Interprofessional working reflection

I will be using Gibbs (1988) reflection model to reflect on a job where ambulance crews liaised with the fire service.

It was around 2am, we were attending a job which had been received at midnight, for a 30-year-old female threatening suicide. The female lived alone. On arriving at the address, the crew and I knocked on the door loudly, several times with no response. We also tried accessing the back of the property. After trying shouting through the letterbox and few more knocks we decided to contact the fire service due to the concern the female had harmed herself. During the wait for the fire service we continued trying to get a response but had no success. At this point we felt helpless; it was such a relief when the fire service arrived a short time later.

We handed over the information we knew to the fire service and advised due to the potential severity of the situation, to go straight for the front door, yet the fire service wanted to try alternative methods first. They accessed the back and put lights through all windows, tried shouting and knocking too. After a period trying these methods, the decision was made to break the lock – halfway through this process the patient came running down the stairs, screaming. The fire service explained the situation and calmed the patient before finishing the procedure and then let us attend the patient whilst the door was secured.  We then had to stay with the patient until the door wash fixed by a locksmith.

 The positives of this were that both control centres communicated effectively and got a fire crew to us very quickly, the paramedics and fire crews both communicated on arrival, however a negative may be that it wasn’t completely effective as the advice to go straight for the door was ignored, showing that the Paramedic wasn’t listened too, and the communication seemed rushed  – if the patient had been harmed, this could of prevented help getting to her sooner. 

The fact the fire crews came with all the correct equipment and explained their plan to us clearly made us have confidence in their ability and displayed competence when completing the job, as soon as their part was done, they introduced us to the patient, who wasn’t aware we were there and let us assess and care for the patient without disruption – making the patient feel more comfortable. Before the fire crews left, they offered to stay with the patient until the door was fixed, although they knew more about the process, we offered to stay as still had paperwork to complete with the patient. The crew passed on all relevant details to us, and ensured we were happy with the next steps before they left, also leaving us with contact details just in case of any issues – This again was a positive interaction.

If the situation arose again, the first thing that I would change is the initial interaction – due to the concern it seemed a slightly rushed and therefore the Paramedics suggestions weren’t heard or listened to, although we were first at scene and had assessed the situation.  “Active listening allows you to understand problems and collaborate to develop solutions” (very well mind, 2019) If the fire crew had took a couple of minutes to listen and agree on a plan, it may have been less rushed. Secondly, it may have been nicer for the patient to have known paramedics were there at an earlier time, so she would be expecting us, the fire service were speaking to her through the door during the process as we were stood back for safety reasons, it may have reduced fear and put her more at ease knowing why we were there at an earlier stage – instead the patient was panicking until we got inside – to overcome this I would now ask the fire service to allow us to explain the situation and reason for the call before continuing their work, therefore the patient feels involved and prepared for our entry.

Overall, the scenario worked out well and had a positive outcome although with a couple of small changes the patient could have had a better experience.

References:

• Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods.  London: Further Education Unit.
• Very Well Mind (2019) How to practice active listening. Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-active-listening-3024343 (Accessed: 15/01/20)