by GERCINE CARTER

ANY DAY on Barbados' busy roads the wail of a siren and the flashing of a beacon alert motorists to make way for the ambulance pushing its way through traffic.

Skilfully manoeuvring the vehicle, Kay Craig has no time for the curiosity of motorists clearly impressed by the dexterity of the woman behind the wheel.

For Kay, one of ten female emergency medical technicians with the Barbados Ambulance Services, driving an ambulance is all in the day's work.

"We have no drivers. We have EMTs and paramedics. Everybody has to be able to drive. In the event that something goes wrong with the driver, you the person sitting in the back have to be able to take over," Kay told the WEEKEND NATION at her Mount Brevitor, St Peter home, shortly before leaving to begin an afternoon shift.

As a first responder to medical emergencies across Barbados, her focus is on getting to patients as quickly as possible, giving the pre-hospital care they need en route, all the while apprising the medical team waiting at the hospital.

For Kay there is no typical day.

"Every day is different; and that is what makes the job so exciting. You can go to work and it can start off being quiet with absolutely nothing to do.

"You check your vehicle, make sure you have all the equipment required to carry out the pre-hospital care and you basically sit and wait until a call comes in.

"Other days, as soon as you get there you are running. Sometimes you can do as many as six or seven calls a day."

But Kay manages the challenges of the job well, despite her observation that "driving an ambulance is stressful".

Add to this that "you always have to deal with family when you get there; and that is not easy. No matter how fast you move, they always think you are moving too slowly. They don't understand that there are certain things that must be done first before you move the patient".

"People feel we are to get there, pick the patient up and go. But you cannot do that, because when you reach the hospital they are waiting for the information from us in order to determine what is happening to the patient."

This EMT therefore makes a point of involving family in her pre-assessment "and this helps to calm them down", she says.

To make life easier for the EMT, Kay suggests greater public education by the Barbados Ambulance Services.

"People see us as drivers; they think we are not qualified; that you call for an ambulance, we put the siren on blaring, try to look fancy, come to the house, grab you, put you in the vehicle and go. Those days are gone."

Kay wants families to understand their role in helping the EMT with information about a patient's history and condition to help the technician make better assessments.

Kay left the glamour of a hotel job for what she always thought was her calling.

"One day I saw an ambulance go by, and I said I can do that."

(Also, her daughter, now 16, was born with heart complications, and has endured difficult, dangerous open-heart surgeries.)

Finally four years ago, when Kay saw her chance to pursue her dream through an advertisement for EMTs, her police officer husband and her mother encouraged her to "go for it".

She applied, was accepted, completed the necessary training with the Barbados Community College and was on her way.

Kay is ever aware of her responsibility and the extent to which the public depends on her skill.

"This job is a good job, but you have to have a love for it or it would break you. Because you have everybody's issues to deal with: you have your patients', your have the relatives'.

"And you have the public always looking for all the negative things to come down on you for."

Yet this EMT keeps a positive outlook, putting her patients' interest first.

"I have gone to funerals of so many patients since I started this job . . . . I follow up on some of my cases. If I have a patient that is really ill, I call the relatives to see how they are doing.

"I even visit them in the hospital on my own time, because I do not think I should just pick up, drop off and go on."

Her appeal to the public?

"For God's sake, adhere to the siren. It could be the difference between life and death for someone."