Punch up in the ER

As I jumped onto the back of one of the biggest guys I've ever seen, I wondered if I was going to make it out alive. But the guy had my friend and colleague, Damien in a headlock and was going to ram him into the wall.

Forgotten was the fact that this was a hospital, that this was the emergency room where we are supposed to help people, save lives and all that other wonderful stuff. This was a damn brawl like you'd see in your average pub on a friday or saturday night.

The good news is that the giant released my friend, the bad news is that he went for me.

I'm not afraid to run, and so I did, straight behind the ranks of security guards. "Why the hell didn't you help me?" I shouted at them. "We're not supposed to use force" was the reply. Meanwhile, the giant could see that he was outnumbered and bolted for the door.

His timing couldn't have been better because he ran straight into half a dozen friendly police officers. Thank goodness the receptionist had phoned the police at the first sign of trouble.

And how did it begin, well it was the usual story. Alcohol. The giant that the police were escorting away had got in a fight, received some nasty laceration which would need some sutures, and called an ambulance. He was angry at the paramedics for taking so long, (they were there in seven minutes) and when he came into the emergency room he didn't like being told that he should stop using the F... word, even when I explained that we had young children here who could hear him.

Hopefully he'll spend some time in jail, and maybe even have to pay us some money.