Memoirs from the Orange Army

Call The Stewardess

If a medical emergency happens on the ground, there are many figures of authority dispensable to anybody and there are always hospitals or medical facilities that are never too far away. Up in the sky is a different matter. It is unlikely there is anybody to turn to and medical equipment is limited. The cabin crew have to put other menial tasks aside and work together to help the situation in hand.

It is said that there are approximately fifty-two thousand onboard medical emergencies around the world every year and it is the cabin crew who deal with them. It's very difficult dealing with medical emergencies onboard and although the flight deck can land in under fifteen minutes in most cases, when flying over vast oceans or empty land it could be hours before reaching an airport.

I can remember vividly my first medical emergency onboard here and although it was minor, I was petrified. It had been a crazy kind of day. The weather was beautiful. It marked the start of a wonderful English summer and everybody was in an unusually good mood. The sunshine flooded across the airport and everybody was laughing and smiling. It was a wonderful sight to behold to see so many people exchanging smiles and waves to each other. It was a lovely day and I was flying over to Malaga. We had taken off successfully and after the initial climb, myself and the crew were released from our seats to set up the inflight service. My colleague and I had proceeded to take orders from the first few rows when we heard a passenger press their call bell and shout "this woman is having a stroke" a mixed feeling of horror and dread swept over and I'm pretty sure I went slightly pale too. This was it, my first medical emergency in the job. I took a deep breath and watched as the cabin manager walked off down the back. Little did I realise that they would not be seen throughout the whole ordeal. Another cabin crew came immediately to my aid as I approached the lady. She must have been in her late forties or early fifties. "Go and grab the first aid kit and some oxygen as a precautionary measure" I said. It was then that I realised that she wasn't having a stroke. I guessed she might be diabetic. "This woman is not having a stroke sir she's having a hypoglaecemic attack" I said calmly. "Oh yes? How do you know? Have you bothered to check her past medical conditions with her husband?" He snorted. I felt rather annoyed at his questioning as though I was incapable of handling the situation so I turned to the husband of this lady and politely asked if she was diabetic. He simply said yes and that she hadn't eaten since breakfast. By now it was around two in the afternoon. The lady was starting to recover slowly but was flushed and said she felt like she was burning up inside.

My fellow crew member returned with the first aid kit and an oxygen bottle and I quickly told them them to grab my PA book and find a medical form inside. They returned and asked if they could assist further so I then instructed them to call the flight deck and give a CLEAR briefing with instructions to continue normal operations.  For those who aren't sure what a clear briefing is, it's one of the many things taught in training. It is to be used in any emergency situation and is a quick and effective way of delivering news to the flight deck about a situation. It also outlines any recommendations by the cabin crew such as permissions to divert. It's a daunting phone call to have to make and nobody likes to be the deliverer of bad news.

I gave the lady a tube of Hypostop GlucoGel and instructed her to ingest it. I asked my fellow crew member to go and get a sandwich for her from a canister. I took her pulse reading and filled out information on the medical form of the event. That was it. It was done. I promised the lady I would return within half an hour to take another pulse reading but advised her to have a rest and if she needed water to let me know and I'd fetch some. It was also at this point the Cabin Manager had returned from the rear of the aircraft thanking both me and my fellow crew member for dealing with the situation.

In the meantime, the passengers at the front praised both myself and my fellow crew member for dealing with a situation so well but passengers at the rear were angry. They didn't realise there had been a medical situation at the front as it was dealt with swiftly and they wanted to know why they hadn't been served quickly. The sheer ignorance made me really angry but I had to remember they didn't see what happened so I politely apologised and explained there had been a medical emergency onboard. I heard many comments and tuts about the service not being good enough and it really made my blood boil with rage.

I finished the service and went to check on the lady and took another pulse reading. I spent the vast majority of the flight talking to her and her husband making sure they understood the importance of eating regularly and healthily. More and more passengers joined in the conversation and we all shared memories and I learned of their holiday plans in Malaga. I felt such an incredible bond with this group of passengers and the laughter we shared helped the lady to feel much better. I felt a descent and knew we would shortly be arriving at Malaga so I left the merry group of passengers and I rang the flight deck and updated them with the final details and advised medical assistance to meet the aircraft just to ensure the lady was okay to continue on her way.

I thanked each and every one of those passengers as they left the aircraft that day for the moral support and guidance. Without the support given from both the passengers and the crew, I would not have been able to perform to the best of my ability.

I can also tell you of a more recent medical problem onboard. On a flight out to Dalaman, the Cabin manager sustained an injury approximately an hour before we landed. They had slipped on a wet floor in the lavatory and hit their face on the paper towel dispenser. Their nose began to bleed just like a tap. Bunches of paper towels became sodden with blood after a few seconds and blood dripped across the bowl of the toilet turning it a deep, rich red. Nearly fifteen minutes passed by and their nose was still just as bad, we couldn't stem the flow of blood and their eyes were becoming bloodshot so I decided to call the flight deck and inform them of the situation. They confirmed my thoughts and recommended to address the passengers and ask if there was a medical professional onboard. The cabin manager laughed and told me not to continue with the recommendation but my growing concern for their wellbeing became too much. I saw they were slightly concussed and I wondered whether they would be able to continue their duty. I walked to the front, grabbed the Interphone and thought about what to say. I took a deep breath. "Ladies and Gentlemen if I could have your attention please, if there is a medical professional onboard could you please make yourself known to one of the crew either by pressing the call bell button above you or coming to the front. There is no need for alarm, a minor injury has been sustained and I require your assistance for a second opinion."

No one stood up. No one pressed their call bell button. My heart sank.

I walked slowly through the cabin in the hope that somebody would attract my attention and it worked. A woman stood up and told me she was a midwife and that she would be happy to assist the matter. My heart leapt with joy and I thanked her and led her to the back of the aircraft. Along the way, another woman who was a psychiatrist also joined the midwife and myself. The checked the vital signs of the cabin manager. By this time, the blood flow had almost stopped which was a great relief and they confirmed that they could continue on their duty. They recommended that a doctor should be called to the aircraft upon landing to ensure the cabin manager was okay before returning to their seats. I was very grateful for their help and I thanked them for making theirselves known.

I called the flight deck and updated them with what had happened and they still recommended a doctor to meet the aircraft. It was a tough decision to make. If a doctor was called and the cabin manager was recorded as unfit for duty, the aircraft would be grounded due to lack of crew and we would have had to have spent the night in Dalaman until the cabin manager was fit to fly again. The problem was that we were all tired and wanted to go home but after what had happened, would it have been right to take the risk?

The longing for our own beds became overwhelming and we took the risk. We were all secretly praying everything would be ok, we didn't want to divert, we wanted to get home. The flight ran smoothly and passengers slept soundly. We landed back at Gatwick airport and after debriefing we retreated home after a long and busy day.

Although these were minor incidents, it made me think about our own health service and the long toiling hours that the staff work in order to keep us functioning as a nation. Even up in the sky, we heavily rely upon the support of medical professionals. Without them, we wouldn't have the knowledge necessary to act on medical emergencies inflight. So, next time you see a medical emergency onboard, call the stewardess.