Contents

• Introduction 2
• Amphetamines 3
• Case Analysis 4
• Case Remedies 6
• Conclusion 7

Description

This assignment is based on the following case study –
Ben is a 20 year old Indigenous male patient residing in a small country town (900 people) with a highly transient young population. Ben has a history of Intravenous Drug Use (IVDU) and infective endocarditis (IE) with mitral vegetations and resultant scarring from an episode of IE about 18 months ago. Ben has also been diagnosed with adult onset ADHD and is known to have violent outbursts. The diagnosis of ADHD was made 12 months ago. Ben’s most recent hospital admissions have been for SVT (rate 250). In an attempt to control his ADHD, Ben has been prescribed Dexamphetamine. You often see Ben wandering the streets in town and have noted that he generally appears unwell and always appears ‘angry’.
You are the only paramedic stationed in the town with the nearest hospital located 90 minutes drive away. The town has a small medical clinic which is operated by Queensland Health and this is staffed with 1 RN on a Wednesday each week. A doctor attends at the clinic one day each month and this is generally for pre-booked appointments.
In the last 2 years you have noticed that there has been an increase in the number of drug and alcohol related incidents in the town. You are well aware that the town has a drug problem with many of the young people in town accessing alcohol and other illicit substances with many of the older permanent residents looking to you for advice in dealing with this issue.
The key substance misuse issues which you have identified in town consist of the following and you believe that Ben may be misusing one of these substances on a regular basis.
• Amphetamines
• Petrol/ Paint/Butane (Report on all 3)
• Marijuana
• Narcotics
• Cocaine
• MDMA/Ecstacy/GHB (Report on all 3)
Select one (1) of the six (6) substances listed above. Assume that Ben is misusing the substance/s you have selected and discuss the impact of this substance misuse on the provision of paramedical care to Ben specifically and to the broader community in the town. You are required to consider this issue in the wider multidisciplinary health care context and identify how you, as a clinician working in this community, will respond to this situation. This will require you to consider the role of nursing, medical and other support agencies as well as the roles of the ambulance paramedic in this area of practice.
To fully address the issues involved you will need to take a broad approach and draw on a wide range of resources from both within and outside of ambulance.