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

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 [i]only[/i] 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.

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

[i]v8ninety - suggest you leave this thread, you're not helping with your unpleasant comments.
[/i]

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.

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.

[i]You say that like it has to be one or the other [/i]

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! [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4360411/Good-samaritan-has-roof-cut-off-car-after-giving-refuge-to-injured-driver.html ]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4360411/Good-samaritan-has-roof-cut-off-car-after-giving-refuge-to-injured-driver.html[/url]

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.

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'lltreatany****erwithoutjudging
Just get complaining, i'm sure you may get some compensation at some point, and get well soon!

unexpected cabriolet

Legend has it, that it happened around here* once to a police car... Imagine the paperwork.

*it may not have, but it's too good a story to die...

Perfectly reasonable question by the OP (hope you Are feeling fine btw and get better soon) IMO
Seems like over defensive and Aggressive posts by a Certain person (no one is blaming the ambulance staff OP says police recall it going in ambulance with him), if thats reflective of ambulance staff these days (and I'm sure it's not) I hope never become one of their "customers" or "targets"
Yes life first belongings second but £500 of missing gear is not unreasonable, prescription glasses, rucksack (and contents? Wallet car keys phone etc) goretex etc and it's only natural once you are recovering and feel safe to wonder what happened to it

Eye injury though, highly likely your Oakleys are gone, they may even have saved your vision before being smashed/lost, by all means ask and hope you get the pieces back, for closure, but I can't imagine they will be useable again

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.

Are you sure that wasn't the reaction from confusion/shock ?

When I was 14 years old I slammed into the side of a car headfirst (race position drop handlebars downhill no helmet) which swerved in front of me. As well as having a fractured skull I was blind for about a couple of hours. I knew I was wearing new shoes but obviously couldn't see them, and was terrified I had scuffed them which I thought would result in a serious bollocking from my Dad. So despite lying there drifting in and out of consciousness I managed to ask the nurse at A&E whether my shoes where OK, she checked and said yes but was clearly bemused that I should be worried about them. Our priorities can sometimes be a little strange when we're confused and suffering from shock.

Are you sure that wasn't the reaction from confusion/shock ?

After being toasted by a BMW, I tried to punch out the doc trying to sort me (he was also a good friend). I was well in on morphine, and with broken arms and dislocated shoulder's it wasn't the most effective attack I've launched.

Are you sure that wasn't the reaction from confusion/shock ?

Yes. Non injury. Confusion as in permanent state of, maybe. Shock is a medical term, and definitely not. Shock in the non medical sense, well obviously, like 'boo! i'm a three foot plough blade coming through your windscreen unexpectedly' but still a really weird reaction, and stand out memorable amongst many incidents attended.

OK fair enough. I had assumed that as there were paramedics on the scene that he had some sort of injury.

Did you provide him with a satisfactory solution concerning his 'how to get to work' dilemma ?
I would have offered to lend him my car.

Did you provide him with a satisfactory solution concerning his 'how to get to work' dilemma ?

Big issue appears to be the Oakleys. Surely given an eye injury the chances are they were also trashed and actually worthless?

Agreed, however assuming it's not left on the trail and hasn't been stolen you'd still like to be consulted - many times frames can be recovered and re-lensed. Barring that, assuming they were smashed to bits, you'd expect someone to make a note of it. That said, in this case I'd be fairly happy that I could still walk and talk so i doubt I'd be asking.

Knowing Andy as I do, those throwing mud at him would do well to read his original post and see what he wrote. Wanting to piece together more details of what happened is a big part of this. The poor bloke has had a complete blackout and seeing his kit again might give him a couple of clues as to what exactly happened. Another part of it is the lack of process surrounding his kit. I think if he were told 'this happened to it, by this person, then' he would be fine - the lack of information shows a lack of due process. Which is wrong.

Andy isn't a petty man in any way at all. He is one of the most freely-giving of his time and efforts, particularly in cycling and does more than 99% of us to promote the sport(s). He is just trying to piece together what happened during an accident he has no memory of.

Tootall +1, give him the benefit of the doubt on this one

Get well soon andy

thegreatape - Member
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.

I've personally cut the roof off 2 cars for that very reason. 😉 so think if you really want them to sit in your car whilst you wait for emergency services to arrive.

I've personally cut the roof off 2 cars for that very reason. so think if you really want them to sit in your car whilst you wait for emergency services to arrive.

Yup, best you leave them out in the middle of the road in the freezing cold and rain, innit 😉

My sister used to A/E at the hospital closest to Cadwell park, famous for bike racing. She said you could always tell when riders were properly injured as they would let you cut their leathers off without a peep. Either that or they were sponsored.

When the old man took a header of a a cliff, A/E in Bristol returned his clothes as the shreds they were removed as, every piece!. No more fitting way for a Man United top to go. 😆

To the OP, I hope your recovery is complete and speedy.

Matt

Clean break in my arm/shoulder and ribs yet I still managed to stop them cutting off my £70 Kona Primo shorts 😆

Get well soon, your clothes are ****ing nothing fella. They had to get to you asap and due to them probably being covered in blood (bio-hazard) they would have gone in a incineration bin. (Probably).

Healing vibes 🙂

Twice I have needed clothes removed.

First time I got held down by TJ and given laughing gas. Soon wiggled out of my jacket.
Second time I just dealt with it. I have a high pain threshold. Plus I liked my clOthes.

However if I had been out of it I wouldn't have cared less should the staff have felt it necessary to cut. They are there to fix me after being a nobber on a bike. Thats the priority.

In an ideal world it would all go like clockwork perfect but sometime
It doesn't.

Ps this is in a happy tone by the way. As an Oakley owner including normal specs too I can appreciate the concern.

TBH re the eye socket. I doubt the Oakleys are worth anything.

TBH I'd happily trade injuries (not grazes/bruises) for a snapped frame and cut/damaged clothing. Pisses me off that the bike gets off scott-free instead 😆

"Second time I just dealt with it. I have a high pain threshold. Plus I liked my clOthes. "

ha ha lol, you know nothing of pain.
you dont have a high pain threshold, trust me let the doctors explain to you, you just have a high opinion of your pain threshold.

when you are seriously injured, you just lie there.

Twice I have needed clothes removed.

First time I got held down by TJ and given laughing gas.

Please tell me that was for a medical emergency!!!!

Anyway...

Get well soon Andy, sounds like you've had a really nasty one there. Can't imagine what you're going through and hope you get at least an answer about your kit.

Healing vibes being sent your way

Sancho - I was with TBC - I assure you most people would have been screaming in agony from the injury. He wasn't - so much so the seriousness of the injury was missed by several folk even after he had been xrayed

I read the post with disbelief.

Here is someone who falls off a bicycle and receives the best medical care in the world from dedicated professionals, probably saving him from disfigurement and possibly even death from complications AT NO COST to himself yet he is moaning about a few bits of nylon clothing?

[i]*shakes head in amazement and sadness at the selfishness of some people* [/i]

That sounds like a nasty one OP. I hope you get better soon. However my sympathy in you finding your missing items was severely demonised with "i sincerely hope you never end up a patient at one of our so-called "leading trauma hospitals"". That's poor.

My sympathies Im afraid are not with you on this.
You were told they have been destroyed, so why come on this forum moaning about your treatment by the hospital.

By the sound of your injuries and your follow up treatment you have had some of the best treatment available in the world for free and you are moaning.

as for piecing together what happened before the accident, you fell off your bike, so its pretty simple to fathom out.
what might be a good idea would be to take the staff that put you back together a little thank you card or flowers or chocolates.

Family of a guy who killed himself by jumping off a high building near me were given all his clothes back in a big a&e bag.

Turned out most of one foot was still in one of the shoes so they have been known to pass stuff on that's fairly contaminated.

OP - I think you've fixated on the clothes in the absence of any other explanation to what happened.

You won't work out from a load of cut up cycling kit what happened and in what order.

I think, emotionally, you need to try and move on from the kit issue and focus on your recovery.

Given the injuries you list you'll be off the bike for a while - just save what you;d have spent on bike maintenance and associated cycling costs for the time you're not riding and use that to fund replacement kit.

its an emergency service not a cloackroom.. they didnt ask to have to remove your blood sooden sweaty stuff.. be glad its gone.

I'd probably be a little peeved that all my stuff had been lost or shredded and binned, but not because the hospital staff had done it, but because my actions had caused it to be necessary. Though that would be countered by the fact that had they not done the shredding it might be a lot more than 12 weeks off the bike.
Check with your contents insurance if you are covered, if not you'll have to replace with less expensive or maybe even 2nd hand kit. This thread is I hope the result of you feeling a bit sorry for yourself after the accident and once you are back on the bike you'll realise what a great job everyone did and how silly this thread is. Get well soon.

Firstly glad to hear that your injuries will only keep you out of action for a 12 weeks, and I hope everything goes smoothly during your rehab.

As for the clothes, give it up as an unfortunate incident and move on. It is just 'stuff' and no matter how expensive it was 'stuff' can be replaced eventually, please show a little gratitude and don't go hunting for compensation from the same people that took care of you when you needed it.

Jeez people need to wind there neck in and get off there high horse.
The op is not moaning. He's just wondering about process and here seems a reasonable place to ask bearing in mind we have members who work in the industry.

Value is irrelevant. If was wearing a £10k watch would peoples reaction be different?
He's already said he received great treatment and wants to piece together what happened.

To the OP, hope you heal well and good luck finding out what happened. I can understand wanting to find out what happened, to your kit and otherwise - being so out of it must be quite scary.

I'll echo experiences above about hospitals being generally good with kit. After a bad one at fort bill and ending up taped to a bed in a neck brace, they asked if I wanted them to try pull my dainese off or just cut it off...just told them to cut it off - it's done its job by then!

Also the comments about folk being concerned with trivial things after an accident, I get that too. Cracked my head open at GT on a rock, bleeding all over the shop. Some kindly folk helped me off the hill and gave me a lift down from the carpark in their truck - and all I remember is just being concerned i'd bled a little down the side of it! I can see why that might have seemed odd, when they were obviously concerned for a knackered person with a leaking head.

+1
i'd be very grateful indeed that i still have control over my extremities in the OP's situation, and thankful for the care i'd received. bad luck if some stuff's gone awol but it is NOT the end of the world.
get well soon.

Ah! A few years ago I was admitted to hospital after taking a wee'turn' when out running one night. From A&E to the ward my running shoes and smock waterproof (with my car keys and fob) went missing. I hesitated before I put in a claim but I did in the end, especially when the replacement remote fob cost £85 alone. The hospital paid out without a murmer. After a wee bit of investigation it turned out that kit going missing was a common occurrence. I recckoned it was down to carelessness.

[i]I recckoned it was down to carelessness.[/i]

a very generous interpretation 😉

From a personal point of views, if someone's seriously injured, which it appears you were, the clothes are cut off and left on the floor where I've dumped them. If you've got a bag with you, that will come in the Ambulance to Hospital with us, failing that it's up to your mates or the Police to collect your kit and do something with it.

Frankly I'm not bothered about kit that I've cut off patients as there's usually a slightly more pressing thing to be dealing with like their general health and wellbeing!

Carelessness? Maybe they should employ a third member for the ambulance crews as a Valet/P.A/Organiser?

Then add a Customer Services Manager in A&E along with lockers?

He's already said he received great treatment and wants to piece together what happened.

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.

Anyway. Not going to comment on that.

Re: the Oakleys - Oakley customer service is legendary for a reason, I'd give them a call they may be able to offer something off a replacement pair or something.

Everyone knows that if you post some thing like this on STW then your going to get extremes of reponses. I personally read it as saying bloody NHS have lost my valuable kit, and had the audacity to cut it off me, and now I want it back.

I know there are quite a few NHS staff who come on here and would be able to suggests who to ask about where to get the kit back from etc (which they have done), and theres no harm asking their opinion.

It could have been worded slightly differently though, ie I fell of my bike, the NHS did a wonderful job of fixing me, however I still need to recover my belongings, who should I ask ?

Far as I can see though there wont be much worth having back? Shirt would have been cut off, rucksack was cut, probably the glasses are in a ditch some where all smashed up.

Concentrate on getting well, items of clothing and Oakleys do not matter in life.

Next time why not buy some cheap sun glasses, and save the difference in price between them and Oakleys to make a donation to the hospital?

Regarding poor treatment at the hospital, get in touch with the PALS service. Please dont go for compo though so that you can buy some more Oakleys, just approach it from a constructive angle so that others do not suffer poor treatment too.

PS which hospital was it?

I totally see where you are coming from, regarding wanting your stuff back. Shreded or not.

My Dad had a massive motorcycle crash when we were at IOM GP, Long Long sotry short, all his leathers were cut of and blood stained, his helmet was ****ed and again blood stained.

but the Noble hospital, simply bagged it all up and gave it to me. When my dad finally came round several days later, and several months later when he was more with it. He wanted to see his helemet and leathers, as he felt it would help remember what happened etc etc. Exactly the same as you are saying.

So really cut or not cut, it is not their desicion to throw anything away. It will be somewhere, it just finding the right person to find it.

Hope you fully recover.

What if its a weekend, staff change over or they are mega-busy? Surely you triage everything i.e everything goes out of the window except care for the patient?

It's not an unreasonable request though is it - the OP is in a state of confusion and has lost 24hrs of his life. His post doesn't read like a "how do I turn a profit from this, who do I sue?" type, more a case of just trying to find out what happened.

On the other hand I can see how the emergency services could easily misplace bags or belongings in such a situation especially when you factor in shift changes, the patient is being taken from ward to theatre to ward etc.

Years ago a mate came off badly at CyB when his forks failed. His Oakleys took the brunt of the impact although the lenses stayed intact and he was badly knocked about. He sent the glasses to Oakley with a letter thanking them for saving his eyesight and Oakley sent him a new pair FOC.

Many years ago as a hot headed teenager I was out climbing with a member of the local mountain rescue. He got a shout to join in the carrying down of an injured person and as I was there I went along to help. We got there to find a large American lady in totally inappropriate kit that had taken a tumble and broken her leg. I don't know if you have ever been carried down a rocky mountainside in a stretcher with a broken limb but it is not the smoothest of rides but the whole way this silly woman was swearing and shouting out that she was going to sue everyone of us for the terrible treatment. I was all up for dropping her down the nearest gully and going off to the pub but the team were professionalism personified.

Why tell this - patients/victims sometimes get their priorities and expectations all wrong and the emergency services are amazing at people skills and have amazingly thick skins.