It was one of those late summer days that England does really well, even if the other 350-odd days of the year the weather is a bit more, well, wet. An absolutely pure blue sky, late afternoon warm sunshine and everyone feeling lazy at the end of a long weekend. This was in the mid-80s. I was starting my second year as a medical student, … Continue reading Training day – Associate Professor Paul Middleton
Over more than thirty years of practice, I’ve encountered death in its many forms. I’ve had to tell distraught parents that their child won’t make it. I’ve had to speak to wives as they become widows, children as they let go of parents, and, just occasionally, be the only company for the dying as they lose the link with life. Over this time, I’ve created … Continue reading A time to die – Dr Sue Ieraci
Snakebites are a constant threat to life. PNG has some of the highest rates of envenomation in the world, which reflects that the majority of the population live in rural areas. Despite improvements in the early treatment of snakebite, delivering first aid training to remote regions is a major challenge. The drugs we’ve given Alois should obviate the need for a breathing tube to be … Continue reading So close, yet so far – Dr Rob Mitchell
We were never taught how to do this part. It’s only through years of trial and error that you figure out the best way of breaking bad news – hopefully without too much of the error. Sometimes you know you do it well, and others, well… One thing is certain, this long walk and the interaction at the end is a test of compassion. It’s … Continue reading Breaking bad news – Dr Michelle Johnston
Anxious, scared, disbelieving. Despairing and broken. I don’t really know what words to use; all of them. You can see the physical transformation as the parents enter the room, energy drained. They are supporting each other, each stopping the other from collapsing. For our patient’s family, this is not happening, this is surreal, this is just a terrible nightmare. This is not meant to happen … Continue reading I don’t remember anything at all – Dr Joe-Anthony Rotella
The next day, at 8.30 a.m., Stan had not appeared at work. His home phone was not answering. At 9 a.m. the police rang to say he was dead. It was my first three months in charge of an ED, and there was already a resident medical officer suicide. It wasn’t even discussed at an administrative level but barely a month goes by without me … Continue reading Stan – Dr Bryan Walpole
Things don’t always go well. One night, an unconscious man is brought into the ED. His friend actually drags him into the department. He has no pulse; he’s not breathing. He is white as a sheet. We perform CPR on him, going and going until help finally arrives in the form of a GP specialist who has travelled from home. The half an hour we spend working … Continue reading Emergency at night – Dr Anselm Wong
‘I’m pregnant again,’ she said. ‘I just wanted to say thank you.’ She had approached me at the supermarket check-out. I had been packing the trolley while my wife paid the bill, our usual routine. My wife looked at her, then looked at me, unspoken questions in her eyes. I’m not sure if you are supposed to be happy when another woman tells you that … Continue reading Pregnant again – Dr Peter Aitken
It’s the smell that you can never really get out of your head. It’s the brutal insult to the human body and the trauma to the human psyche, for the patients, the family and the staff. The combination of all these factors makes this horrible. It’s a combination of burnt flesh, burnt hair and singed clothing. It sticks with you. When we get the call, … Continue reading It stays with you – Dr Simon Judkins
Real ED Stories 