Broken Paramedic
Coping
I thought being a paramedic would help me cope with my parents’ deaths. Or even prevent them. I was wrong. Allow me to explain. When I first applied to Beds & Herts Ambulance & Paramedic Service in 2000, it was Read more…
Dungeons and Dragons
Sheetpicking: D&D Beyond Versus Roll20’s Charactermancer
How many Players Handbooks does it take to change a lightbulb? To be honest, I couldn’t tell you; I’ve got three 5th edition PHB versions and no lightbulbs have yet changed. Let me explain… Over the last year or so, Read more…
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeon Master’s Folly: Campaign Debut (Out of the Abyss)
Returning to Dungeons & Dragons after a quarter-century absence was always going to be a challenge. But I may have underestimated just how much. Mistakes were made. Pick a World, Any World I have vague recollections of being a reasonably Read more…
Dungeons and Dragons
The Eighties Called, They Want Their Dungeon Master Back
Over a quarter of a century ago, I was a Dungeon Master. Then life happened; career, mortgage, marriage, kids. The funny-shaped dice gathered dust. Yet over the passing decades, the impact of those teenage roleplaying game sessions has resonated through Read more…
Lifestyle
Old Habits: A Return to Writing
‘Writing is its own reward,’ is a misquote of the little-known actor who played Feyd-Rautha in David Lynch’s 1984 sci-fi epic, Dune. He may also be known for other deeds, mostly tantric sex and naming himself after Bilbo Baggins’ sword. Read more…
Dungeons and Dragons
Upon a Rock in a Dark Place
Derrick was about to die. Shrouded in the empty blackness of a vast, subterranean cavern, Derrick Stoneballs – second-storey man and lifelong criminal – clung to the vertical rock face and gave his predicament careful consideration even as his muscles Read more…
Broken Paramedic
Who Cares for the Carers?
Last week, I was invited to speak at the NHS Pathways National Partnership Forum, a gathering of 111 providers, clinical commissioning group representatives, technicians and policy-makers who are focused on improving the telephone assessment service. I took the opportunity to Read more…
Broken Paramedic
Dear Ambulance Staff: Six 111 Myths and Misconceptions
Dear frontline ambulance colleagues, After 12 years of responding to 999 calls and subsequently watching from the sidelines as family and friends continue to do so, I am only too aware of the ever increasing pressures and the ongoing erosion Read more…
Broken Paramedic
Does NHS 111 Work?
NHS 111 services sit in the eye of a nationwide healthcare storm. Amidst a chaotic vortex of hospitals in special measures, funding and resource concerns, escalating demand, demoralised healthcare staff and belligerent health ministers, the public continues to need treatment Read more…
Broken Paramedic
Mission to Parliament: What Has Anthony Marsh Ever Done For Us?
Chloe Smith (Con), Norman Lamb (Lib Dem) and Daniel Zeichner (Lab) accept the petition from Fraer Stevenson Earlier this week, a group of East of England ambulance staff travelled to Westminster to deliver a petition appealing for better working conditions Read more…