IT SOUNDS like something you’d hear in an episode of 24 Hours in A&E — “999 mode activated.” But for London ambulance workers Omar and Llamar, it is the soundtrack to their working day.
“We’ll look after you,” emergency medical technician (EMT) Llamar tells a tearful septuagenarian on her way to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, holding her hand as we weave through the west London traffic. Understandably, the patient, Margot*, is scared. She doesn’t like hospitals but she’s just been told she might have sepsis and has been struggling to breathe for six days. “We’re getting you to hospital quickly because you’re showing signs,” Llamar tells her over the sound of the siren. “Don’t be too scared, OK? Your oxygen’s really good, you’re still managing on your own.”
Llamar and his colleague carry Margot down the ambulance ramp and join a queue for the rapid assessment room inside the hospital. “Thank you, Llamar, you look after us so well,” says Catherine*, a neighbour who’s accompanying Margot to hospital. Llamar smiles and puts his hand up. It’s not the first time he’s been thanked that day. On an earlier job, Damiana Louis, 65, a Grenfell survivor living in a flat in Ladbroke Grove, thanks Llamar and his colleague for being faster than any doctor she’s tried to get hold of in recent months. “You are good men, you know,” she calls after them as they descend the stairs to her flat. “I hope your bosses are paying you enough”.
This story is from the February 28, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 28, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
This industry can be snakey and gross
Teddy Swims on how tackling his demons turned him into a megastar ready to take this weekend's Brits by storm
Our obsession with prizes makes fools of us all
As the Oscars roll into town again, this is why I despair of the whole charade
Hotpants are the hot ticket for the fashion pack as they hit the town
To quote Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones, skirt was very much off sick this London Fashion Week.
Al is on the march in Hollywood — but is there still a plot twist to come?
It's uprooting the way films are made (and viewed) but can it ever produce a classic, asks WILLIAM HOSIE
Seven ways to get the LFW look
Haute hoodies, sharp ties and queenly quilting
Welcome to Wandsworth
It's this year's borough of culture — but loyal locals already know it's the place to be
The problem with mummy and daddy's money
London is now an inheritocracy. It's both golden ticket and gilded cage
The hottest new talent at Somerset House, death and glory at Pitzhanger—and Jeff Koons's country cousin
Collect 2025 Somerset House
Shine on! London's top hairdressers share their secrets for glossy locks
A few summers ago, I tried to grow out my bob and failed miserably, because I didn't just want length, I wanted hair that was an event, a mane, hair that swished. For that, you need not only length but heft, and heft relies heavily on health.
From $6bn to $100m in four years-how did it all unravel for DNA pioneer 23andMe?
The DNA analysis firm 23andMe is a company on the ropes. The one-time leader of the market - valued at $6 billion in 2021 - is now worth less than $100 million, a 99 per cent drop that makes Labour's autumn Budget look like a roaring success.
