Number 18: Headache

Jono finds himself on his own at the start of his shift, but then realises it’s a Monday: Ramp Day. The day that crews become stuck at the hospitals as all the Emergency Departments run out of beds. Instead of following orders and driving to the nearest ramp, Jono tries to snag a dispatch to avoid the mundane drudgery of an endless triage wait. But perhaps this will be a decision he later regrets…

One in a series of humorous short stories about Jonothan Byrne, an Intensive Care Paramedic responding to emergencies in Brisbane, Australia (4,765 words). The books can be read in any order as the number in the title refers to the codes used to dispatch ambulances.