Language barrier

Trooper1854

Trooper1854

The Brit Pack
Did an emergency call to an elderly gentleman with severe stomach pains.
He was an Italian chap and his spoken English was poor.
So, I thought I would put my language skills to use and speak Italian to him.
I speak pretty good Italian and I asked questions in Italian but he kept answering in his mangeled English.
This went on all through the twenty minute trip to A&E.
When we arrived, he had a "Light Bulb" moment.
In Italian he exclaimed; "But you can speak Italian!"
"Yes sir, I can, and have been for the last half an hour."
"OOOh, I wondered why I could understand you so well!":shock:
 
Trooper1854 said:
Did an emergency call to an elderly gentleman with severe stomach pains.
He was an Italian chap and his spoken English was poor.
So, I thought I would put my language skills to use and speak Italian to him.
I speak pretty good Italian and I asked questions in Italian but he kept answering in his mangeled English.
This went on all through the twenty minute trip to A&E.
When we arrived, he had a "Light Bulb" moment.
In Italian he exclaimed; "But you can speak Italian!"
"Yes sir, I can, and have been for the last half an hour."
"OOOh, I wondered why I could understand you so well!":shock:
Click to expand...

Soooo, it was one of those moments.... :shock:
 
Capt Frogman said:
Or suffocate him with a bed sheet!

Good job I'm not a paramedic eh! :lol:
Click to expand...

I'd be tempted to hit him over the head with a bed pan.



Opa Brit and CF- you guys would have made wonderful paramedics- the casualty will reach the hospital with real injuries... !:rock:
 
viper2007 said:
I'd be tempted to hit him over the head with a bed pan.



Opa Brit and CF- you guys would have made wonderful paramedics- the casualty will reach the hospital with real injuries... !:rock:
Click to expand...

In the RAF on rare occasions I drove the ambulance, be it domestic or crash. The patching up was the task of the medic and or the doctor on board. It was fun on blues and two's though when I got the chance.:thumb:
 
You impede an emergency vehicle in Germany and someone dies as a result of that hold up, the family of the deceased can sue you for every penny they would have earned till retirement. So if they were a professional whatever = big bucks!!! It's cheaper to write your car off. ;)
 
The Highway Man said:
You impede an emergency vehicle in Germany and someone dies as a result of that hold up, the family of the deceased can sue you for every penny they would have earned till retirement. So if they were a professional whatever = big bucks!!! It's cheaper to write your car off. ;)
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When I come to power, I'm bringing this to the UK. :D
 
it is an offence in the UK to obstuct a member of the emergency services from doing their duties.
At the moment this is the law used to prosecute people who don't get out of the way.
New laws are in the pipe line to directly tackle the problem of idiot road users who don't pull over and stop, or who deliberately get in our way, or who tail gate us as we move through traffic.
 
Trooper1854 said:
it is an offence in the UK to obstuct a member of the emergency services from doing their duties.
At the moment this is the law used to prosecute people who don't get out of the way.
New laws are in the pipe line to directly tackle the problem of idiot road users who don't pull over and stop, or who deliberately get in our way, or who tail gate us as we move through traffic.
Click to expand...

I know, I'm traffic police. ;) :p

The problem I find is people who, for whatever reason, don't see or hear you. Or those that immediately come to a complete stop blocking your route. Or those who pull out in front of you without looking etc etc.
 
Trooper1854 said:
Only one thing wrong with that plan, bedpans are made from papiere mache now:???:
Oxygen cylinders on the other hand, have excellent stopping power!:lol:
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Unfortunately, here we no longer use the stainless steel tanks, but the much lighter aluminium alloy tanks- its like exchanging a Colt .45 with a Saturday Night Special .22!
 
Capt Frogman said:
I know, I'm traffic police. ;) :p

The problem I find is people who, for whatever reason, don't see or hear you. Or those that immediately come to a complete stop blocking your route. Or those who pull out in front of you without looking etc etc.
Click to expand...


Have you guys heard or operated this siren system, they call it the "rumbler"

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co7IO8Cl_U8"]The "Rumbler" siren - YouTube[/ame]

I face that alot here in Singapore- people who just stop, or worse, refuse to give way. And some idiots would actually follow us to the hospital just to see whether we are really conveying a casualty... There is a law that will penalise vehicle operators not giving way to emergency vehicles (ambulance, fire trucks, police cars), they will give way to the government agency vehicle, but quite a number will actually ignore the privately operated ambulances like us. There were a few instances that got my AO to photograph the idiotic driver and file a police report...
 
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Capt Frogman said:
I know, I'm traffic police. ;) :p

The problem I find is people who, for whatever reason, don't see or hear you. Or those that immediately come to a complete stop blocking your route. Or those who pull out in front of you without looking etc etc.
Click to expand...

A couple of years ago I was in the back of the Ambulance en-route to A&E doing CPR when a car, that initially had pulled over to let us pass suddenly pulled out.
My crew mate had to swerve and slam on the brakes to avoid a collision.
I was thrown through into the cab, and the patient flew off the cot and landed ontop of me!
We got the W****Rs number and he was done for driving with out due care.
As for the patient, he sustained a head injury from hitting the bulkhead, but we got a return of circulation!
He actually ended up going home!
The Police and CPS were prepared to up the charges if he had died.
However the injuries my crew mate and I sustained were not included in the charges.
In twenty years I have seen some outrageous behaviour from other drivers, and some of it is deliberate.
What makes a driver overtake us when we are on a red call?
How do they know there is not a pile up along the road, which they are now barrelling into to?
Maddening!
 
It really boils my piss when I'm performing a rolling road block on the motorway and some self important tosspot tries to breech my block, I've never had a breech in over 6 years of doing the job. In fact one of my colleagues put a breecher into the central barrier, they tried to get past whilst our colleagues and police were dealing with a serious rtc blocking the carriageway.
 
I've been given the w**ker sign when on a blue light run! :shock: VRM was noted and appropriate action was later taken. :D

I have a couple of cretins try and breech my RRB. :box: I've also had cretins running up the hard shoulder when I'm trying to get to a RTC.

I've seen just about every selfish ignorant act there is.
 
viper2007 said:
Have you guys heard or operated this siren system, they call it the "rumbler"

The "Rumbler" siren - YouTube

I face that alot here in Singapore- people who just stop, or worse, refuse to give way. And some idiots would actually follow us to the hospital just to see whether we are really conveying a casualty... There is a law that will penalise vehicle operators not giving way to emergency vehicles (ambulance, fire trucks, police cars), they will give way to the government agency vehicle, but quite a number will actually ignore the privately operated ambulances like us. There were a few instances that got my AO to photograph the idiotic driver and file a police report...
Click to expand...

We have no fancy sirens, just 3-4 different tones that we can choose from.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjk9aUW5c_0&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]UK POLICE SIRENS FLASHING LIGHTS MONTAGE 1 - YouTube[/ame]
 
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