Despite the number of “aids” that paramedics have to help them transfer patients from one place to another it sometimes comes down to moving someone quickly and damning the risks.

Or does it? Is it worth it?

Would the public eye us with contempt if we save ourselves before others?

I spoke to an ambo the other day and she said that her back was so sore that she was probably going to have to head home and take some time off. She said that they had to move a voluminous patient from beside a toilet. It was a difficult move for them because the patient had an obvious fracture to her leg. The stretching and lifting at the same time had caused her some lumbar back pain and a couple of hours later she was “feeling it”.

Injuries like these can seriously limit the lifespan of a paramedic.

What can we do?

We use the aids as best we can but sometimes we just can’t. I suppose that’s the price we pay for the privilege of doing what we do. Helping others.

What do you think? Do we have to risk ourselves sometimes? Is it a matter of further training? What other “devices” could we utilise? Should we use the “spoonful of concrete” approach to patients?

‘Tis the conundrum.

Be safe peoples.