Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4896 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Synopsis
Have you ever wondered what?s going on inside that ambulance you see screaming past with its sirens on and blue lights flashing? Does it contain a heart attack victim fighting for their life, while trained medical professionals administer emergency treatment? Or have you considered that it might be yet another ?maternataxi? ordered by a woman who can?t be bothered to book a real cab and who then complains she can?t smoke on the way to hospital? Meet Tom Reynolds. Tom is an Emergency Medical Technician who works for the London Ambulance Service in East London. He has kept a diary of his daily working life since 2003, first as a webside called ?Random Acts of Reality? and now for the first time as a no-punches-pulled book. His award-winning writing is, by turn, moving, cynical, funny, heart-rending and compassionate. From the tragic to the hilarious, from the heartwarming to the terrifying, the stories Tom tells give a fascinating - and at times alarming - picture of life in inner-city Britain, and the people who are paid to mop up after it

Customer Reviews

Difficult to put down........
As someone who is about to embark on a Paramedic-in-training programme, I bought this book with the hope that it would give me a thorough understanding of what is in front of me. It has. It's hilarious, upsetting, insightful and extremely interesting to get such an inside perspective. I highly recommend this book to anyone - it's an eye opener. I can't wait to get started.

excellent
a real good book getting to the point of issues in the abulance service today, really got a feel of what he has to put up with.

A must have!
Unfortunately for me, I also finished this book in just about two days - but have now started to read Reynolds' blog, Random Acts of Reality, everyday!

This book gets you down the street level and tells you what it is like to be an EMT serving the community. I live in Los Angeles, but can easily relate to each and every story told in this book. The stories are short one or two pagers that are easy to get through and leave wanting to get to the next one.

Tom Reynolds not only conveys the passion for his job, but the utter frustration felt by the EMS commmunity worldwide when people abuse the system. From the repeat drug user on his nth overdose this month to the pregnant woman calling for an ambulance because she doesn't want to pay for a taxi to take her the 300 yards to the hospital - it's all here.

If you've ever wondered what was going on with the sirens and flashing lights down the street, read this book!