Mary Dawood RN
An 18 year old man was brought by ambulance to the hospital with multiple stab wounds to his limbs. His life was clearly in danger but his response to the medical team and paramedics who were trying to help him was one of extreme agitation, verbal aggression and generally being uncooperative. This young British man of Afro/Caribbean ethnicity had been in care since a young age. His brother was in prison and it soon became clear that he lived in a state of hyper-vigilance, fearing for his safety and was unable to articulate his high levels of anxiety and insecurity. This was clearly manifested in his aggressive and constant questioning of the medical teams around him. It was evident that settings such as the hospital, which was located in an area of London where he didn’t feel safe, made him very anxious; in this state of anxiety he was unable to manage his anger. Fortunately for this young man and indeed for the medical and nursing team who needed to focus on stabilizing his condition, there was a youth worker from an organization called Redthread (http://www.redthread.org.uk) present who was able to stay with him offering the support and reassurance which allowed the medical and nursing staff to
