A crabby, discontent, disappointed and displeased resident has become the latest perpetrator of an angry note being deposited on an emergency ambulance that DARED not to take the time to park elsewhere in the early hours of the morning before dealing with an emergency.
Our regular readers will know, that this is not the first time ambulance crews have returned to their vehicle, having finished treating a patient, only to find that a handwritten note has been deposited on their vehicle.
We even have our own tag dedicated to this type of story, aptly named: ‘not on my drive’. Although, we might have to change this to ‘not on my street’ or if things get REALLY bad then ‘not in my neighbourhood’.
A quick search of our website using this tag will reveal the many (too many) stories which we have covered recently where citizens have left ‘parking tips’ for ambulance crews.
The latest unwelcome and unwanted note to find it’s way onto an ambulance read:
“Please have some consideration where you park the ambulance! this is not the first time.”
In response, East Midlands Ambulance Service published a post on their Facebook page which said:
“Please come and talk to us – don’t just leave notes!
“A disgruntled resident has left another note on one of our ambulances complaining about parking – despite it being the early hours of the morning.
“The crew had been responding to a genuine emergency in Leicester, and when they returned to their vehicle they found a note on the windscreen.
“The handwritten note told the crew off for ‘blocking their driveway for 45 minutes’, despite the ambulance being parked as considerately as possible.
“We would like to urge members of the public to come and speak to us if they urgently need to leave their house and we are blocking their access, rather than leaving us notes which we will not see until leaving the property.
Lee Brentnall, Paramedic and Ambulance Operations Manager for Leicestershire said:
“It is so disappointing to see that a rude note has yet again been left on one of our ambulances. This upsets our dedicated ambulance crews when they are trying to help our patients and do their job.
“Leaving a note will not resolve the situation as we are unlikely to see it until we are leaving in the ambulance to take the patient to hospital or to go to our next job.
“Our crews are approachable. If you genuinely need to leave your house urgently and we are blocking your access, please come and knock on the door where the emergency is taking place.
“Sometimes we will be able to move the vehicle, for example if we are treating a patient but they do not need both of us there at the time.
“However, there will be times that we are treating someone experiencing a life-threatening and time-critical emergency and moving our ambulance will not be our priority.
“In these cases, you will need to be patient as we try to save someone’s life.”
As ever, most people have commented on the post giving their full support for the Ambulance crew.
But what a strange world we live in, where adults have to be given advice on what to do if they wake up and find that an emergency ambulance is blocking their drive, whilst its crew are potentially trying to save someones life.
It should not require a large dose of common sense for someone to think ‘I might knock on the door of the address where the ambulance crew are, and politely ask if they can move their vehicle’.
And if there is no answer, then chances are that the crew inside could be trying to save someones life and moving their vehicle, quite rightly, will be the least of their worries.
To leave a note, knowing that the crew won’t find it until they come back to their vehicle, just makes you look silly and spiteful.
Do people out there still seriously think that the emergency services should dither around parking their vehicle, as a patient is fighting for their life?
It is such a shame that there is this underlying tone of ‘service to self’ – where some people are so selfish that they become motivated to leave ‘aggy’ notes on ambulances rather than spending a few moments considering what the ambulance crew might be doing, or the state of the poor individual who has requested their attendance in the first place.
All we are asking for, on behalf of our oppos, is that the small minority of individuals who are tempted to leave these kind of notes just take some time to be more considerate of other people who are just trying to do their job.
If you ended up on the floor at home, fighting for breath, whilst being consumed by fear and panic, would YOU expect the ambulance that is coming to potentially save your life to be conscious of where they park?
Of course you wouldn’t!
Especially not in the early hours of the morning! Common courtesy costs absolutely nothing – its free!
So with this in mind, why not avail yourself with as much of it as possible!
Or even better still, why not give something back to your community, get yourself first aid trained and volunteer as a community first responder?
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