1 Peter 3: 8-9
To the paramedic who responded the 9-1-1 call at Sobeys Prospect Street
just before 10 p.m. this evening,
Let me start by saying this: I get where you were coming from.
Your assessment of the situation was technically accurate: despite his claims, the subject of the call, a gentleman well-known in the community for his affinity to mouthwash, wasn't having a seizure.
The fire department didn't need to respond with lights-and-sirens and it was fair to deem the situation a non-emergency. In the sense of the word that requires that kind of response, it certainly was not.
What wasn't fair was the way you expressed that to all of us who were waiting with the man on the sidewalk outside the store when you arrived.
When you got out of the ambulance and made your way toward us, you smirked as you greeted him and made it known to all of us standing there that that was the fifth time a 9-1-1 call had been made for him today.
You looked at us - the young couple who had made the call and the older gentleman who crouched down next to him, trying to keep him calm while we waited - and told us not to worry, that it wasn't an emergency ("It's not a seizure if he says he's having a seizure," you said) and that dealing with situations like that is a "waste of time" for paramedics in Fredericton.
Then, you looked down on him and told him to get up - you'd take him to the hospital, but you weren't going to treat it like an emergency.
The fire truck drove by and minutes later, you were gone, too.
I tried not to think too much about the situation, but as I made my way to the front of the store with my carton of eggs and bag of sliced almonds, I couldn't help but feel utterly unimpressed - and even a little bit angry - with the way you responded to the situation.
Like I said, I get where you're coming from - hospitals are crowded enough as is and the last thing we need is people there who don't need to be there - but what an incredible lack of professionalism to announce to a group of people in a very public place that a situation is "a waste of time." Maybe there's a time and a place for a candid assessment like that (although I'm not really convinced there is) but standing in front of a grocery store with people who took note of someone suffering and tried to help isn't it.
But a lack of professionalism wasn't the biggest issue to me: that honour goes to the total lack of compassion you displayed. Was the situation a medical emergency? No. But to say responding to call was a "waste of time" when it couldn't have been more clear the gentleman is dealing with several serious issues (most evident being addiction and homelessness, two incredibly complex problems which have become hot topics in our city in recent months) was such an uncaring response.
You are a public figure, someone people trust with their lives when they're in need. I understand where the thought came form but I couldn't be more disappointed with the way it was expressed. To put it simply, you had an opportunity act in love tonight and you blew it.
But not all is lost in this situation.
To the young couple and the gentleman who stayed until the ambulance arrived,
Thank you for the grace you showed - for making the call, for staying by his side until the ambulance arrived and for not indicating in any way that you agreed with the assessment of the paramedic.
Most of all, thank you for not deciding to care about another was not a "waste of time."
No comments:
Post a Comment