I couldn't get up out of bed two days ago. I woke up with a really bad back. Every step that I took was agony.
I couldn't move off the couch to even get into my car, to go to the doctors. I waited a couple of days to rest my back, it didn't get any better, I called the doctor and she advised me to get an ambulance to bring me to a+e.
The ambulance arrived. I could barely walk. The paramedics were two men in their fifties. They were totally unprofessional. They were laughing and joking and rude.
I think the way they treated me was absolutely shocking.
They sat me in a chair in the ambulance. First of all they were asking me where the pain was. I said that it was in my lower back.
The first man said "ah it is probably tight arse syndrome. You probanly have a tight arse hahahaha.
Well You're not getting any younger are you? How old are you?"
I said that I'm in late thirties
.
He said "see youre not getting any younger. You probanly have a tight arse. I'm old myself".
Then he came right up to me and said these exact words.
"Im old , I have rust on my undercarriage ".
Talking about his genitals. Isn't that shocking.
Then the second guy asked me "are you married.". I said "no".
The first guy said to the other guy "ah Jim you should ask her for her number then hahahaha".
The second guy said "no I wont". And then he said to me "he is always trying to set me up with people".
He didn't seem to realise that it is completely inappropriate to ever try to set up a paramedic colleague with a female patient who is alone, vulnerable, in pain, in the back of an ambulance.
All the while this "banter" was going on I was sitting there in a lot of pain, feeling a bit nervous.
The first paramedic then gave me some pain relief that I had to inhale. He asked me "do you drink". I said "occasionally". He said "how often". I said "about once a month". He said "this medication will be like a free night out for you hahahaha". "You'll have a good time on this".
He then shouted at me about the way I was holding the pain relief thing. He said "no don't hold it that way, oh for god sake I'll put it on you, I'm getting fed up with you". Because you had to loop a part of it around your hand.
I was at this stage worried about taking anything that would make me a bit lightheaded in front of them
Then I inhaled it. And the paramedic said to the other paramedic "ah you can tell that she's done this before ahhhahahaha" .
I wasn't laughing back at this. And the second paramedic glared at me and said "she's a very serious girl". I was thinking "of course I'm serious and not having a hilarious laugh, I'm in pain, in the back of an ambulance!". They were so unprofessional it was shocking.
When we got to the hospital, the first guy wheeled me in, brought me to the nurse and said "here is this one with back pain. Wait till I tell you - she asked me in the ambulance to go for a drink with her after this ahaha".I said "no I didn't". The nurse said "is he telling fibs". And rolled her eyes a little bit.
They were absolutely shocking. I couldn't believe the two of them