Why Doctor Essentials?
Doctor Essentials was born out of front line experience of paramedic life therefore if anyone understands the need for quality equipment it is Soly Raad- founder of Doctor Essentials and former paramedic with the Red Cross.
“When I was a paramedic with The Red Cross, it was a very special experience and changed my outlook towards life in general”.
Soly went through a rigorous training and educational journey that any first responder would experience, however it was as a volunteer, as opposed to a paid post. The job was, first and foremost, to serve the community through visiting elderly people who had no one. The Red Cross team would visit their homes, clean post op wounds and change bandages. Soly would also do rotating night shifts, across the week, where they were based at The Red Cross Centre to cover any emergencies 24/7.
“Each shift took a lot of hard work and preparation. We were constantly checking that the ambulances are fully ready for an emergency and restocking them after returning from each one. We also had constant refresher training and mock-up emergencies, so that we could be fully ready for any type of emergency that could come at any moment’s notice”
The emergencies that Soly attended to, ranged from the “simple” patient transport to a hospital to the terrible car accidents and near death cases that they had to attempt to revive on the way to a hospital.
“This is what gave me true insight into what first responders, doctors, nurses and all other front line staff do on a daily basis and drove my passion”.
On top of all that pressure, they had to save on equipment and disposables since their budget was limited as its sole source was community donations, therefore they had to make it last as long as possible.
“We always used to appreciate every donation we got, but we mostly appreciated high quality equipment and disposables that we received as it made our life much easier when we were out in the field.”