THE BEFORE, DURING, & AFTER OF HAVING YOUR LIFE SAVED | CELEBRATING THE BBC 1 DOCUMENTARY ‘AMBULANCE’ FILMING NORTH EAST AMBULANCE SERVICE

 

“When people are going through the worst day of their lives, you’re that person standing right in front of them…” 

Kyle, NEAS Paramedic Apprentice 

 

You can watch the first few episodes: https://bbc.in/3pjjHVO  

 

On August 11^th, BBC One aired the first episode for the new season of Ambulance and this time, they’re following my local Ambulance Service: North East Ambulance Service (NEAS)! Of course, I watched it and tweeted throughout (@aimes_wilson), and all the thoughts and feelings it stirred in me, have inspired this post… 

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WHEN YOU’RE CALLING AN AMBULANCE | IN COLLABORATION WITH NORTH EAST AMBULANCE SERVICE

“You’re all incredibly thoughtful souls who keep my head attached to my body”

Jenny Sampirisi

 

Some time ago, I connected with the Director of Quality, Patient Safety, Innovation and Improvement for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) – Sarah Rushbrooke, and we got talking about a collaboration. She put me in touch with NEAS’s lovely Mental Health Lead and their inspirational Communications Manager and we had a few productive and exciting meetings, which have led to this piece…

 

CHALLENGE ONE: RECOGNISING THAT YOU NEED HELP

The first part for you interacting with NEAS and their Ambulance crew is calling for one or finding yourself in a situation where someone calls one for you. Either way, the call tends to happen because you’ve recognised that you need help.

Initially, this was going to be ‘admitting that you need help’ but the word ‘admitting’ sounds like you are saying that you need help is some sort of weakness or an act that came out of being defeated. When I believe the exact opposite – recognising you need help and asking for it, are a sign of strength, resilience, and bravery. And I think this is particularly true for mental health related calls because in a world where self-harm and suicide are deemed to be ‘attention seeking,’ it takes a lot of nerve and courage to tell someone that you’ve done one of those things.

THANK YOUS IN THE MIDST OF A BLIP

Something has changed within me, something is not the same, I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game

-          Gravity from Wicked

I’m happy to finally be able to say that the most recent ‘blip’ in my mental health recovery seems to be coming to an end! Just like the beginning of this, I can pinpoint the trigger of it. I’ve talked a lot about how my abuser’s new job role sparked off a lot of old thoughts and feelings that led to a lot of old coping strategies but now I can finally talk about the causes of my stabilizing.

I think that the first thing was when I was asked whether there should be a phone call to the RSPCA to get my pets rehomed because if I was so intent on committing suicide then it wouldn’t be fair on them. Another trigger was the impact my suicidal intent had on those closest to me. It was a bit of a wake-up call – a common feeling for those who are suicidal is the belief that their friends and family will be better off without them. I too had this thought, but their reactions became evidence to the contrary. I realized – the hard way – that I was loved and when my Twitter was flooded with positive messages and hopes that I ‘feel better soon’ I really learnt that my work – this blog – was helping others and was told that without it, people might just give up hope. Sometimes, when you don’t want to be alive, the only way to move through it is to stay alive for the sake of others. That, at least, buys you some time to work on your thoughts and feelings until it you actually, finally, begin to feel better about yourself. The final trigger for this stabilization was the negative interaction I had with a particular Police Officer from the Northumbria Police force.

24HRS WITH... NORTH EAST AMBULANCE SERVICE CEO; YVONNE ORMSTON

24 hours with... North East Ambulance Service CEO; Yvonne Ormston

Why have you chosen to write about today?

_{Ok here goes. This is the day that I have chosen to blog about after being asked to by Aimee. Why me? I can’t think people would be particularly interested in the day in the life of an NHS CEO, especially this one, but who knows? If there is something useful then hopefully it will inspire someone, somewhere about something!!}


Good morning!



What time did you wake up?

_{Alarm goes off at 5.45 am}


Why did you wake up at that time?

_{A little earlier than my usual 6.30. Today I’m off to London}