Seggons
11-08-09, 06:24 PM
For those of you that I don't know I'm a window fitter and the day started off normally. I was in the factory putting some windows together when one of the blokes comes back from another job. The boss comes out and tells us that we have got to go out and fix a set of doors and put down some plastic trim because the company who did the job originally have gone under.
This job was out in the sticks a bit so after looking through a map we have a rough idea of where we are going. We got to the village and asked one of the locals where the road we were looking for was. We were no more then 2 bends away from finding the place. The road was a tight single tracked dead end road so we got to the house and a chippie was there and the conversation went as follows.
My workmate: "Alright mate, we've come to adjust a set of doors and do some trimming."
Chippy: "Ah yes" [slight pause] "I know what your thinking, there's no room to park"
No sooner had he said that a bloke comes out of the house shouting call an ambulance, call an ambulance. We were all taken a bit by surprise so the chippy asked why and what's happened. He replied with "I've cut myself". He then started to unroll a mass amount of tissue and wrap it around his inside left elbow area.
So my mate got on the phone to 999 and got the ambulance service and went through their script and told him to sit down, take the tissue off and use his T-Shirt etc.
Now an important point to make, the chippy, my workmate and me all hate the sight of blood and I'm probably one of the worst. So knowing our van was in the way my workmate swiftly nominated me to wait with the guy while he and the chippy waited for the ambulance at the top of the road.
All the time we had been there I never got a good look at the bloke because we were at the front of the house and he was at the back so I expected a minor cut or something. It soon became clear this was much more serious because of the amount of blood there was all over the floor.
Before I even got to the bloke my legs started to wobble, I really do hate blood. But I got over it and went to see how he was doing and he asked me to get his phone out of his pocket to ring his boss which I did and informed him that he was going to hospital.
At this point I may of watched too many of them ambulance programs on TV. I was expecting to stay with him for 5 minutes and then the ambulance would be here to take him away. A quarter of an hour later there was still no sign. It was plain to see from the T-shirt bandage that he had on that he had gone through an actuary because it was coming close to being soaked.
The best first aid I could give him was a bit of humour so we both had a chuckle while we waited. I then got to a point where I'd run out of things to say so I started taking about the weather. To picture the scene I've got this poor bloke with blood all over him and I'm chatting on about how good the weather is, to me that seems bizarre.
After some 20 odd minutes the ambulance finally arrives. The bonus for me was out jumped 2 yummy female paramedics. They just swapped the T-shirt for a bandage and carted him away. After all the commotion we all got back to what we were doing.
The main builder for the job turned up and together with the chippy they carried the now 2 pieces of mirror down and out to his van. It then become clear just how lucky he was. I thought this was a small bathroom mirror, but it wasn't. It was 1400 x 1400 x 6mm that he chipped the previous day, he was sent on his own to carry it down the stairs which is pure madness.
5 minutes later 2 female coppers turn up (4 ladies in uniform in one day :D ) and I didn't realise but any workplace injury's they have to follow up to form a report for health and safety. We all said what we saw and they went off to the hospital to see the bloke.
We have a feeling his boss he going to get a roasting for sending him on his own to do that. Today has been one of those days I don't want to be doing again any time soon.
This job was out in the sticks a bit so after looking through a map we have a rough idea of where we are going. We got to the village and asked one of the locals where the road we were looking for was. We were no more then 2 bends away from finding the place. The road was a tight single tracked dead end road so we got to the house and a chippie was there and the conversation went as follows.
My workmate: "Alright mate, we've come to adjust a set of doors and do some trimming."
Chippy: "Ah yes" [slight pause] "I know what your thinking, there's no room to park"
No sooner had he said that a bloke comes out of the house shouting call an ambulance, call an ambulance. We were all taken a bit by surprise so the chippy asked why and what's happened. He replied with "I've cut myself". He then started to unroll a mass amount of tissue and wrap it around his inside left elbow area.
So my mate got on the phone to 999 and got the ambulance service and went through their script and told him to sit down, take the tissue off and use his T-Shirt etc.
Now an important point to make, the chippy, my workmate and me all hate the sight of blood and I'm probably one of the worst. So knowing our van was in the way my workmate swiftly nominated me to wait with the guy while he and the chippy waited for the ambulance at the top of the road.
All the time we had been there I never got a good look at the bloke because we were at the front of the house and he was at the back so I expected a minor cut or something. It soon became clear this was much more serious because of the amount of blood there was all over the floor.
Before I even got to the bloke my legs started to wobble, I really do hate blood. But I got over it and went to see how he was doing and he asked me to get his phone out of his pocket to ring his boss which I did and informed him that he was going to hospital.
At this point I may of watched too many of them ambulance programs on TV. I was expecting to stay with him for 5 minutes and then the ambulance would be here to take him away. A quarter of an hour later there was still no sign. It was plain to see from the T-shirt bandage that he had on that he had gone through an actuary because it was coming close to being soaked.
The best first aid I could give him was a bit of humour so we both had a chuckle while we waited. I then got to a point where I'd run out of things to say so I started taking about the weather. To picture the scene I've got this poor bloke with blood all over him and I'm chatting on about how good the weather is, to me that seems bizarre.
After some 20 odd minutes the ambulance finally arrives. The bonus for me was out jumped 2 yummy female paramedics. They just swapped the T-shirt for a bandage and carted him away. After all the commotion we all got back to what we were doing.
The main builder for the job turned up and together with the chippy they carried the now 2 pieces of mirror down and out to his van. It then become clear just how lucky he was. I thought this was a small bathroom mirror, but it wasn't. It was 1400 x 1400 x 6mm that he chipped the previous day, he was sent on his own to carry it down the stairs which is pure madness.
5 minutes later 2 female coppers turn up (4 ladies in uniform in one day :D ) and I didn't realise but any workplace injury's they have to follow up to form a report for health and safety. We all said what we saw and they went off to the hospital to see the bloke.
We have a feeling his boss he going to get a roasting for sending him on his own to do that. Today has been one of those days I don't want to be doing again any time soon.