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WAS Ambulance Technician’s tragic death
inspires colleague to run London Marathon
The sudden death of a longserving
ambulance technician
has inspired one of his
colleagues to run the London
Marathon in his memory.
Nigel Dorsett will take on the
26.2-mile challenge as a tribute
to his colleague Phil Williams, an
Emergency Medical Technician based
in Welshpool, who died in February
while on duty.
Nigel’s t-shirt for the London Marathon
bears Phil’s professional pin number.
St John New Zealand’s second
annual Out of Hospital Cardiac
Arrest (OHCA) report shows
the organisation maintained a
strong 15% survival to hospital
discharge rate for patients who
are treated for cardiac arrest in
the year beginning 1 July 2014.
St John is New Zealand’s largest
emergency ambulance service,
serving around 4 million people or
approximately 90% of the country’s
population. Cardiac arrest is a
significant public health issue in New
Zealand with ischaemic heart disease
being the second most prevalent
cause of death; of the 38 people who
are treated for cardiac arrest by St
Plucky Nigel has never run a
marathon before, but completed the
Cardiff Half Marathon in March in
preparation for his challenge in the
English capital.
The 54-year-old, who works for
the Welsh Ambulance Service’s
Patient Care Service, and is based
in Newtown, said: “Until last year,
I wouldn’t even run for the bus,
and now I’m preparing to run a
marathon.
“I entered but I didn’t think I’d stand
a chance of securing a place, then
the letter landed on my mat and the
panic set in.”
Nigel signed up for the marathon
last year to raise funds for Macmillan
Cancer Support and the Bracken
Trust, a Powys-based charity that
supports those affected by cancer.
Following Phil’s tragic death, he
decided he also wanted to use his
marathon attempt to celebrate
the life of his friend and colleague,
and will bear Phil’s professional pin
number on his running vest.
John each week, 12 are successfully
resuscitated and transported to
hospital and six will later survive to
be discharged
Published December 2015, the
new OHCA data confirms St John’s
clinical processes continue to be
of a high standard and compare
favourably with similar ambulance
services internationally. The data
in the report will drive important
clinical improvements and processes.
New Zealand’s low rate of public
access to defibrillators remains an
issue. While 64% of patients had
bystander CPR performed, only 4%
of patients were defibrillated using a
public access defibrillator.
He added: “Phil and I only worked
together for a short time, but he was
a great guy and very approachable.
“This is my way of remembering Phil.
Let’s hope he can get me over the
finish line.”
Colleagues of Phil, who was 58 and
lived in Llanfechain with his partner,
were offered support via the Trust’s
Wellbeing Support Service following
his death.
Philip Pover, Clinical Team Leader at
the Welsh Ambulance Service, and
Phil’s manager, said: “Phil’s death came
as a huge shock to us all, and we still
can’t believe that he’s gone.
Paramedic Phil Williams, who died suddenly
in February.
St John New Zealand publishes second Out of Hospital
Cardiac Arrest report
OHCA data also identified that
Māori (New Zealand’s indigenous
people) are more at risk than non-
Māori. As a result the organisation
has developed the ‘Marae Out
of Hospital Cardiac Arrest
programme’, which will see St John
work with Māori communities
and maraes around NZ supporting
training and access to defibrillators
and CPR in 2016.
Demographic Findings
• The most common cause of
cardiac arrest was heart disease
(77%)
• 68% of cardiac arrests occur at
home and 19% happen in public
“Over the years, Phil helped
hundreds if not thousands of people,
many of whom would not be walking
around Wales today if it wasn’t for
his skill and dedication.
“He was a very intelligent, kind and
laid back man who had a lot of
respect from his peers.
“He is missed by all of us who had
the pleasure of knowing him.”
If you would like to sponsor
Nigel’s London Marathon attempt,
visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/
NigelDorsett
Nigel is also organising a raffle and
an auction on Saturday 14 May at
the Llanerch Inn in Llandrindod Wells,
the proceeds from which will be split
between the two charities and Phil’s
loved ones.
Nigel is appealing to anyone who
would like to donate a prize to
the auction to get in touch via his
Facebook page: ‘Nigel Marathon
Dorsett’
• Māori were
disproportionally
affected with a
higher incidence
of cardiac arrest (122.4) compared
with all other ethnic groups (less
than 90) per 100,000 person-years
• Applying CPR and rapid
defibrillation can increase a
patient’s chances of survival by up
to 40%
SCAS is proud to be the provider of Non-Emergency Patient
Transport Services across the Thames Valley region
South Central Ambulance
Service NHS Foundation Trust
(SCAS) is proud to announce
the start of the new contract
to provide the Non-Emergency
Patient Transport Service
(NEPTS) across the Thames
Valley region from April 2016.
This is a new contract which brings
together three existing contracts
covering Berkshire,
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
SCAS is the existing supplier for
these three contracts.
SCAS already operates the NEPTS
service across many parts of the
South Central region, providing
transport for people who are unable
to use public or other transport due
to their medical condition, and are:
• Attending hospital outpatient
clinics
• Being admitted to or discharged
from hospital wards
• Needing life-saving treatments
such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy
or renal dialysis or DVT treatment
SCAS has over 40 years of
experience of patient transport, and
in 2014/15 undertook over 500,000
patient journeys. A comprehensive
mobilisation plan for the contract,
managed by a dedicated project
team working closely with
representatives of the commissioning
group, has ensured a smooth transfer
to the new contract.
Director of Strategy, Business
Development, Communications
and Engagement for SCAS, James
Underhay, said: “We are really
The full Out-of-Hospital
Cardiac Arrest Report is
available at:
http://www.stjohn.org.nz/
Global/18_11_15_OHCA_
Report_2015_HQ_released.pdf
pleased to be providing the Non-
Emergency Patient Transport Service
across the Thames Valley and we
are determined to deliver the best
possible service to patients.
“I would like to thank all the people
who worked so hard to ensure
a smooth transition to the new
contract.”
The service is available to all patients
who meet the eligibility criteria,
which are in place to ensure that
resources are available to those
patients who need them most.
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94 Spring 2016 | Ambulancetoday