You Called an Ambulance for What?
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4.3 • 69 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Tim Booth is shocked when his first emergency callout for someone short of breath turns out to be an adult man with a blocked nose. Far from beginner's luck, this turns out to be an omen for the rest of his paramedic career.
Between the obligatory stories of objects lodged in body cavities and grown men who can't look after themselves when their wives are away, Tim finds that the promised life-saving moments are far outweighed by the trivial, frustrating and bizarre ambulance callouts. He and his colleagues battle fatigue, abuse and burnout - treated with coffee, occasional moments of heroism, and a healthy dose of dark humour.
Told with cutting wit, pathos and disarming insight, You Called an Ambulance for What? is a comedic behind-the-sirens look at the challenges, absurdities and shocking reality of life as an Australian intensive care paramedic.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Pivoting from journalism to a career as an intensive care paramedic, Tim Booth is ideally equipped to report on what he saw while servicing Sydney’s south-west suburbs in the latter role. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t pretty. This quirky comic memoir documents what he calls “the real reality”, which means a daily pile-up of mundane non-emergencies. One man reached out for help getting a refund from a brothel, and the calls only got more frustrating (and often outlandish) during the difficult pandemic era. Booth mingles his closely observed critiques of the Australian healthcare system with wry, rueful accounts of people’s selfish actions, reminding us what actually constitutes an emergency. He also narrates this audiobook himself, adding extra intimacy and biting wit to his larger-than-life anecdotes.
Customer Reviews
Entertaining
The stories didn’t need to ridicule SW Sydney, they were funny and interesting on their own.
A thrilling read from beginning to end
Well worth reading, and very relatable for anyone who works in healthcare. Tim is a very good story-teller and there were moments where I was at the edge of my seat and had to listen to the end of the chapter to find out how a situation panned out. Great job!
You called an ambulance for what
I liked the book
Didn’t like the narrator.