The London Blogger Interviews #20: The Paramedic’s Diary

A blogging paramedic this week, who’s posts on his day-to-day experiences working for the London Ambulance Service in Central London.

If you had to describe your blog in less than 15 words how would you do it?
The real-life diary of a professional frontline paramedic, working in London.

How and why did you start blogging? What about London inspires your blog?
I started because I love writing and thought I had something to say of interest. I started in April 2006 on AOL then moved to blogspot and have been there ever since. Working in London means that I always have something interesting to say; its a vibrant and exciting place where nothing stays still for too long.

What’s the worst thing about your job? And the best?
The worst thing about my job is dealing with time-wasters (especially drunk people) and hoax calls. The best thing is the buzz you get when you save a life or change one becuase you’ve done a good job.

Is it getting better or worse for the profession? What would be the single best improvement London could make to your job?
It’s getting worse in terms of call volume – too many people call ambulances when they don’t really need one. The abuse and violence against us is increasing too. But it’s improving too because we have lots of new recruits coming in and we are still getting the job done for Londoners.

London could improve our job by educating Londoners about when to call 999 and not to abuse us.

Read the rest on Londonist.