Behind the siren

Paramedical services

Paramedical staffer Shyamala’s job is a tough one. She, like many others from her fraternity, rushes in through the snarling peak-hour traffic to save a patient, dealing with unfriendly circumstances and people to resuscitate a life. But at the end of it, she couldn’t be happier. “There are challenges. But I take pride in what I am doing and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” she says.

 The job of a paramedic is perhaps incomparable but there is very little awareness onservices rendered by these men and women in green. Shyamala, who works with  Manipal Hospitals, says, “At times, there are drunk patients and most often, the patient is extremely critical. You have to take care of them before they are transferred to the hospital. Moreover, you are muti-tasking all the time. On one hand, you are trying to revive the patient and on the other, managing panicking relatives or unfriendly public. But we are trained to do all that,” she says. She has no regrets though.
 Paramedics carry with them a ray of hope and rewrite life’s script. Unfortunately, the roles they play are not significantly acknowledged. In a city like Bengaluru, the hurdles are one too many. “Traffic is a big deterrent. Though paramedics are trained to meet difficult situations, we need to create an awareness among the public about the role they play in rescuing a patient and the support they need on the field. Paramedics need more recognition in society,” points out Dr Kumar Swamy, HOD, Emergency Medicine with Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road. Kumar Swamy has been working in the emergency department for 20 years. “It was by chance, during my routine medical service, that I worked in the emergency department for two days, From then on, I developed an interest in it.” He has never looked back. “I chose to work with near-death situations. Saving lives gives me satisfaction,” he says.
 “Since all the work happens in an outside set-up, paramedics need to acquire proper knowledge and skills. They need to enrol for separate courses and get themselves updated on the subject. Many times, there are people gathering around a patient and giving instructions. You need to let the paramedic do his or her job. We also have neighbourhood initiatives wherein we visit different neighbourhoods and make residents aware of what needs to be done in cases of strokes, heart attacks or any emergency of that nature, what to do before the paramedics arrive and even after that. We also show videos to the public to create awareness about this. They are taught how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if there is a delay in the paramedic’s arrival,” he adds.
 While the traffic hurdles continue to persist, experts talk about making emergency services more efficient. “Paramedical service is the backbone of healthcare in many areas, especially in emergency and ambulance services. There is a need to create awareness about the role of these services, organise training for these personnel, recognise and reward their contributions and of course, improve traffic conditions especially for paramedics in the ambulance services,” says Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, Medical Director, Manipal Hospitals. “One needs to respect the contribution of paramedics and support them in emergency by giving them freedom of movement and avoiding unnecessary interference in discharging their duties,” adds Dr Ballal.
 In the emergency room, ER nurse Sunitha Tomy has seen many near-death situations in her 17-year-long career but that has not deterred her. “This is my passion. There is no greater reward than watching a patient, who had come in  pain, walk back to life with a smile or someone sitting up in the ICU.” But she points out the need for more youngsters in this field. “Youngsters today are scared to face challenges so they hesitate to join this field. You can’t blame them as an unruly mob can create problems,” says Sunitha, who works with Fortis Hospitals.
 Dr Sudarshan finds the response from youngsters who want to join this field much better than before but there is still a huge shortage. “A confident personality, presence of mind, good communication skills and of course medical skills, especially resuscitation, and safe transportation skills are essential. Facing an unruly mob of people who gather at the site of the incident, traffic snarls and sometimes hostile attendants especially if something goes wrong during the course of resuscitation and transport in addition to long irregular working hours are the major hurdles,” he says.
 “Maybe youngsters are scared to join this because of public assault in case of an accident. And this has happened. We need more youngsters. Right now, we train people who are already in the field. There should be enough motivation to become a paramedic,” adds Dr Kumar Swamy.
 Meanwhile after a busy day, Sunitha says, “I love to work in emergency services. I get to handle a variety of cases, it increases your knowledge day by day. At the age of 21 or 22, you are putting on these shoes. You are serving the patients, standing for the most part of your life. Yet the rewards are few and far between,” she says.
Shyamala too is getting back to work, ready to take on another call. “There is nothing better than restarting someone’s heart,” she says. “When patients become conscious, they look at us with gratitude in their eyes, sometimes even thanking us with folded hands. That keeps me inspired,” she says.