me around?!
By
Bouncy EMD, at 11:36 AM
It seems they are doing thier level best to ruin everything. Didn't work in EOC but I've left because they are treating the staff like worthless automatons.
The problem is run the service by stats alone and this is what happens, people take a back seat that means staff and patients alike.
By
Anonymous, at 8:24 PM
i don't wanna seem a kill joy here Beaker, but you might want to read up on your control procedures.
If a crew is at hospital 30 minutes, it's up to EOC to chase them up...Should always be the case.
By
Anonymous, at 1:06 AM
Anonymous - There was never disciplinary action attached to it before directed at a specific role. I do also believe it is the crew's responsibility to contact EOC with delays but god forbid you moan at them!! Always EOC's fault!
By
Beaker, at 1:46 AM
I'm new to your blog, but i have to say i like you! (from what i've read) and your attitude. I do wish we had control staff like you up here!
The moral is non existant at the moment, forcing the good controllers to leave.....and pushing me close.
All our controllers are newly promoted call takers and it seems the requirement for shoulder gold was a robotic voice, narrow mindedness and a distinct lack of common sense.
Sorry to moan, just fills me with hope when i see/read some control staff are still actual people with insight and essentially valid opinions
By
CovPara, at 1:48 PM
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