put out a code?’
On the wards a code would have been called immediately, but events like this were more commonplace in emergency and they had the equipment and expertise to deal with it. Once Charles’s heart had failed to respond, however, it was time to call for the team.
Heath’s hands were on his patient’s chest now, commencing cardiac massage as he called for drugs that would hopefully work on the irritable heart before they shocked him again.
‘Bag him, please, Bella.’ Jayne’s order was sharp and to the point.
Hell, she hadn’t even been shown around the department, but Bella knew that with the RN badge dangling from the cord around her neck she was responsible now, not an undercover cop but an emergency nurse, and a life was on the line.
An ambu-bag was already connected to the oxygen, lying on the head of the trolley beside the patient thanks to his previous episode. Bella checked the man’s airway to make sure it was clear before extending the neck and placing the mask firmly over his face, delivering oxygen as the machine charged and Heath pumped on.
‘OK. Everyone back,’ Heath ordered, then addressed his patient. ‘Come on, Charles. I’ve just finally managed to arrange a bed up on CCU for you. Don’t let’s waste it.’
As soon as Jayne delivered the shock, Bella took her position again, holding the bag tightly over Charles’s airway, ready to commence immediately. Suddenly she felt resistance, the uplifting sound of the monitor bleeping, the unmistakable feel of the quiet tension that had been present seeping out of the room as Charles started thrashing his head around. Bella replaced the ambu-bag with an oxygen mask, letting out the breath she had been holding before finally looking up.
‘It’s OK, Charles.’ Heath’s voice was still calm, and he lowered his head and spoke into his patient’s ear. ‘You’re back with us now. You just had another small turn.’
Which was one way of describing it, Bella thought, blowing skywards the hair that had escaped as she let out another deep breath.
‘Fun’s over, guys!’ Heath grinned as the crash team started skidding into the room. ‘This is Charles Adams, the patient I’ve been babysitting for you. He’s just had his third episode of VF in the last three hours and this time he had to be shocked twice before he reverted. Can we get him out of here now please and onto CCU?’
‘Good job, everyone.’ Heath nodded to the staff, then addressed Bella. ‘I assume from the way you reacted, you’ve done emergency before.’
‘Not for a long while,’ Bella admitted.
‘Well, you did great.’ He held out a hand. ‘I’m Heath Jameson, the very new acting consultant.’
‘Bella Gray.’ Bella smiled. ‘And I’m the very new nurse.’
‘Welcome aboard.’ Very green eyes smiled momentarily at her, but his face grew more serious as he looked away, nodding to the group to step outside Resus and addressing Hannah and Jayne.
‘If you have to argue, could you do it well away from Resus next time?’
‘I’m sorry, Heath.’ Jayne blushed darkly. ‘But you know the problems we’ve been having with drugs.’
‘So does half the department now,’ Heath retorted sharply. ‘Is Bethany on duty tonight?’
Hannah nodded.
‘Well, she can sign for the drug then and do an incident report when she comes in. I don’t want my nurses half-asleep on the job, which is what she will be tonight if we drag her back here now to fill in a blessed incident report just to appease the powers that be. That’s when real mistakes start to happen.’ He turned to Hannah. ‘If you can come in fifteen minutes early tonight, you can fill yours out then.’
Hannah gave a grateful nod but Jayne was far from appeased.
‘Heath, this is a nursing-related issue and given that I’m the most senior nurse in the department…’
‘This is a staff-related issue,’ Heath corrected. ‘And I’m the consultant. Sorry,’ he added before Jayne could. ‘Acting consultant.’
‘So you’re pulling rank now, Heath? According to the records there are drugs missing…’
‘There’s a single vial of morphine that hasn’t been signed for,’ Heath broke in, instantly diluting Jayne’s accusation. ‘And if anyone has a problem with the incident reports being filled in tonight instead of this morning, they can discuss it with me. I am not having a simple mistake turning into a drama, and if it means pulling rank then I’m up for it. I am not going to walk around panicking about things and feeling guilty when I’m not, and neither do I expect the rest of the staff to. Now, can I have a nurse to come in to speak to Charles’s wife with me?’
And turning on his heel he stalked off, leaving everyone, especially Bella, standing blushing and open-mouthed.
Jayne because she’d been put down.
Hannah because she’d been backed up.
And for the rest of the nurses standing there, including Bella, it was entirely due to the fact that they were female.
CELIA was inconsolable.
Sobbing in a chair, a massive overcoat over a fluorescent nylon nightdress, pulling tissues out of a box, she stood up and let out a wail of terror as Heath and Bella walked in.
‘Please, don’t tell me…’
‘He’s not dead,’ Heath said quickly, taking her elbows and lowering her back into the chair. Bella could only admire him. Instantly he’d quelled Celia’s greatest fear without giving false hope. How many other doctors would have walked in and quickly said that Charles was OK, that the drama was over when, in fact, it had barely started.
‘This is all my fault.’
‘It’s no one’s fault.’ Heath attempted to soothe her. ‘Charles has had a heart attack, and unfortunately these types of events often occur afterwards. He suffered another cardiac arrhythmia,’ Heath explained. ‘His heart effectively stopped again. However, we got it started.’
‘And he’s OK?’ Celia begged, but Heath held back.
‘He’s critically ill, Celia, but we’re moving him up to the coronary care ward and we’ve given him some drugs which we hope will calm his heart down. The next forty-eight hours will be—’
‘Critical,’ Celia whispered through chattering teeth. ‘I’ve read all about heart attacks on the internet.’
‘Quite.’ Heath flashed a brief smile, clearly not impressed with her cyber-knowledge. ‘For now, though, I need you to tell me what happened.’
‘It’s all my fault,’ Celia said again. ‘I should have listened to him when he said he wasn’t well enough—’
‘Did Charles have chest pain last night?’ Heath asked, but Celia shook her head.
‘He was fine last night. I made him a special dinner. I told him to forget his diet for a night, we had a bottle of nice red wine and everything was fine until this morning. Oh, God, what have I done?’
‘This isn’t your fault,’ Heath said firmly, then softened it with a smile. ‘Some doctors actually recommend red wine for cardiac patients and I can assure you, Celia, nothing in last night’s meal would have caused this…’ Clearly he’d said the wrong thing as her sobbing grew louder. Bella pulled out another wad of tissues as Heath struggled to say the right thing, his eyes meeting hers over the woman’s heaving shoulders in a silent plea for help.
‘It’s OK, Celia,’ Bella said soothingly. ‘I’m just