Ambulance

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Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust signs-up to
purchase its own ‘state-of-the-art’ helicopter
Thanks to the support of
the people and businesses of
Essex and Hertfordshire, the
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance
Trust (EHAAT) has reached
a milestone in its fundraising
– enabling the charity to
purchase its own helicopter
for the first time in its 20 year
history.
In March, Rob Forsyth, Chair of
Trustees at EHAAT signed the
contract with aircraft operator,
Medical Aviation Services (MAS) to
secure the purchase and operation
of the £6 million Agusta Westland
AW169 - the leading edge helicopter
for emergency medical service
operations.
A 10-year contract to lease an
MD902 Explorer was also approved.
The life-saving Charity takes
possession of both aircraft early next
EEAST completes regional CAD upgrade
A brand new system at the
point of a 999 call to help
improve the level of service to
patients has been installed at
the region’s ambulance service.
The new computer aided dispatch
system (CAD) is provided by
Cleric, a company specialising in the
development of computer software.
Executive Officer Jon Moore said it
was considered as an essential move
by bosses at the East of England
Ambulance Service NHS Trust
(EEAST): “It was a necessary step,
and an extremely positive one which
year and will be ready to fly in June
2017 as the leases on its current
aircraft come to an end.
The purchase was made possible
thanks to the support given to the
Charity by the people and businesses
of Essex & Hertfordshire, supported
by the Charity’s successful bid for
£1.5 million from the Government’s
Libor fund.
The Agusta Westland AW169 will
be the most advanced aircraft flying
within the East of England region’s
air ambulance services. Ideally suited
to life-saving missions, it offers the
maximum internal cabin space for
crew, patients and equipment so that,
even whilst flying, the Pre-Hospital
Care Doctors and Critical Care
Paramedics will have full access to
the patient if necessary.
It’s also capable of night flying, giving
the Charity the capability, if necessary,
is integral in aiding the Trust on the
road to recovery.”
He thanked the 450-plus-people
involved in the upgrading process
overall, which saw three regional
emergency operation centres
(EOCs) in Bedford, Norwich, and
to broaden its service into the hours
of darkness over the coming years.
The AW169 also boasts an Auxiliary
Power Unit (APU) to run clinical
equipment on the ground, including
the illumination of the cabin to assist
crews whilst working, and Digital
Automatic Flight Control to boost
safety.
Investment into new generation
aircraft will enhance the Charity’s
Air Ambulance provision both
operationally and clinically and will
bring huge benefits to the people of
Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding
areas.
Both aircraft will be flown and
maintained by Medical Aviation
Services (MAS) which has been
working in partnership with EHAAT
for the last ten years.
Henk Schaeken, Managing Director
of MAS, added: “EHAAT has selected
Chelmsford install the new CAD in
less than five months.
Jon added: “It was an ambitious
target we set ourselves but thanks
to the tireless effort of everyone
involved we have been able to
deliver at an extremely period. This
is one of the fastest implementations
of the ambulance service.”
The new system means that patients
will be dispatched ambulances in a
safer, more efficient, and appropriate
process that is more adept at dealing
with current levels of demand faced
by the ambulance service.
Blue Light Services launch North Yorkshire’s first Emergency
First Responder scheme
Fifteen retained firefighters
at Pickering, Helmsley and
Lythe are now responding to
life-threatening emergency
calls at the same time as
an ambulance, thanks to
the official launch of North
Yorkshire’s first Emergency
First Responder (EFR) scheme.
The pilot scheme is a joint initiative
between Yorkshire Ambulance
Service NHS Trust (YAS) and North
Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
(NYFRS). It follows the success of
the first scheme which has been
running in Humberside and the East
Riding of Yorkshire for the last two
years, the South Yorkshire scheme
which was launched in October
2015 and most recently the West
Yorkshire initiative.
Each EFR has been trained in basic
life support, cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) and oxygen
therapy. They are equipped with a
kit which includes oxygen and an
automated external defibrillator
(AED) to help patients in a medical
emergency such as a heart attack,
collapse or breathing difficulties.
An EFR will be dispatched at
the same time as an ambulance
and will not replace the usual
emergency medical response from
YAS. However, their location within
local communities could mean they
are nearer to the scene in those
first critical minutes of a medical
emergency, delivering life-saving care
until an ambulance clinician arrives.
Paul Stevens, Head of Community
Resilience at YAS said: “We have a
responsibility to ensure we explore
all available options to improve
clinical outcomes for people in
Yorkshire and we are delighted to be
working in partnership with WYFRS
on this Emergency First Responder
scheme.
“We have a very clear ambition
to improve the survival rate for
those people who suffer from a
cardiac arrest in the community
and we want to have world-class
levels of survival. The expansion of
this initiative is another important
element of this.
“North Yorkshire is already served by
our award-winning Community First
Responder teams who do a fantastic
job as volunteers in their local areas.
the latest and best possible aircraft
available and we are delighted to
be able to continue our partnership
with them. The Agusta Westland
AW169 will ensure the Charity’s
Helicopter Emergency Medical
Service (HEMS) crews will be able
to provide an even greater level of
service to the people of Essex and
Hertfordshire.”
The Agusta Westland 169 will arrive
in the UK in early 2017 and will
commence flying from June 2017.
For more visit information on
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance
Trust visit EHAAT.uk.com
Jon said: “We are already seeing
benefits which will enable us to
continue our improvement in the
coming months. The feedback from
staff that have been trained to use
the new system has been fantastic.”
Want to find out more
about how a 999 call works?
The Trust’s Its Your Call
information pages can be
found here:
/www.eastamb.nhs.uk/Newsand-Media/Campaigns/itsyour-call.htm
The addition of Emergency First
Responders has further strengthened
our response in these communities
and the two models work side-byside
to save more lives.
sponders are only available for
dispatch when staffing levels at their
Fire Station allow and the scheme
will not have an adverse impact on
fire cover. The scheme will be closely
monitored throughout the pilot and
fully evaluated prior to any decisions
being made about the long-term
future of the scheme.
Head of Risk Management Owen
Hayward from North Yorkshire
Fire & Rescue Service said: “We are
delighted to be part of this scheme
and believe that it will deliver real
benefits to people who require
medical assistance in these rural
areas.
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92 Spring 2016 | Ambulancetoday