P is for Psychiatry part 6

"Are you ready to make your statement now, Mr Gage?"

His lawyer passed out copies of the log book entry from the incident to those present. John looked at the mediator and cleared his throat. "I am, Mr Chairman."

"You may proceed."

"On the morning in question, we, my partner and I, were called out to a possible overdose by Dispatch."

His lawyer held up his hand to interrupt. "I'd like to point out that the call had been identified as an overdose before the paramedics ever arrived on the scene."

"Duly noted. Please continue."

"Uh, right. Thanks. So when we arrived at her apartment, the door was unlocked and we could hear a dog barking. We checked that we could go in safely, and then we found Miss Douglas on the living room floor."

"What did you do next?"

"I did what I have been trained to do when there is a victim on the ground; I checked for pulse, respiration, level of consciousness and broken bones."

"Is that standard practice?"

Roy spoke up, "Yes, yes it is. And it has been since the inauguration of the paramedic program."

"I understand that you are one of the original members of the paramedics, Mr Desoto, and even recruited Mr Gage to join the program."

"Yes I am, and I did. Get him to join, I mean."

" Mr Gage."

"The patient was stuporous and there was a bottle of pills on the floor beside her. Since it was empty, we had no way of knowing how many she had taken. My partner reported her vital signs to the doctors at the hospital via land-line phone, and they told us to set up the monitor for an EKG and establish an IV in case we needed to give medications."

"Again, this is standard procedure?"

John nodded and continued, "In order to set up the monitor I had to access her heart, since electrical impulses don't transmit through clothing." He smiled half-heartedly, looking for any answering smile that showed sympathy or comprehension, but there was nothing. He sighed briefly and went on, "Once we had everything set up according to doctor's orders, and we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I went to check on the dog because it sounded like it was in distress."

"Objection! That is only his opinion!" said Christine's lawyer.

"Calm down, this isn't a trial, it's an investigative hearing," chided the mediator.

"Actually, I thought it sounded like it was hurt or something, too," Roy felt compelled to add.

"Noted. Then what did you do, Mr Gage?"

"I found the dog in the kitchen and it couldn't walk. Its rear hip looked out of place and its knee was distended – swollen. It was whining, so I got it some fresh water, and gave it a pat. Then I told my partner that I was gonna contact the SPCA to see if they could take care of the dog - it seemed to me it needed help a s a p." He looked directly at Christine, and continued, "I'm real sorry to hear the dog had to be put down. I guess its injuries were too severe." He looked at the mediator. "It shouldn't be hard to contact the SPCA people and find out from them what they found when they picked up the dog, the extent of her injuries and why they decided it'd be better to have her put to sleep."

The mediator nodded, and then said, "Actually, that has already been done, and we have a signed affidavit from them here in the file, along with a photograph of the dog." For the first time, Christine gave a little squirm in her seat. "Please continue," the mediator said.

John sat a little taller in his seat, knowing that at least one part of her accusation had some evidence in his favour. "The ambulance arrived, and Miss Douglas was placed on a stretcher and into the back."

"Is it standard practice to strap patients onto the stretcher?"

John nodded. "Every person's secured so they won't get injured any more in case there's a problem during transport."

"Thank you for clarifying that for us."

"You're welcome. In the ambulance, Miss Douglas asked me some questions, and since they were kinda personal, I asked her other questions like, do you know where you are, where you're going, stuff like that – things we're trained to ask to keep an eye on the patient's mental state – I mean awareness." He saw her lawyer write something down in his notes when he said 'mental state' and winced. He'd really have to watch his words.

The mediator asked, "What do you mean by 'personal questions'?"

"Uh, well, did I have a girlfriend, stuff like that." John was embarrassed.

"You are saying that she was trying to see if you were available?"

He shrugged. "It seemed like that to me at the time."

"Go on."

"She started complaining of chest pain and that she couldn't get her breath, so I checked the leads – wires – connecting her to the EKG machine and looked at her heart rate pattern, and put my hand on her chest, just below the ribcage, so I could count her respirations. In order to check the wires, I had to make sure they were still in contact with her skin. Otherwise they don't work, like I said before. So, yeah, I had to touch her, below and above her, uh, breasts."

"And you state that there was nothing inappropriate about your touch at this time?"

"Nothing! I was just doing my job and making sure she was okay."

"And when you arrived at the hospital?"

"I handed the empty bottle of pills we found to the nurse in charge, and reported that Miss Douglas was a possible OD – overdose. We have to share these things with the docs so they can give the right treatment. So that's what I did. I helped them bring her into the treatment room, then I met my partner, and we left the hospital. That's it."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

John looked at his lawyer, who gave a subtle shake of his head. "No, sir. Not at this time."

"Thank you very much, Mr Gage."