The Complete Blood, Sweat + Tea

Blood, Sweat and Tea #1-2

by Tom Reynolds

Collected in one volume, here are the true life stories that inspired the Channel 4 television series, Sirens.

Tom Reynolds is an ambulance worker.

On any given day he can be attacked by strangers, sworn at by motorists, puked on, covered in blood and other much more unpleasant substances. He could help to deliver a baby in the morning and witness the last moments of a dying man in the afternoon. He deals with road accidents, knife attacks, domestic violence, drug overdoses, neglect and suffering.

And you think you’re having a bad day at work?

His story spawned two volumes of memoir, both of which are collected here, and inspired the Channel 4 television series,Sirens.

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical, Medicine, Memoir

656 pages, Unknown Binding

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

Tom Reynolds is the pseudonym of Brian Kellett, an emergency medical technician for the London Ambulance Service, England, whose award winning blog, Random Acts of Reality, has been published in two books, Blood, Sweat & Tea in 2006 and More Blood, More Sweat & Another Cup of Tea in 2009. His career in the NHS started at the age of 23 when he worked as an Accident and Emergency nurse. Since beginning his blog he has been interviewed in newspapers, television and radio; and now provides opinion pieces on medical care in some UK newspapers.

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarcastic insight into the London Ambulance Service response team. Tom really has seen it all but I feel at times he has lost his passion with people because of it and completely relate with that from my time working in health services. Despite this, I enjoyed this but it wasn't the first pickings on the bookshelf to go to as it at times felt like a rant and I suppose that's because of the style of writing.

[Beth Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

tbh i didn’t really like the author/narrator - he was often racist (granted this was first written in 2004) and had no respect for his healthcare peers

the stories however were interesting and filled a Casualty sized hole (roll on christmas!!)

[Miriam Städtler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and informative. The only part I didn’t enjoy was the blog format. I would have preferred the anecdotes without the constant reference to comments which obviously weren’t included. It felt a little like awkwardly sitting in the corner of a room with someone on a multi-way Skype conversation and headphones, intensely listening to the one side of the conversation you can hear. It almost feels like invading someone’s privacy. The author isn’t talking to you or writing for you, which makes for a vaguely odd reading experience.
In parts the “entries” were a little long and some could get tedious, but overall the whole thing was excellent. I chuckled more than once and finished the whole thing in one go. I am honestly hoping Tom Reynolds will produce a sequel - ideally actually edited for book format.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hysterical.

I have read this book twice and it has reduced me to tears of joy, laughter and sadness, all in equal measure both times.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book written with honesty and humour

[Mrs K M J Molcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Infuriating

As a health care professional in the private sector I found this book insulting, judgmental and worrying.
The author is arrogant and judgmental, and has a complete lack of respect and empathy for fellow professionals.
Not all care ho,especially are bad, many (the majority) are run by clinically experienced nurses and hard working care staff. Not all drunks are people that just drink for fun, alcoholism is an illness, these are people that need help. Midwives, GPs and nurses are under an equal amount and there are some bad ones but there are also some really good ones.
In my experience as a nurse of 26 years who has worked I the NHS and the private sector, para,edits can be(not all) are arrogant glory seekers. I could write a book obout patients/residents that have died due to the attitude of ambulance control and paramedics. I've cried on the phone to ambulance control because they wouldn't come out to a man in DKA (a rapid onset diabetic condition that can be fatal), fortunately a clinician rang me back and realised i actually knew what i was talking about and he needed urgent care. Unfortunately he died in hospital and yes it was likely down to his life style choices pre admission to the care home (he'd been with us 2 days)
I am aware of all the bogus calls, ridiculous call outs and time wasters but please don't tar everyone with the same brush. It fightens the general public, care homes are essential for the care of many of our elderly population. There are some bloody good ones out there and although there are some bad ones, the good out weigh the bad thanks to rigid legislation, nurse assessors and CIW/CQC

[Pauline Fenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this book which is a series of diary entries poses many questions to us as a society and is quite thought provoking at times. It is quite repetitive however and the entries were quite superficial in the main.

[Bev Heslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative insight into the life of a Paramedic

I love how this is written, it gives you a very clear picture of every situation without being too medical. It has brought me fits of laughter & tears, but all in a good way.

[nicola mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous 👌

Funny...heart wrenching....brutally honest....eye opening....thank you Tom for your service and skills keep up the good work and hopefully you bring out another good read

[Mrs J Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Working in the community with the elderly and associated services this made me smirk,giggle and snort out loud. I look at our men in green with even more affection now

[Marali Kempthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did make me laugh out loud on a few occasions. Very honest and also broken down into lots of different sections so easy to pick up intermittently.

[Sammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Janice Cowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truthful and real

Excellent insight into the life of a paramedic. Truthful and real. I could not put this down. Makes you really appreciate the work they do.

[Ilisa Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant insight into a paramedics life

[Sarah Harvoutt-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed and cried with this book. Interstate insight into the life of a nurse and paramedic in London. FBUA chapter made me chuckle

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

That can I say, I recommend it to everyone in healthcare. You’ll know the feeling.

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sense of humor is killing! Pardon the use of that word, of all words; but this made a very marvelous, gut wrenching and gut squirming read. Makes me wonder what kind of a response team exists in India (where I live and am from) and what their experiences would be. This book makes me send out vibes of gratitude to everyone in the medical service for their relentless work. I appreciate the underlying message of respecting the life that we've been gifted (theory of relativity to apply if you are unhappy with the one given to you - there is always someone worse off and someone better off than you are). Am a new fan of his blog, that's for sure! (Which has moved to http://www.briankellett.net/, FYI).

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a combination of Tom Reynolds' (really Brian Kellett) two books about working for the London Ambulance Service. I read them both about 9 years ago. The second time around they were just as entertaining, and I now had the added angle of enjoying it from a public servant perspective, in addition to a former life in healthcare, which was my initial interest in the book.

[Sian Wadey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book since I saw the TV series way back in 2011. I recommended this to my Book Club, but alas, it didn't get picked.
So with a grand total of £60 in Amazon vouchers for my birthday I ordered up all the books that I wanted to read.
As a Care Assistant, health care does have an interest for me. I'm interested to see how other medical professionals view us. I've also always had a love for medical television, such as ER and Grey's Anatomy, but not once have I watched or read something that just focused on EMTs.
Tom Reynolds is a very accomplished writer. He is witty, funny and manages to get his point across without sounding too whiny. Obviously there are a lot of similar cases within this book but it doesn't get repetitive at all. I love how he doesn't talk down to his reader, he explains technical terms but he doesn't simplify them so much that the reader feels idiotic.
One negative thing, is that despite having been an A&E nurse himself, Tom Reynolds has no respect for midwives, GPs, nurses or any individuals involved in medicine, or social services. I can understand his frustration in part, having dealt with doctors who turned up in the middle of a resident's lunch, or didn't really seem to care. But his dislike for them seemed intense. Although to his credit, when he did meet a medical professional he liked and respected he did praise them, it just wasn't very often. He also described a good relationship with the police, which was surprising, but nice to read about, and moaned about the fire service.
I love how he captured the culture of London and the different communities that lived there. He highlighted how wonderful and helpful most strangers can be, while sometimes families seem not to care.
I was overwhelmed with the amount of stories that focused on an individual suffering from drug or alcohol abuse. It seemed a colossal waste of time for him to transport these people who clearly didn't want to be taken to hospital. And the amount of people that they can't save is also a lot more than we mere mortals realise. At one point he states that relatives of patients have high expectations because of how many people are resussitated on TV and I have to agree with him.
I also particularly liked the nicknames that were used, especially 'Nan down'.
Overall a great read filled with warmth and humour, I only wish there were more of his stories to read.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I went through this book relatively quickly, it's that addictive. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a doctor. But multiple sources informed me that I was too stupid for medicine, so...nope. I do love reading stories about medical people, especially ambulance people - they have to deal with all the crap out in the field while doctors get to sit in their cushy hospitals (bastards). I particularly loved reading this from the British perspective because, well, everyone gets to have access to an ambulance. Sick? Ambulance. Drunk off your ass? Ambulance. In America, if you get sick, well, too bad. An ambulance ride costs thousands of dollars. I knew someone who had to ride an ambulance from one hospital building to another (a grand total of fifty feet) and it cost 200 bucks. Fuck. That. We need an LAS/NHS type system here in the states and we need it bad.

Also, here in America, there is no way in hell an ambulance will get to you in 8 minutes. Not where I live. It's 1-2 hours, minimum. So, if there's an emergency (and it has to be an emergency. I was amazed that these poor London Ambulance drivers get sent to people with head colds. Really? Here in the states, it'd take me losing a limb or getting chainsawed ((or both)) for me to call an ambulance), I get to drive myself/hope someone in my family/friend group will drive me to the hospital (and it has to be the correct hospital - one that takes my insurance. Otherwise I end up in Bankruptcy town). Woo hoo?

So, basically these books were awesome. The Channel 4 tv series they made it into was awesome (it had Robb Stark! The King of the North!) but, sadly, it lasted only 1 season. I am now reading all the back entries of the author's blog.

So if you like reading this sort of stuff, I highly recommend it.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novela que recopila los dos libros que Tom Reynolds publicó con las posts de su blog en lo que hablaba de su trabajo como paramédico londinense.
Esta edición salió con motivo del estreno en televisión de la serie titulada Sirens (que fracasó y yo aún lloro por ello), inspirada en estos libros. Como digo, el libro son las entradas de su blog, ergo no esperen capítulos al uso. Este modelo permite que sea muy fácil de leer, ya que son "capítulos" de media página a tres. No es una novela ya que no tiene un argumento que se desarrolla, sino que simplemente es el día a día de Tom que nos cuenta las experiencias con sus pacientes, que van desde gente realmente enferma a borrachos desamayados en la calle, los médicos de familia, la polícia, que a veces se tiene que ver involucrada, la familia de los enfernos, que pueden ser peores de tratar que esto y etc.
Es muy ameno, ya sea por la corta duración de sus capítulos como por la manera de escribir de Reynolds, bastante irónico y crítico cuando es necesario.

[Julie Haigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing books!

This two-books-in-one edition comprises blogs written by 'Tom Reynolds' (not his real name), a Paramedic. It's quite an extensive look into the life of an emergency ambulance worker, so much in it that will surprise you. There's humorous tales where people really should not have called the ambulance out! This sort of thing happens again and again. There's also some really sad stories. This really kept me enthralled, I couldn't put it down. Apparently the book inspired the TV series 'Sirens', although I hadn't heard of that. I would usually much rather read the book than watch the TV edition and I'm glad that I read this. This book is also available in two single volumes-'Blood, Sweat and Tea' and 'More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea' just so people do not buy the same item twice as differently titled. So much information in it, a fantastic read which I couldn't put down.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to read this book after seeing the television series 'Sirens', which, was based off of this book.
The book is really honest and humorous (although you probably need to have a very dry/slightly mean sense of humour).
One of the problems with this book is that the blog post can become quite repetitive. Another issue with the book was Tom Reynolds sometimes come across as rude and arrogant, he had no respect for other members of the healthcare professional (mental health professionals, GPS, social services and the fire services. Tom had showed the true reality of working for the ambulance service, the state of the NHS/LAS and the real landscape of modern day London.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for research on ambulance work-- Vivid, succinct, engaging and very long series of vignettes about life in the London Ambulance Service! Interesting to read how many calls are not urgent but the ones that are, are heartrending.

[Neale Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally started reading these as blogs so had to get the book, this is the comple collection of the Blood, Sweat and Tea books, both funny and insightful and sad in places, takes you on a good ride

[Bernieconway33hotmail.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Katie Hodgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5- It took me forever to get through!

[Susan Silcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, what it is really like as a frontline medic.