My Review for 999 Problems: An NHS Paramedic's Memoir by Steve

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“In the back of his car, I could hear his kids wailing. They weren't crying because of the initial impact, which had only woken them up, but because they'd just watched, from five metres away, as Bambi got atomised by an ambulance.” 🦌💥🚑

Now, I used to work for the NHS, so I know what a s**t show it has become, but Steve's book has just opened my eyes even further. I had no idea that ambulances were queuing — for hours — with a patient on board, just waiting to get into A&E. And who knows how many more hours they would then have to wait until they actually saw a medic. 😳🚑⏰

I loved Steve's insider view. His humour is second to none 😂, and I admire him for maintaining his sometimes warped sense of humour through what must have been thousands of frustrating, and frankly scary, moments as he tried to do his job. 🚑😬

I really appreciated the raw and honest account of his career as a paramedic, and the barriers that are thrown up by the lack of funding, staff cuts and insufficient training. 💷✂️📉

I started working in the NHS back in 1996, when everything was about patient care. These days, the medical and nursing staff still strive for this, but their hands are tied by management teams who seem to be all about the business and financial side of the hospital. It's frustrating to experience it from the inside out. 😔🏥

If you have even the slightest interest in the NHS, then I highly recommend you read this book. It's entertaining, incredibly funny and genuinely eye-opening. 👀😂📖

Thank you to Steve for the gifted copy of his book, 999 Problems: An NHS Paramedic's Memoir. ❤️📚

About the Book

Right now, somewhere in the UK, someone’s grandparent is lying on the floor after losing their balance and falling. They’ve already pressed the emergency lifeline button they wear around their neck, and the control centre has dutifully called 999 on their behalf.

That was five hours ago.

Welcome to the NHS, where the only thing slower than an ambulance response is a politician’s apology.

Which is why I started writing this book. Because I’m angry. Furious, in fact. Angry at a health system that’s keeping patients in conditions that would violate the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

So here it is. My attempt to shine a light on the daily s**t show that is modern healthcare. Just another paramedic, treading water and trying not to get swallowed up by the system.



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