Clothes removed / cut-off and destroyed / lost by ambulance / A&E

Full sad and sorry tale will follow in time no doubt, but, as everyone who knows me will hopefully be aware I fell off last week and ended up in A&E with the worst bike related injuries I’ve ever had* (and hope to ever have) following what should have been a “straight forward over the bars moment” 🙂

*T5/T6, scaphoid, multiple facial (mandible, l&r zygomatic arches, antrum, left eye socket (I think? – “orbital wall?”))

More pain than I can happily cope with currently , despite a collection of drugs of every size colour and shape.

Not enough to keep me off STW my poor wife would say but anyway…another minor concern: the hospital / ambulance service has lost most of the kit I was wearing: shorts, undervest, jersey, oakleys, gloves, socks… (all my wife was given was my lid (broken) and shoes (bloody), also the arm strap off my deuter Ruck Sack (they cut through the padded bit).

I did ask (several times) and was either fobbed off or told that they everything would have been disposed of.

Yes, I know, it’s only kit and I’m lucky I’n not dead etc. but I would like it back, cut to shreds or not. Partly to help complete the picture (I remember nothing of the hours before the accident or 24 hours after).

Yes, I also know that me and my back injury would have been the priority, not my kit, but I’m not happy with the way I’ve been treated in several respects and the loss of kit is only part of the problem.

I’ve been googling unsuccessfully – does anyone know – is there a protocol that the ambulance service / A&E are supposed to follow? Are they supposed to keep stuff safe and return it to the patient / relative?

Spinal fractures? I think your clothes will be shreds

Yes they should keep it or check with you as to its disposal. No chance of it being around now I would have thought. A&E charge nurse might be your best bet – ask nicely if they can look for your glasses and the rest of your kit for example.

Get well soon

no idea re A+E policies but i would be a bit peeved myself but i reckon its better to be alive – excuse to buy new stuff!

chin up

paul

Funk me! Sounds a dull yin, speedy recovery mate. Hope you get your stuff bak too…

Hi mate, I cut off your kit to assess and treat your injuries. Then, as it had blood on it and was either smashed or cut to shreds therefore pretty much worthless anyway, it got binned in the clinical waste stream. By the way, don’t mention it.

Signed, A. Paramedic

PS, seriously?

PPS, hope you feel better soon.

I would think it would be the hospital not the ambulance, when i was stretchered in my helmet and backpack were shoved underneath it somewhere i think, anyway they came with to the cubicle me somehow as they checked the helmet for damage as I couldn’t remember if I had hit my head hard. Given the chaos in A&E if they hadn’t i wouldn’t hold out much hope for ever seeing them again.

No idea Andy.

When my friend and I hit a car on his motorbike he broke his arm and I banged my knee. They cut our leathers off which cost us almost 500 pounds between us. We both said we would take them off first but they had procedures to follow, I don’t blame the paramedics at all, they have a process but all I had was a bruised knee, I could walk immediately afterwards. My friend got his leathers replaced through the car drivers insurance who was at fault but only because the jacket was damaged from hitting the road.

Nightmare for you though. Hope you recover quickly.

Get well soon…..

But seriousley…….maybe it’s just me, but they’ve put u back together and probably given u a future where bike riding is included. If it were me I’d be eternally grateful and certainly wouldn’t be getting worried over some kit that is easily replaced.

ughh sounds brutal, get well soon.

As others have said though, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get your stuff back. Bad times, but just treat yourself to some new bits online while you recover 8)

TandemJeremy – Member
Spinal fractures? I think your clothes will be shreds

Yes they should keep it or check with you as to its disposal. No chance of it being around now I would have thought. A&E charge nurse might be your best bet – ask nicely if they can look for your glasses and the rest of your kit for example.

Did ask several in A&E as nicely as I could and was told “it will all have been diposed off”

Nice email from police who “remember my belongings went with me in the ambulance”

Not suggesting anyone has taken kit but more that they could have taken more care to ensure it wasn’t “thrown out”.

Re ‘a good excuse to replace kit’ – we’ve already had a debate at home about the value of my kit vs the value of me not being paralised. Yes I’m pleased that I should mend and will only be off the bike for 12 weeks but I’d have liked even more to be able to wear the kit (eg Oakleys) if I still had them, esp as I don’t have the funds to replace all the kit I’ve lost (c £500?)

Thanks for the healing vibes those who’ve sent them but hey , if you’re answer is ‘stop whinging’ then kit loss is only one of my issues – I sincerely hope you never end up a patient at one of our so-called “leading trauma hospitals”

Treat yourself to new to celebrate when your back riding

If you complain long and loudly enough they will probably pay you off.

Dunno what good you think shredded clothes will be tho

Edit – £500 quids worth of Kit!!!!! wtf

/don’t buy expensive kit if you can’t afford to replace it 😉

Claim on house insurance

yes the clothes I am sure you can forgo but the rest of the kit should be somewhere

glad you are healing can see why you want your stuff back though.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, sounds like a nasty accident.

I understand where you are coming from, having been in an ambulance some 6 months ago, and as well as kit there’s the bike to consider. I had to contact the ambulance station as I didn’t know where my bike was. 🙁 Nevertheless it must be somewhere so may be a case of making lots of phone calls to locate it.

Do you have insurance that may cover this? Or household insurance?

Good luck. 🙂

Sounds harsh, get well soon. Try not to worry about your kit or how much it will cost to replace. Concentrate on dealing with getting better.

Words. Fail. Reminds me of a bloke that drove into the back of a huge plough, with the blade missing his face by inches. We were gobsmacking by how lucky he was, all he could do was whine about how he was going to get to work tomorrow. Perspective! Jeez.

Nasty, I hope you’re back on the bike soon.

+1 for the hospital being responsible for your kit. The ambulance would’ve gone straight to another 999 call, the last thing they need is previous patients coat/bag/glasses/shoes/pram getting in the way

v8ninety – suggest you leave this thread, you’re not helping with your unpleasant comments.

While I can certainly understand bloody, shredded clothing being disposed of, why on earth would they be disposing of items like expensive eyewear? Even if a lens is damaged, they can be replaced. Those I would be kicking off about. And gloves?
Oh, and Andy, seriously, mate, I really, truly hope you mend fully soon. Very best wishes from me.

+1 it’s human nature to want to get on with you life v8, just cos it’s your job to cut a chap free from his car doesn’t give you the right to disrespect his wishes or belongings. HTH

If its possible to get leathers/kit off without causing further harm or injury I would usually give it a go. If there was anything spinal possible I prob wouldnt be giving you much choice even if you were still able to respond at all. Dont really like taking chances with folk’s spines y’know!
Saying that, myself, and I’m guessing most of my colleagues up here in Scotland almost always bag up anything cut off or discarded and place it in a bag, which is then given to the A/E after the handover and initial cleanup that usually happens at the hospital.
I’ve had to go from one side of the city to the other a couple of times to return Pts property before so generally we’re very careful about that sort of thing.
Think the A/E is the best bet.
Ps- get well soon.

when I broke my ankle they cut through my sock it was an old aldi cycling one! but I was still peeved

my point is that at the time even the sock mattered to me so I can understand how the op could ne upset

however ultimately they are only things and if your anything like me by the time youre fit enough to ride again you’ll put on so much weight they probably won’t fit you anyway 😉

I’m guessing that V8, whilst being quite honest in his responses here, wouldnt be the kinda guy to disrespect a Pts wishes. Just not worth the potential hassles/possible sack these days.
I can understand where he’s coming from though- seen folk cut of of totalled cars after wrapping themselves round various objects and afterwards complaining about the fact we had to cut their designer jeans to check how bad the break in their femur is!
Sympathise with the OP but should all be fairly easy to claim for the items through home insurance in light of the circumstances..

v8ninety – suggest you leave this thread, you’re not helping with your unpleasant comments.

So sorry… Sympathy not my strong suite, and feeling particularly grumpy tonight. I did say ‘hope you feel better soon’ earlier; I even meant it! But I stand by what I say; bad luck, glad you’re not dead/paralysed, suck it up as one of life’s harsher lessons. Five HUNDRED quids worth of apparel???? Come on…

I’m guessing the oakleys would be a sizable chunk of the £500 though?

v8ninety – suggest you leave this thread, you’re not helping with your unpleasant comments.

Couldnt disagree more. I’d like paramedics to put my well being before that of my replaceable kit, Ta.

A set of prescription Oakleys could easily be £250-300.

On a related matter – what happens to keys/cards/wallet/phone if they are in pockets or a bag??

Dave – Moderator
Couldnt disagree more. I’d like paramedics to put my well being before that of my replaceable kit, Ta.

You say that like it has to be one or the other. Before should mean just that, it doesn’t mean disregard the kit.

Fair one, but you and I both know, if something small and high value like a pair of posh glasses is found with a patient, then it goes with the patient. End of. If its not now with the patient, then they either never were, (check the bushes by the crash site) or they were so smashed that they weren’t recognised as valuable. It grips my shit a little that it’s always the ambos fault for ‘losing’ stuff, that they actually don’t have responsibility for anyway.

When I dislocated my shoulder last year, they had to cut my shirt off and then asked if I wanted to keep it. The ambulance crew even arranged with a nearby householder to store my bike. I’m surprised they disposed of your gear without asking you, especially glasses etc.

You say that like it has to be one or the other. Before should mean just that, it doesn’t mean disregard the kit.

yeah, Righto, you need bright lights and cold steel STAT, but let me just have a quick look around the scene to make sure we haven’t forgotten to pick up your purse. Forgive me, this is usually the role taken by the mates of the injured party, or the police? Sure if it gets chucked in the back of the truck before we go, then we’ll take it. But I’m not wasting a second of my time looking for it. And if it goes on the truck with the patient, it comes off the truck with, or shortly after the patient. I have no interest in keeping it.

You say that like it has to be one or the other

Nope, I say that like there is an acceptable counterpoint that shouldn’t be considered “unpleasant comments”.

It’s all about priorities no?

Tend not to go rifling in pockets etc unless we really have to.
Should all be bagged up and passed to A/E at handover. They should then make a note of them.
Sounds like the OP wasn’t really with it after the accident.
These things happen, without knowing all the ins and outs think he needs to focus on getting back on feet/bike/insurance co.

Unless the OP was found butt-naked then the items he asked for (with the possible exception of his glasses) must have been on him when he was attended to. He’s not asking for someone to go searching in the bushes.

Get well soon OP.

Slight hijack, but does anyone know what would happen if you stopped to help at an RTC, let someone sit in your car, who then complained of back pain, so the fire brigade cut the roof off?

Sounds ridiculous now I’ve typed that out, but I have heard stories of it happening (possibly an urban myth though) and that the poor bugger was left with an unexpected cabriolet that no one (incl. his insurers) would pay for.

not an urban legend! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4360411/Good-samaritan-has-roof-cut-off-car-after-giving-refuge-to-injured-driver.html

Unless the OP was found butt-naked then the items he asked for (with the possible exception of his glasses) must have been on him when he was attended to. He’s not asking for someone to go searching in the bushes.

if it was on him, it will have gone with him. If it was contaminated with bodily fluids, and considered not ‘high’ value (leathers, for example) it may well have been disposed of. Any pockets, bags etc, will have been checked for high value items like wallets phones and keys in the presence of a witness.

As an A&E charge nurse, i’d say if a bag of belongings came in with you we would try and make sure they left with you, no matter how trashed or soaked in your own fluids. But this thread just makes me think; give me another piss head who just wants to lump me any day.
#i’lltreatanyfeckerwithoutjudging
Just get complaining, i’m sure you may get some compensation at some point, and get well soon!