The Lighter Side: An NHS Paramedic's Selection of Humorous Mess Room Tales

by Andy Thompson, Richard Duszczak (Illustrator)

From the paramedic pondering a dignified solution as he surveys his previously digested Pot Noodle adorning the naked genitalia of a recently deceased lady, to the man who rang the doctor Out of Hours service with an audibly severe case of excess flatulence, with hilarious consequences, and the old lady's wig that caused one chuckling paramedic to struggle to keep a hold of the carry-chair, 'The Lighter Side - An NHS Paramedic's Selection of Humorous Mess Room Tales' will have you laughing out loud then looking around furtively, wondering if you should! In his 'The Dark Side' series, Andy Thompson gives us a taste of the dark sense of humour paramedics use as a coping mechanism; here he packs laugh-out-loud moments into every page as he recalls health care professionals' encounters with the weirdest of behaviour, hilarious misunderstandings, and cringingly embarrassing episodes. You'll soon be relating to the sense of humour that moves an ambulance driver to respond to his friend and fellow paramedic's predicament on a hot summer's day, as a powerful smell engulfs the saloon of the vehicle. What would you do? Open the cab windows and the hatch through to the saloon to provide some extra ventilation? Of course not! You switch the heating on, causing the already intolerable pong to become even more unbearable, making for a bangin' mess room tale on your later return! Wonderfully illustrated with cartoons depicting each scene, it's an eye-watering insight into the Lighter Side of working on the Dark Side, straight from the mess rooms of ambulance stations up and down the UK. There's also a heartening reminder of the power of a flamin’ good belly laugh and its analgesic effect even in situations of severe pain. This is a book that laughs in the face of extreme emotion and stress. Outrageous? Perhaps. Distasteful? Probably. Humorous? Absolutely!

Genres: Nonfiction, Medical, Humor, Biography

191 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2015

Reviews

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book completed in the new year (decade) which is always a good thing!

The Lighter Side follows on from Andy's previous works all about his real-life experiences in the NHS as a paramedic. While those ones were not light-hearted, I was pleased to see this one on Kindle Unlimited. It's a quick read, with a few stories a little funny. Most of the time, I didn't feel like laughing as much. The humour could have been more predominant and my review would be more positive. Settling on three stars!

[Kade Gulluscio · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in "funny" medical story collections, this will be your thing.
I'm from the US, so I definitely find interest in reading about the medical system in other countries. Obviously, we are lacking a little here in the US compared to some, but also doing better than some.

Nonetheless, this book is a collection of stories from a NHS paramedic. As with any "collection" of stories, there are some hits and some meh ones. I found it easy to read, easy enough to keep my interest, and short enough to get through quickly.
Worth the read.

[Saphire Aqua · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 tbf. I just felt although the stories didn't "work" in this written format, as in the author wrote it like telling it audibly face to face, which just didn't always work. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book, but it had a lot of missed potential imo.

[Angela Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish it. Found one story particularly offensive. If the dying cries of a suicidal man and traumatised children are considered humorous, then there is something very wrong with the world.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful collection of stories from the author's time as a paramedic in the UK National Health Service. The author does explain that the people who work in medical services learn to have a certain type of humor, necessary to cope with what they must deal with every day. This book collects a variety of funny stories including: stolen ambulances, flatulence, strange positions and pranks to name a few. I listened to the audiobook version (which included sound effects when necessary). Wonderfully narrated and a nice selection to put a smile on your face, this book shows the lighter side of what can be a difficult profession. I am going to read his other paramedic books as well since I enjoyed this one.

[Colin Murtagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think of the three books of his career, this is the weaker one. While the other two books have shown the harrowing side of being a paramedic, this one tries to show the lighter side. The old lady whose wig gets attached to the paramedics uniform, the guy suffering from excessive flatulence, spoiler alert, it was a curry. Some of thee stories will make you smile, some of them will make you laugh. However if you've read the previous two books, some of the stories will be giving you a sense of deja vu. It's a pity that he couldn't have kept the stories different through all three books. I'd still recommend the series though.

[wendy schutze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Double Cringe

Probably the worst book of this genre I have read. It is not funny, it is embarrassing to real Paramedics and extremely unprofessional.
Paramedics do not behave like this….they are highly trained PROFESSIONALS.
This was a book of stupid, tired jokes…..all that was missing was the Benny Hill Soundtrack.
I am Australian, I get British humour……this definitely was not that, this was just plain old Tacky…..do not waste your time on this absolute rubbish. Truly awful. I hope this idiot has changed jobs, he would be a passable Used Car Salesman, he could use all his tired attempts at humour.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star for the maybe 2 stories I enjoyed in the whole book. The author insists repeatedly that he has a "dark sense of humour" which does not explain his humourless anecdotes or his disrespectful and judgemental portrayal of his patients. Sometimes, a glimpse of a good story is seen and quickly negated his incessant over-explanations. Most often, he is either boring or just outright rude.
Concerningly, there are also descriptions of extreme unprofessionalism in apparently life threatening situations. Stick to Adam Kay for something similar but far superior.

[G M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like these kinds of real life stories, but this book barely achieved a two star rating. If you’ve read the dark side books, half of the anecdotes here are just repeats from those books. Add to that the very short number of pages, and it was clearly a struggle for this guy to find enough humour to fill a quarter of a book. Given how intense and self important he is in the other books I’m not surprised!

[Debbie Southwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate that the Author stated that some things may be distasteful to some readers however when I got to the part where it included the fact that someone had hung themselves and died when paramedics failed to investigate a noise in the woods next to their base I had to stop reading as I found this totally inappropriate and not humorous at all.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not remotely funny! I read the long winded anecdotes, waiting for the punch line, only to realise they’d passed me by. I don’t think the author is a natural writer. I was hoping for something of the quality of Adam Kay or Henry Marsh but no. I got bored and as an ex NHS worker I usually love writing like this.

[MISS R E PARKINSON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hold on to your sides

This book was so funny. It really gave me a good laugh. It is sensitivity done but also makes you laugh. The pictures are brilliant too. I would highly recommend this book if you need to a good laugh. There is a warning, be prepared for odd looks when reading around other people!

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and twisted

If you are easily offended this is not the book for you. Whilst most of the stories are light hearted and funny, there are a few that are twisted. Those with a dark sense of humour will get a good chuckle out of this book. It is a shame that 40% of it is a preview for the next book he has written.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

POT NOODLE

Having a dark sense of humour is what gets you through!

FAVOURITE bit of the book - I don’t think I will be able to eat a chicken and mushroom pot noodle again without a giggle!! That one cracked me up! 😂😂

TWOC - probably the best bit of sense ever knocked into him!

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't enjoy this one. Another review mentioned the authors professionalism alongside being funny, but I don't really feel like he was either. I found some stories to be quite judgemental of patients and their families and laughed maybe once or twice throughout the entire thing.

[Dominic Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Combination of quiet funny to not at all stories. Questionable patient ethics; honestly best part of the book was the bonus chapters at the end for his other 2 books. Defiantly going to be getting copies of his other works if those bonus chapters are anything to go off.

[Mrs R Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good as I hoped

Amusing but not funny. Similar to a carry on film in humour but without the visual .support. Crude cartoon could have been better. Glad I never called this paramedic out

[rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good laugh

Another well written book by Andy, filled with funny stories.
Don't miss out on this one, which is different from his other books, but still the same form of writing and storytelling

[Carole O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Funny true tales about being a Andy's life as a paramedic, there were a couple of sad stories, excellent and interesting book to spend a few hours with.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny

Its just a funny book and very honest. I enjoyed this it was good. Well worth the read. Would recommend

[krysty o'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic insight and really funny

Fantastic read great insight. Very funny at points. The nhs paramedics do a great job so it’s nice to see it’s not all bad

[Sophie Jee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny

Easy reading and very very amusing. A very welcome change if you want a small.break between to big heavy books

[Mrs S E Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

Good read , giving both the humorous and serious side to the role of a paramedic. Well done those lads and lasses

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading & a hilarious insight to the amazing paramedics we have. They deal with the harrowing & the tragic, but there's also the humorous side to them, whom as patients we tend not to see.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little book, took a while to get going, but got funnier towards the end.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repeated anecdotes from his other books and the last one-third of the book previews those books. What a waste of time and money.

[Ace · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all the doom and gloom we hear about the NHS lately, this is a lovingly hilarious take on why paramedics do the hard job we all rely on.

[Abby Hoggart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy this as much as his other books. I found the chapters to repeat themselves from this book to his other book which got a bit annoying at times.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had this as an audiobook for in the car. As someone who has worked within healthcare and understands no harm is meant by these tales, they were very humorous to listen to

[Chloe Bagnall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read via Audible