Ambulance UK - April 2020

Volume 35 No. 2 

April 2020 

The best. 

DEDICATED TO THE AMBULANCE SERVICE AND ITS SUPPLIERS 

The best. Better. 

Introducing 

The next generation of power management & control from 

Ring Carnation 

www.ringcarnation.com 

Carnation est. 1995 

Twenty-four years proudly 

serving the Emergency Services

Celebrating 41 years of support 

for the emergency services 

Our thanks goes out to 

our wonderful NHS 

www.dsmedical.co.uk

CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Ambulance UK 

45 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

46 FEATURES 

46 Turbine technology to aid emergency responders in 

the fight against COVID-19 

48 NEWSLINE 

71 IN PERSON 

COVER STORY 

Ring Carnation stays open to support emergency services 

This issue edited by: 

Dr Matt House 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

48 High Street 

SWANLEY BR8 8BQ 

ADVERTISING: 

Terry Gardner, Brenda Pickering 

CIRCULATION: 

Media Publishing Company 

Media House, 48 High Street 

SWANLEY, Kent, BR8 8BQ 

Tel: 01322 660434 Fax: 01322 666539 

E: info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

www.ambulanceukonline.com 

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY: 

February, April, June, August, 

October, December 

Ring Carnation has announced that it is currently remaining open to ensure it can 

continue to serve ambulances and other emergency service vehicles with much-needed 

specialist equipment during this unprecedented time. 

These vehicles have increasing levels of auxiliary electrical equipment on-board, placing 

greater demand upon batteries. Ring Carnation services the emergency and specialist 

vehicle sectors with intelligent switching and power management systems to maintain 

correct battery power and help to keep essential equipment in operation. 

As a result, the Ring Carnation team is currently working flat out to deliver vital genisys 

components and other essential spare parts. 

Ring Carnation’s genisys programmable logic control systems are designed to monitor 

voltage levels and distribute power to where it is needed most, maintaining safe vehicle 

operation and allowing critical equipment to operate. 

Following strict social-distancing guidelines, staff levels have been reduced to three 

workers in the engineering production. Their main focus is to work on urgent orders for new 

ambulances that are currently in production for NHS Trusts up and down the country. 

Richard Yates, Sales Director at Ring Carnation, said: “First and foremost, the safety of 

our team is paramount, and we have taken the necessary precautions to look after those 

who are continuing to work. We offer our full support and praise to those on the frontlines 

tackling this pandemic head on, and it’s absolutely crucial that they have access to the 

correct equipment and can work uninterrupted and efficiently as possible. Ambulances 

and other emergency services are vital all year round, but now more than ever, it’s 

important that they can continue to operate as efficiently as possible. 

“We are monitoring Government updates daily and will keep all customers updated 

should anything change. In the meantime, we will continue to do all we can to offer our 

full support to customers requiring essential parts during these difficult circumstances.” 

COPYRIGHT: 

Media Publishing Company 

Media House 

48 High Street 

SWANLEY, Kent, BR8 8BQ 

PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: 

The views and opinions expressed in 

this issue are not necessarily those of 

the Publisher, the Editors or Media 

Publishing Company. 

Next Issue June 2020 

Subscription Information – April 2020 

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Do you have anything you would like to add or include? Please contact us and let us know. 

43

A Huge Thank You to The NHS from the 

Ambulance UK Junior Team 

Carys - Age 6 

Zoe - Age 7 

Luke - Age 10 

Joseph - Age 5 

Thank You 

Thank You 

Thank You 

Aoife - Age 4 

Charlotte - Age 3 

Rory - Age 2

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Who would have thought a few short weeks ago that we would be working and living 

as we are at the moment? Then my local trust was in the middle of a CQC inspection, 

looking in detail at every aspect of the way we work. We were asking ourselves, what 

is it that makes us responsive, and what do we do that is outstanding. 

Here we are, a few weeks later, and in the middle of a new reality. We no longer need to ask what evidence 

we have of responsiveness. Nor do we have to look too far to see what outstanding work is being done on a 

daily basis, by our clinicians and the rest of the NHS. 

“The way 

we have 

responded to 

this crisis as 

a system is 

outstanding. 

What we 

have seen 

over the last 

month has 

rewritten 

that book. 

It is truly 

amazing.” 

We’ve seen hospitals that usually run at over 100% capacity, create beds, space and equipment to such an 

extent that they are, as I write, running at well under 60% capacity. To add to that, there are now Nightingale 

hospitals and recovery units in operation, that weren’t even thought of a month ago. In the ambulance 

service we have seen non-emergency staff volunteer to do emergency work, and within a week being 

trained, inducted and working with our emergency clinicians. 

The way we have responded to this crisis as a system is outstanding. We have all seen change teams and 

transformation teams spend years trying to achieve things. What we have seen over the last month has 

rewritten that book. It is truly amazing. 

But for a system to make such drastic changes, it takes people. Ambulance clinicians have always been a 

flexible bunch. They learn to live with uncertainty. It comes from the work we do, and is in the genes of out 

of hospital work. At the moment, that pace of change is unprecedented. The PPE requirements alone have 

changed at least twice a week for the past three weeks. This combined with the paucity of equipment at 

times has naturally caused concern. I get that. But what I also see is that despite that concern; despite the 

lack of a perfect solution; amidst that uncertainty, our clinicians are still getting out there and getting the job 

done. As are our contact centre and control room staff. 

I’ve always been proud to work for the ambulance service and the NHS, and this crisis has proved that this 

pride was well-placed. No-one needs to look too far any more to see what makes the ambulance service 

and clinicians outstanding. 

So in finishing, I suppose I just need to say, wash your hands, keep your distance, and keep safe. I will see 

you on the other side. 

Dr Matt House, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 


For the latest Ambulance Service News visit: www.ambulancenewsdesk.com 

45

FEATURE 

TURBINE TECHNOLOGY TO AID EMERGENCY 

RESPONDERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 

Words: Danielle Marsh, Group Marketing Manager, The Ortus Group 

The Department of Health has chosen two industry leading 

pre-hospital ventilators from the Ortus Group, to assist 

the emergency services with patient treatment during the 

Coronavirus pandemic 

The Ortus Group has responded to the call to action for more ventilators 

to support the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The privately-owned UK company and leading supplier of life-saving 

Defibrillation and Ventilation products to the NHS, has secured 250 prehospital 

ventilators, with additional supplies in the pipeline. 

medical technology company has been developing industry leading 

devices for more than 45 years. The functions of these devices are 

perfectly compatible with each other and can be used with other 

portable systems including the corpuls3 defibrillator and patient 

monitor – also supplied by the Ortus Group. This allows defibrillation, 

monitoring, oxygen therapy, and ventilation to be combined. 

Following calls with the Department of Health and NHS supply chain, 

two WEINMANN pre-hospital ventilators have been selected to combat 

this outbreak and aid the emergency responders on the front line; The 

MEDUVENT Standard and the MEDUMAT Standard2. 

The Ortus Group has been supplying pre-hospital WEINMANN 

ventilators in the UK for over 10 years and has also secured these 

additional ventilators which are designed for use on emergency 

service vehicles, emergency helicopters, and airplanes, for vital patient 

transport. 

WEINMANN Ventilators 

WEINMANN is a leading European manufacturer of Ventilators and 

Suction devices for Emergency medicine. Based in Germany, the 

MEDUVENT Standard works without oxygen 

thanks to its turbine drive 

The MEDUVENT Standard is the newest addition to the WEINMANN 

ventilator portfolio and is one of the smallest turbine-driven ventilators in 

the world. 

In addition to the battery runtime of medical devices, a limited oxygen 

supply presents the greatest challenge for first responders. Thanks 

to the innovative military grade turbine technology the MEDUVENT 


46 

For more news visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com

FEATURE 

Standard ventilator can ventilate a patient completely without an external 

oxygen supply. If required, however, the patient can be supplied with 

additional oxygen at any time via the universally compatible oxygen inlet 

tube. 

The speed at which therapy can be delivered is often key for patient 

outcomes. Device operation is extremely straightforward and intuitive – 

allowing the operator to switch between patient groups (adult, child, or 

infant) with only a few steps. This ensures that the patient is taken care 

of as quickly and as safely as possible. 

The lightweight, 2kg device does not consume any oxygen for its 

own operation thanks to the smart utilisation of existing tank volumes. 

Oxygen is supplied through a simple inhalation tube – thus ensuring 

the patient’s oxygen supply isn’t compromised. This allows inspiratory 

oxygen concentrations of 21% to 100% to be achieved - all without the 

device consuming any itself. 

Designed specifically for patient transport, it is the smallest and lightest 

transport ventilator in its class. Equipped with pressure-controlled 

ventilation modes and monitoring options, it clearly visualises all the 

important respiratory parameters, such as display of pressure, flow and 

CO 2 

curves. 

The device offers more than just pure emergency ventilation, but also 

optimal care during transport of patients already being ventilated. Rapid 

Sequence Induction (RSI) mode provides optimal support functionality 

for prehospital induction of anaesthesia and is used if the patient needs 

to be intubated particularly quickly. 

MEDUMAT Standard2 is intuitive to operate, reliable in use and its 

integrated hygiene filter protects it from contamination, ultimately 

guaranteeing an unbeatable degree of safety for the patient, the user 

and the device itself! 

MEDUVENT Standard features an easy-to-replace hygiene filter to 

protect patients, staff, and the device from contamination by viruses or 

bacteria. 

Going further to facilitate the fight against 

Corona 

MEDUMAT Standard2 provides a completely 

new perspective on modern emergency and 

transport ventilation 

The MEDUMAT Standard2 is one of the more established 

WEINMANN ventilators, that offers maximum patient and user safety 

with different modes and options for invasive and non-invasive 

ventilation (NIV). 

To provide additional support for the UK and the rising demand for 

ventilators, the Ortus Group has been utilising current manufacturer 

partnerships to fulfil the demand. 

“We are working tirelessly with our partners to secure additional 

ventilators to help with patient treatment here in the UK, especially 

for those suffering from the devastating effects of COVID-19. These 

ventilators are already providing life-saving patient treatment globally 

and will play a vital role for the NHS in the UK” said the Ortus Group MD 

Craig Hall. 


Do you have anything you would like to add or include in Features? Please contact us and let us know. 

47

NEWSLINE 

WAA 

Looking back 

at Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance’s history 

in its 30th year 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance has 

produced a short video looking 

back at its history to mark its 

30th year of operation. 

Archive television footage, 

courtesy of ITV News and BBC 

Points West, is included in the 

video. 

The three types of helicopter 

used by Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

– a Bolkow, an MD 902 and the 

current Bell 429 – all feature. 

Also referenced are innovations, 

including being the first air 

ambulance to fly at night in the 

UK, carrying blood products 

on board and critical care skills 

training of its paramedics. 

More recent milestones included 

in the video are the charity’s move 

to its state-of-the-art airbase at 

Semington, near Melksham, and 

securing its own Air Operator 

Certificate for the Bell 429 

helicopter. 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s history 

is unique in the air ambulance 

industry because when it began it 

shared a helicopter with Wiltshire 

Police. 

The idea for a joint emergency 

services helicopter originated in 

1988 when a temporary helicopter 

hired by Wiltshire Police to use 

for its summer solstice operation 

at Stonehenge was used to airlift 

a woman who was seriously 

injured in a road traffic collision 

on the A350 at Beanacre, near 

Melksham. 

A full time joint air ambulance and 

police helicopter began operating 

on 15 March 1990, based at 

Wiltshire Police headquarters in 

Devizes. 

The joint helicopter partnership 

came to an end in December 

2014 with the establishment of the 

National Police Air Service. 

This resulted in a new era for 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance and on 9 

January 2015 it became a standalone 

air ambulance, using a Bell 

429 helicopter. 

David Philpott, chief executive 

of Wiltshire Air Ambulance, 

said: “The history of Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance is fascinating and we 

hope our supporters enjoy the 

video which looks back at how 

our service and charity developed. 

“We were one of the earliest 

air ambulances in the UK and 

are proud to serve Wiltshire 

and surrounding counties. Our 

strapline is ‘funded by you, 

flying for you’ and throughout 

our 30 years we have received 

tremendous support from the 

community which has enabled our 

crews to save countless lives. 

“We rely on donations to 

provide our essential Helicopter 

Emergency Medical Service 

(HEMS) and with the help of our 

supporters we want to be here 

to serve the next generation of 

people.” 

To view the history video, 

called Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

through the years, go to 

https://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=SWOkMMlGHXA 


Top (l-r); 15 March 1990, the ‘go live’ day for the full time joint emergency services helicopter shared by Wiltshire Police and 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance; The Bolkow helicopter. Bottom (l-r) ; the MD 902 helicopter; the Bell 429 helicopter. 

48 

For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com

NEWSLINE 

Ambulance service 

supports National 

Apprenticeship Week 

Highlighting the positive 

impact apprentices have on 

its workforce, North West 

Ambulance Service (NWAS) 

has been supporting National 

Apprenticeship Week and held 

a special event to celebrate 

learners who have completed 

their apprenticeships. 

National Apprenticeship Week is 

an annual week-long celebration 

of apprenticeships across 

England which took place from 

3 to 7 February 2020 and was a 

time to recognise and applaud 

apprenticeship success stories 

across the country. 

Since becoming an employer 

provider in May 2017, 

meaning the trust can deliver 

apprenticeships directly to its 

staff, over 400 apprentices have 

been recruited by NWAS with 

139 having now successfully 

completed. 

Throughout the week, NWAS used 

social media to promote the work 

of its apprentices highlighting the 

variety of roles they undertake. 

This included a live Facebook 

session with Emergency Medical 

Technician Paul Halsey who 

answered questions from viewers 

and spoke about his career 

journey with the ambulance 

service. 

A celebratory event was held on 

Thursday 6 January at Bolton 

Whites Hotel where emergency 

medical technicians who have 

recently completed their Level 2 

Associate Ambulance Practitioner 

apprenticeship were presented 

with their certificate of qualification 

by Deputy Chief Executive, 

Michael Forrest. 

As part of the event, Ben Davies 

from Chimp Management 

delivered a key note speech 

to attendees focusing on 

psychological well-being 

helping staff get the best out of 

themselves and others. 

Deputy Chief Executive Michael 

Forrest said: “I am extremely 

proud of each and every one 

of our apprentices. Not only 

have they thoroughly engaged 

with their learning but the care, 

compassion and commitment 

they have demonstrated is 

second to none. 

“We have apprentices in a variety 

of different operational and 

support roles across the trust 

with learners of all ages and 

backgrounds. Our Education 

and Learning Team supports 

apprentices every step of the way 

and helps them to be the best 

they can be.” 

Receiving a ‘good’ rating following 

a recent OFSTED inspection, 

NWAS became the first 

ambulance service in the country 

to recruit emergency medical 

dispatcher (EMD) apprentices 

when it welcomed the first 

seven learners to this course in 

November 2019. 

Having since recruited a further 

33 learners to this role who 

are due to start in the coming 

weeks, the apprentices will 

receive a nationally recognised 

apprenticeship standard in 

emergency contact handling and 

are all guaranteed a job upon 

successful completion. 

Speaking of his role, EMD 

Apprentice Sean O’Malley said: 

“The thing I love the most about 

my job is being a part of the 

NWAS family but also having a 

part to play in saving lives.” 

Within its corporate services, 

NWAS has apprentice positions in 

its ICT, communications, finance, 

learning and development, and 

workforce development teams 

with learning undertaken by 

external providers. 

All vacancies are advertised on 

the trust’s website 

www.nwas.nhs.uk/careers. 

PUBLISHERS STATEMENT 

On behalf of everyone involved in the production of Ambulance UK, I would like to thank 

our fantastic Ambulance Service Staff for the work you are undertaking in these difficult 

times and wish you and your families a safe return to normal activity. 

We hope during your few break out periods you will enjoy reading the contents of 

our latest issue which has been made possible by the following companies via their 

advertising support: 

Ring Carnation, DS Medical, Ortus, Intersurgical, Edesix, Zoll 

It goes without saying that your efforts will be remembered for many years to come and I 

sincerely hope you will all be recognised for your outstanding front line support. 

THANK YOU 

Terry Gardner 

Publisher - Ambulance UK 



49

FEATURE 

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Especially designed for the Emergency Medical Services, Armed Forces and Hospitals 

MEDUVENT Standard 

MEDUMAT Standard 2 


• Works with or without an oxygen 

supply. 

• The innovative turbine-driven 

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ventilation for approximately 8 

hours without requiring an external 

gas supply * . 

• Supplemental oxygen in 

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can be delivered to the patient at 

any time using the universally 

compatible inhalation tube. 

• Space-saving, lightweight and simple 

to operate: One of the smallest 

turbine-driven ventilators in the 

world. 

• Immediate overview of major 

ventilation parameters in a large 

colour display and parallel 

presentation of up to three 

monitoring curves. 

• Differentiated ventilation modes for 

high-quality ventilation. 

• PRVC mode provides lungprotecting 

ventilation at trusted 

volume-controlled settings. 

• Ideal for non-invasive ventilation. 

• Intuitive user navigation. 

• Uninterrupted ventilation even 

while changing to a new oxygen 

source. 

* Assuming typical ventilation settings for an adult patient 

Available to purchase via the NHS Supply Chain Framework 

FAG000015628 

50 


FEATURE 

Turbine Driven Ventilation 

MEDUVENT Standard 

Exclusively available to the UK market from the Ortus Group. 

Visit our website to find out more. 


www.theortusgroup.com 

Do you have anything you would like to add or include in Features? Please contact us and let us know. 

E: sales@theortusgroup.com 

T: +44 (0)845 4594705 

51

NEWSLINE 


Emergency Services 

in Humberside 

launch ‘Don’t Cross 

the Line’ campaign 

Humberside Fire and Rescue 

Service, Humberside Police, 

East Midlands Ambulance 

Service and Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service have 

launched their ‘Don’t Cross 

the Line’ campaign, which 

aims to reduce the number of 

attacks on emergency services 

workers. 

During the period of April 2018 

to March 2019, Humberside Fire 

and Rescue Service reported a 

total of 17 attacks. Of these, 11 

were attacks against firefighters. 

Of the total number of attacks, 

four of these attacks involved 

physical abuse, and nine involved 

objects being thrown at workers 

or vehicles. Objects include bricks 

and glass bottles and physical 

abuse includes punching and 

being spat at. 

During the same period, 

East Midlands Ambulance 

Service reported 168 attacks in 

Lincolnshire alone, and stated 100 

of these attacks were physical 

abuse from a patient aimed 

towards a staff member. 

Over the last two years Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust 

has seen a rise in the number 

of incidents against staff with a 

total of 1,242 reported in 2019 

and a fifth of these being physical 

assaults. 

From January 2018 to December 

2019, 999 Humberside Police 

officers were assaulted in the line 

of duty. This includes 265 in 2018 

and 734 in 2019. They have been 

punched, kicked, spat at, verbally 

abused and bitten, suffering 

bruising, cuts, swelling and even 

broken bones. 

Chris Blacksell, Chief Fire 

Officer and Chief Executive of 

Humberside Fire and Rescue 

Service said: “Attacks against 

our Service staff should never be 

accepted as part of the job; one 

attack is too many. 

“Our main aim with the Don’t 

Cross the Line campaign is to 

gather the support from members 

of our local community to prevent 

further attacks from happening. 

“I would encourage members 

of the public to share our vision 

in ensuring we protect our 

emergency service workers; 

who work to protect them and 

ultimately help to save lives. 

“We operate a zero tolerance 

approach to attacks on 

emergency services staff.” 

Lincolnshire Divisional Manager 

for East Midlands Ambulance 

Service, Sue Cousland said: 

“We are very supportive of this 

campaign as it will help challenge 

some of the unfortunate and 

unacceptable behaviour faced by 

our crews on a daily basis. 

“All of our frontline clinicians and 

staff who deal with the public 

either out on the road or in our 

control centre, chose a career with 

the ambulance service as they 

want to make a positive difference 

in their communities. 

“It is a very sad reflection that our 

staff often encounter verbal and 

physical abuse when they are just 

trying to do their job. 

“I am proud that the team, 

despite experiencing some of 

these challenges, continue to 

demonstrate a high level of 

resilience and professionalism 

and we need to ensure they are 

fully supported by campaigns 

such as this.” 

Paul Mudd, Divisional 

Commander of A&E Operations 

in East and North Yorkshire at 

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS 

Trust, said: “Verbal and physical 

abuse against any member of 

NHS or emergency services 

staff is completely unacceptable 

and we are doing everything we 

can to address this. These staff 

are highly trained professionals 

who are there to help those in 

need and deserve respect from 

everyone. 

“We’re delighted to support the 

Don’t Cross the Line campaign with 

our emergency service colleagues 

which we hope will raise the 

profile of unacceptable abuse and 

aggressive behaviour against staff 

and encourage all communities to 

protect their protectors.” 

Chief Constable Lee Freeman 

said: “Whilst we are the police 

and we do expect to run towards 

danger, it is not acceptable that 

we – or any of our colleagues in 

the other emergency services - 

experience violence whilst doing 

our job, and we must take a stand 

against this. 

“The levels of violence we’re 

experiencing can at times be 

extremely serious, and the 

personal impact on those 

assaulted should not be 

underestimated. 

“Police officers and staff are 

all real people with families. 

Every one of those injured is a 

mother, father, son, daughter or 

grandparent. They are victims 

of crime the same as anyone is, 

and their physical and mental 

wellbeing is affected by such 

experiences. 

“I have to protect my officers and 

staff, and every bit of support 

available will be given to anyone 

who is assaulted at work.” 

Emergency services staff who 

have suffered such intolerable 

abuse often suffer flashbacks or 

stress directly attributed to the 

incident and as such may require 

time off work. 

The campaign fully supports the 

Assaults on Emergency Workers 

(Offences) Act 2018, which sees 

a jail term of 12 months being 

handed to those who assault 

emergency services workers. 

#DontCrosstheLine 

YAS 

Yorkshire Ambulance 

Service is proud to 

invest in volunteers 

Yorkshire Ambulance Service 

NHS Trust has been recognised 

for good practice in volunteer 

management with the award 

of the nationally-recognised 

Investing in Volunteers UK 

quality standard. 

The service has more than 1,000 

volunteers working across the 

region and providing vital help 

and support to the service and the 

population it serves. They include 

Community First Responders, 

Patient Transport Service volunteer 

drivers and members of its Critical 

Friends Network. 

Chief Executive Rod Barnes said: 

“We are absolutely delighted 

to have secured this important 

accreditation. All our volunteers 

are a valuable and crucial part 

of our team and this standard 

is a way of recognising that and 

ensuring we maintain the highest 

standards for them in the future. 

“I would like to take this 

opportunity to thank every one of 

them for their time and dedication 

to the Trust and to the people of 

Yorkshire and the Humber.” 

The Investing in Volunteers 

standard has been designed to 

be a rigorous process to ensure 

that volunteers receive the best 

possible management support 

and organisations receive 

52 


NEWSLINE 

maximum benefit from their 

volunteers’ contribution. 

The standard’s nine indicators of 

good practice cover all aspects of 

volunteer involvement: 

• Planning for volunteer 

involvement. 

• Recruiting and matching 

volunteers. 

• Recognising and rewarding 

volunteers. 

As part of the accreditation 

process assessors spoke to 72 

volunteers as well as some of 

the Trust’s senior managers and 

staff who work directly with its 

volunteers. 

Volunteer case studies 

Dean Warburton, Rotherham, 

South Yorkshire 

Dean started volunteering as a 

Patient Transport Service (PTS) 

driver for Yorkshire Ambulance 

Service in 2016 and also 

volunteers in his local community 

as a Community First Responder. 

“I started volunteering after my 

Dad had a stroke. The ambulance 

crew who attended him were 

so brilliant. I wanted to give 

something back,” said Dean. 

“Being a PTS volunteer is a real 

passion of mine. To see the look 

on a patient’s face when you 

arrive at their front door or at the 

location of their clinic – they are 

so grateful. Knowing that you’ve 

taken them to an appointment 

they would otherwise have 

struggled to get to, to put them at 

ease, to know that you’ve made 

a difference, to see them smile at 

you, it’s just so rewarding. 

“There are no words to describe 

the rewards you get from doing 

this role. To get that ‘thank you’ 

from a grateful patient, or to get a 

patient safely to their appointment 

or home and to have made their 

day better for them is priceless.” 

Les Ford, Beverley, East 

Yorkshire 

Les started volunteering as a PTS 

volunteer for Yorkshire Ambulance 

Service in 2017. 

Les said: “I used to be a taxi driver, 

and felt that this would be a suitable 

volunteering role for me as I enjoy 

driving. However, in this role you’re 

not just driving – you’re spending 

a lot of time speaking to individual 

patients, often hearing about their 

ailments and sometimes their 

entire life story. As long as you are 

interested in life and people then 

this is a brilliant role! 

“I love that, in doing this role, I am 

able to help people that otherwise 

would struggle to even get to their 

appointment.” 

Nathan Greenwood, Dewsbury, 

West Yorkshire 

Nathan has always been 

interested in healthcare so took 

the opportunity to volunteer - and 

this was his first step to a career 

in the ambulance service. 

“I saw the Community First 

Responder role advertised and 

went for it. The training was good 

and I got to meet people with 

similar interests,” he said. 

“As a Community First Responder 

you are out and about in your 

local community and attending 

people before an ambulance crew 

arrives. The work is varied – for 

example you might just need 

to calm them down, deal with 

breathing problems or deal with a 

cardiac arrest. 

“I got to know a lot of the crews 

as I attended patients and 

through that I found out about 

the Emergency Care Assistant 

role so I applied and started in 

September 2019. This entrylevel 

role now gives me the 

opportunity to progress towards a 

paramedic.” 

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53

NEWSLINE 


recommended as a 

good place to work 

by staff 

Figures released from the 

NHS Staff Survey 2019 show a 

year on year increase in staff 

recommending North West 

Ambulance Service (NWAS) as 

a good place to work. 

Employing over 6,000 staff up 

and down the region from Crewe 

to Carlisle, the trust has focused 

heavily on health and wellbeing 

initiatives to support its workforce 

including signing the ‘Blue Light 

- Time to Change’ pledge to 

support mental wellbeing. 

Dedicated web pages have been 

set up give staff information 

and advice on staying happy, fit 

and healthy including podcasts, 

training and development 

opportunities as well as money 

saving discounts. 

The survey also found 

improvements in immediate 

managers and senior managers 

involving NWAS staff in important 

decisions, as well as giving clear 

them feedback on their work. 

Reviewing the feedback in 

comparison to other trusts in 

the ambulance sector, NWAS 

scored higher than average 

in terms of morale, quality of 

appraisals, quality of care and 

staff engagement. 

Nationally, results show that NHS 

staff say they are now happier and 

more likely to recommend their 

organisation as a place to work 

than last year. 

Lisa Ward, Interim Director of 

Organisational Development 

said: “We are really pleased 

with the results from this year’s 

NHS Staff Survey which has 

highlighted some really positive 

improvements. 

“Our amazing staff are what 

makes this organisation so 

special and their views are really 

important to us. 

“We have also placed great 

emphasis on supporting and 

raising awareness of the Freedom 

to Speak Up NHS whistleblowing 

policy and a zero tolerance to 

violence which has been reflected 

in the results. 

“It is also important that we 

use the results to highlight 

opportunities to learn and improve 

and although none of our results 

saw a significant negative change, 

the findings will now be used to 

support key improvement goals.” 

The survey findings will now be 

used as part of a new cultural 

improvement project alongside 

staff focus groups and individual 

interviews to collate information 

on how staff feel in order to make 

a significant difference. 

Responses were collected from 

2,774 NWAS staff members who 

completed the survey. 

Researchers to 

investigate method 

of growing new blood 

vessels 

A new treatment for stimulating 

the growth of new blood 

vessels in the heart will be 

investigated by researchers at 

the University of Bristol thanks 

to funding of over £100,000 

from national charity Heart 

Research UK. 

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NEWSLINE 

A heart attack is caused by 

a blockage of one or more 

coronary arteries of the heart, 

which prevents blood and oxygen 

reaching the heart muscle. 

awarded to the University of 

Bristol as part of Heart Research 

UK’s annual awards for research 

into the prevention, treatment 

and cure of heart disease. 

If paramedics can use this 

approach, breathlessness may 

be calmed more quickly and 

some people may not need to 

go to A&E. 

Treatment for heart attacks 

include reopening the blocked 

coronary artery with stents or 

bypass surgery, though there are 

limitations with these treatments. 

Reopening coronary arteries is 

often insufficient to achieve a 

complete salvage of the heart, 

and the damage caused by a 

heart attack can lead to heart 

failure. 

A potential new treatment is 

to increase the blood flow to 

damaged heart tissue by using 

drugs that encourage the body to 

grow new blood vessels. 

The project will be led by Prof 

Paolo Madeddu, Chair of 

Experimental Cardiovascular 

Medicine at the University 

of Bristol, who, along with his 

team, discovered that an excess 

of a protein called BACH1 can 

prevent blood vessel formation. 

Prof Madeddu and his team hope 

to show that the use of BACH1 

inhibitors can stimulate the 

growth of new blood vessels. If 

successful, this would be the first 

step in developing them into drug 

treatments for heart disease. 

This would result in improved 

quality of life and reduced risk of 

developing heart failure. 

Also, this treatment may benefit 

people suffering from other 

diseases where new vessel 

growth is needed, such as poor 

blood circulation in the legs, or 

damage to other organs, such as 

the kidney, brain and eyes. 

Prof Madeddu said: “The use 

of BACH1 inhibitors is a very 

promising area of study that 

promises to have a huge impact 

on the way that we treat a wide 

range of conditions. 

“If we are successful, the door 

will be opened for a whole new 

method of treating people who 

have suffered damage to their 

hearts. The ability to stimulate 

the growth of new blood vessels 

will allow us to drastically 

improve the quality of life of 

patients who may be at risk of 

heart failure. 

“We’re very grateful to Heart 

Research UK for allowing us to 

undertake this research.” 

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief 

Executive of Heart Research UK, 

said: “We are delighted to be 

supporting the research of Prof 

Madeddu and his team, which 

has the potential to significantly 

reduce the risk of people 

developing heart failure after a 

heart attack. 

“Our Translational Research 

Project Grants are all about 

bridging the gap between 

laboratory-based scientific 

research and patient care - 

they aim to bring the latest 

developments to patients as 

soon as possible. 

“The dedication we see 

from UK researchers is both 

encouraging and impressive 

and Heart Research UK is so 

proud to be part of it.” 

The £107,726 Translational 

Research Project grant was 

Last year, Heart Research UK 

awarded more than £1.6 million 

in grants for medical research 

projects across the UK. To 

date, the charity has invested 

more than £25 million in 

medical research via its grants 

programme. 

YAS 

Yorkshire Ambulance 

Service is testing 

new ways to 

support people with 

breathlessness 

Paramedics at Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service are 

taking part in a new National 

Institute for Health Research 

(NIHR) funded study to see 

if training in techniques to 

ease breathlessness will help 

more people stay at home 

rather than being conveyed to 

hospital. 

Breathlessness is one of the 

symptoms paramedics are 

frequently called out for. It is 

common in people with heart 

and lung conditions and can 

become very severe and 

frightening. When this happens 

patients or family members 

often call for ambulance 

assistance. 

In a recent study, it was 

found that one in five of all 

people taken by ambulance to 

Accident and Emergency (A&E) 

departments called for help 

because of breathlessness. 

However, a third of these did 

not need to stay in hospital and 

were discharged home. There 

are ways of managing severe 

breathlessness that could 

be used in a patient’s home. 

To test this approach in more 

detail Yorkshire Ambulance 

Service NHS Trust is part of 

the BREATHE (Breathlessness 

RElief AT HomE) study, a 

collaboration between the Trust 

and the Universities of Hull, York 

and Sheffield, with support from 

the British Lung Foundation. 

Eight paramedics working in the 

Hull area are taking part over 

the next six months. Four will 

be trained to use techniques 

to reduce breathlessness that 

do not involve any medications 

and four will treat patients as 

usual. All patients who become 

involved in the study will agree 

to take part. 

Fiona Bell, Acting Head 

of Research at Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust, 

said: “This is a first, finding out 

whether paramedics can use 

an intervention which is widely 

used in hospitals and in the 

community. If it is successful 

there are obvious benefits 

for patients and for the whole 

urgent and emergency care 

system.” 

Dr Ann Hutchinson, Research 

Fellow at the University of 

Hull, said: “This is a great 

opportunity to see if our 

research findings on what 

patients need, when they are 

severely breathless, can be 

implemented by paramedics. 

Once we have done this, we will 

be able to design a study to test 

how effective this intervention 

is in enabling some people to 

stay at home where possible, 

thus reducing the need for 

conveyance to hospital – 

easing the burden on patients, 

their families, the ambulance 

services and the hospitals.” 



55

NEWSLINE 


WAA 

Pioneering aircrew 

visit Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance 

FORMER crew members of 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance paid a 

special visit to see the charity’s 

airbase. 

The visit was arranged as part 

of Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s 

30th birthday year and many of 

the pilots, police officers and 

paramedics who attended were 

part of the early, pioneering 

aircrew. 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s history 

is unique in the air ambulance 

industry because when it began it 

shared a helicopter with Wiltshire 

Police. 

The pilots, police officers and 

paramedics worked at the Air 

Support Unit (ASU), which 

operated the helicopter shared 

by Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance from 15 March 

1990 to 31 December 2014. The 

crew configuration was a pilot, a 

police observer and a paramedic. 

In January 2015 Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance became a standalone 

air ambulance using a 

Bell 429 helicopter and in May 

2018 the charity moved into 

its purpose-built airbase at 

Semington, near Melksham. 

During the visit to the airbase 

earlier this year the former 

aircrew saw the advances that 

have taken place in both aviation 

and medical care. 

Among those who visited was 

pilot John Ball, who worked at the 

ASU for seven years from 1990. 

Now retired and living in Scotland 

he said: “It was great to be part 

of the ASU and to work there at 

the beginning. As we were the 

first joint police helicopter and 

air ambulance in this country we 

felt we were pioneers and other 

police forces and ambulance 

services visited us to see how we 

worked. 

“To be able to give patients a 

much better chance of survival 

because of the speed and 

flexibility of the aircraft was a great 

advantage.” 

Reflecting on the facilities at 

the airbase he added: “It’s 

amazing. What we see now is 

the progression of Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance and how technology 

has moved on.” 

Another visitor was paramedic 

Alan Morris, who first worked at 

the ASU from 1990 to 1993. He 

latterly became an operations 

manager for the ambulance 

service in Wiltshire and his 

responsibilities included air 

support. 

Alan, who is retired and lives in 

Warminster, Wiltshire, said: “There 

was a selection process for 

paramedics to work on Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance and from the 

beginning those of us who worked 

on it didn’t want to be seen as 

someone special. We wanted to 

be accepted by the rest of our 

ambulance colleagues in Wiltshire 

as paramedics, but we were using 

a different mode of transport. 

“We had a great rapport with the 

pilots and the police observers at 

the ASU – everyone did their bit. 

We saw it as an honour to work 

there and we were ambassadors 

for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and 

Wiltshire Police. 

“As time went on the paramedics 

on Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

developed additional skills and 

this improved the service to the 

public. The ambulance service 

gives a good grounding for 

paramedics before they work on 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance and long 

may it continue.” 

Police officer, Inspector Brian 

Murdoch, was involved in setting 

up the ASU and was in charge 

of it when it began operating fulltime 

from 1990 and worked there 

until 1993. 

Speaking during the visit he 

said: “It was wonderful working 

on the joint helicopter. Wiltshire 

Police’s motto was ‘first and best’ 

and we laid claim to that for the 

ASU because we were the first 

combined police helicopter and 

air ambulance in the country.” 

Brian, who is retired and lives near 

Salisbury, Wiltshire, added: “It’s 

wonderful to see how Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance has developed. While 

technology has moved on, what 

hasn’t changed among the team 

is the nucleus of professionalism, 

enthusiasm and commitment.” 

Kevin Reed, a former police officer 

who worked at the ASU and is 

now head of facilities and security 

at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: 

“It was a privilege to welcome 

former crew members to our 

airbase. Many of them had not 

seen each other since working 

together in the early 1990s so 

it was a great opportunity to 

catch up and reminisce on their 

experiences in those early and 

pioneering years. 

“We owe everyone who worked 

at the ASU our gratitude, as 

collectively they helped paved 

the way for the development 

of Wiltshire Air Ambulance to 

what it is today - a stand-alone 

air ambulance delivering critical 

care to people who are seriously 

injured or unwell.” 

KSS 

Air ambulance KSS 

rated outstanding 

in all 5 key lines of 

enquiry by CQC 

Air Ambulance Kent Surrey 

Sussex (KSS) has been rated 

outstanding by the Care Quality 

Commission (CQC) across all 

five of its inspection key lines of 

enquiry - a level only achieved 

by a very small proportion 

of the UK’s CQC-inspected 

healthcare organisations. It is 

the first Helicopter Emergency 

Medical Service to achieve this 

top rating in all categories/ key 

lines of enquiry. 

Inspectors rated KSS, a 

registered charity, as outstanding 

for being safe, effective, caring, 

responsive and well-led – the 

five key areas which form the 

framework of the inspection. 

Whilst KSS has been registered 

since 2011 this is this first time 

the regulations have allowed the 

CQC to give a rating. 

The CQC report highlights a wide 

range of outstanding practices 

at KSS including the service’s 

‘strong leadership’, ‘thoroughly 

patient focused team,’ ‘open 

culture to reporting all types of 

incidents,’ ‘highly motivated staff’ 

and ‘strong, comprehensive 

systems and processes.’ 

KSS’s collaboration with local, 

national and international partner 

organisations to help improve 

services to patients was also 

singled out. Inspectors praised 

KSS’s engagement with its 

partners such as local NHS trusts 

and the Ministry of Defence. 

They also noted that the 

continuing development of 

staff skills, competence and 

knowledge was ‘integral to 

ensuring high quality care’. All 

staff were ‘actively involved in 

activities to monitor and improve 

quality and outcomes’ and there 

was a focus on ‘openness, 

transparency and learning.’ 

The inspectors were impressed 

by KSS’s continual focus on 

the ‘safe use of innovative and 

pioneering approaches to care.’ 

This included the service’s 

56 


NEWSLINE 

research into new methods of 

treatments and innovative ways 

to make patient information 

more easily available to all staff 

providing care in order to deliver 

more efficient and cohesive 

treatment and care of patients. 

Commenting, David Welch, 

Chief Executive of KSS, said: 

“Receiving an outstanding 

rating from the CQC across 

the board is testament to the 

dedication and commitment of 

our exceptional team, who work 

tirelessly to ensure the right 

treatments and best possible 

outcomes for our patients. 

My sincere thanks go to every 

single member of Team KSS - 

staff, volunteers, partners and 

stakeholders - all of whom have 

contributed to this amazing 

achievement.” 

“I am incredibly proud 

and privileged to lead our 

outstanding team who show 

an exceptional commitment to 

our patients and to supporting 

one another ‘the KSS Way’ 

with people at the heart of 

everything we do. Our health 

service is currently faced with 

an unprecedented challenge 

and we are exploring new 

ways that we can best deploy 

our experience, expertise and 

resources to support the NHS 

and the wider community at such 

a critical time.” 

Dr Helen Bowcock, Chair of the 

Board of Trustees, added: “As 

a Board we congratulate our 

teams for receiving so many 

commendations including on our 

open and collaborative culture, 

our holistic approach to care 

and the cohesion throughout our 

organisation. We were honoured 

to receive a visit from HRH The 

Princess Royal in February to 

mark our 30th anniversary and 

now have the honour of being 

rated Outstanding by the CQC.” 

Dr Nigel Acheson, Deputy Chief 

Inspector of Hospitals (London 

and South), said: “The service 

has a vision for what it wanted to 

achieve and a strategy to turn it 

into an action, developed with all 

relevant stakeholders. Feedback 

from people who use the service 

was continually positive about 

the way staff treat people; they 

thought that staff went the extra 

mile and the care they received 

exceeded their expectations.” 

Philip Astle, CEO of South East 

Coast Ambulance Foundation 

Trust, said: “I am incredibly 

proud to be a partner of KSS and 

the fact that the CQC have rated 

them so highly is absolutely no 

surprise to those of us who work 

closely with them. They are a 

team full of people who strive 

for excellence, are innovative, 

enthusiastic and tireless in their 

search to improve patient care. 

They are fantastic partners who 

always seek to maximise the 

effect of that partnership rather 

than seek organisational gain.” 

Operating out of Redhill 

Aerodrome and headquartered 

in Rochester, KSS provides 

world-leading pre-hospital 

emergency care whenever and 

wherever required to save lives 

and to enable the best possible 

patient outcomes. Covering 

Kent, Surrey and Sussex, KSS 

serves a population of 4.8 million 

plus those who travel through the 

area – one of the busiest in the 

UK. Its crews of pilots, doctors 

and paramedics fly over 2,500 

missions a year, and it was the 

first, and only, UK Air Ambulance 

to operate its helicopters 24/7. 

Of the more than £14m needed 

to sustain the service each year, 

89% is raised by public donation 

and fundraising. 

The CQC is the independent 

regulator of all health and 

social services in England. 

The inspection was carried out 

at KSS’s Redhill Aerodrome 

premises in January 2020. 

A copy of the CQC report is 

available at www.cqc.org.uk 

For further information about Air 

Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex: 

www.aaks.org.uk 

@airambulancekss 

St John Ambulance 

Joins the Independent 


Association 

The IAA is pleased to welcome 

newest addition 

St John Ambulance has joined 

the Independent Ambulance 

Association, having passed all 

vetting and background checks 

required for membership, 

including the requirements of 

the Care Quality Commission. 

St John Ambulance is assessed 

against the same criteria as UK 

Ambulance Trusts by the Care 

Quality Commission, including 

the additional checks required for 

those organisations providing a 

999-emergency service. 

Alan Howson, Executive 

Chairman of the IAA comments: 

“We’re absolutely delighted to 

welcome St John Ambulance 

as Members of the Association. 

St John Ambulance enjoys an 

excellent and deserved reputation 

for providing ambulance and 

community-based services. 

Having participated in one of their 

National Operation Meetings I 

was struck by the dedication and 

passion of the staff to their work 

and their commitment to ensuring 

high standards of care and 

service delivery. 

As the largest independent 

ambulance provider in England, 

St John Ambulance brings 

a wealth of experience of 

ambulance provision and training 

standards, and we look forward to 

them playing a full role in the work 

of the Association going forward.” 

Craig Harman, National 

Ambulance & Community 

Response Director, St John 

Ambulance adds: “As a 

national ambulance service, 

we understand the challenges 

of delivering ambulance care 

right across the country. Joining 

the Independent Ambulance 

Association enables us to share 

our experience and to work in 

partnership to drive continuous 

improvement in the services and 

care provided by ambulance 

clinicians. Working together will 

help us deliver on our strategic 

intent to drive standards in the 

independent ambulance sector 

and within event medicine.” 

“We’re 

absolutely 

delighted to 

welcome 

St John 

Ambulance as 

Members of the 

Association. 

St John 


enjoys an 

excellent and 

deserved 

reputation 

for providing 

ambulance and 

communitybased 

services.” 



57

NEWSLINE 

YAS 

Patient thanks the 

ambulance crew who 

saved his life 

I’ll be eternally grateful,” said 

a Hull grandad when he was 

reunited with the Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service team who 

saved his life. 

In January, Rob Thomas was 

walking to his home in West Hull 

when he felt unwell. The next thing 

he remembers is waking up in 

hospital after suffering a cardiac 

arrest. 

Fortunately when he collapsed, 

midwife Jess Westcott was 

passing and started administering 

CPR. Off-duty Sutton Fields 

paramedic Ben Mays also 

happened to be driving past and 

stopped to help with the lifesaving 

attempt. 

Ben said: “I was at the traffic lights 

and saw someone performing 

CPR so I pulled over and went 

to help. Rob had no pulse and 

wasn’t breathing so we continued 

CPR until my colleagues arrived.” 

Paul Cooke and Charlotte 

Smith, based at Sutton Fields 

Ambulance Station, were first 

on scene, followed by Flossy 

Roberts-Graham and Corinna 

Page, based at Brough, and Hull 

West Red Arrest Team paramedic 

Steve Dawber. 

Seventy-four-year-old Rob said 

it was a blessing in disguise he 

collapsed where he did, as if it 

had happened at home, his wife, 

who has MS, would have been 

unable to help him. 

“I just can’t tell you enough how 

fantastic these people are,” 

said Rob, who visited Hull West 

Ambulance Station to be reunited 

with some of his life-savers on 10 

March. “I’ll be eternally grateful 

to everyone, from the off-duty 

midwife and paramedic who 

stopped initially, to the ambulance 

crews and the staff at Castle Hill 

Hospital, everyone has been 

marvellous, I can’t speak highly 

enough of them.” 

Steve Dawber said: “The fact that 

the off-duty midwife and Ben were 

there so quickly to start CPR gave 

Rob the best possible chance of 

survival, but you don’t have to be 

a healthcare professional to help, 

CPR is something that anyone 

can learn. If someone collapses in 

cardiac arrest, they have a one in 

ten chance of surviving. If they get 

immediate CPR and defibrillation, 

their chances can triple.” 

Rob was discharged after 

undergoing a triple heart 

bypass at Castle Hill Hospital 

in Cottingham. He is now 

convalescing with his daughter 

and son-in-law and is recovering 

well. 

Yorkshire Ambulance Service 

provides free CPR training to 

around 45,000 students at 

secondary schools on Restart a 

Heart Day every year. Secondary 

schools have until 3 April to sign 

up to be part the event on Friday 

16 October 2020. To register your 

school, visit 

www.restartaheart.yas.nhs.uk 

NWAS 

Have-a-go heroes 

praised by 

ambulance service 

Figures released by North West 

Ambulance Service (NWAS) 

show that more bystanders 

than ever before are attempting 

to save the lives of people in 

cardiac arrest. 

A cardiac arrest is when the heart 

suddenly stops pumping blood 

round the body, starving the 

brain of oxygen and causing the 

patient to fall unconscious and 

stop breathing. 

A report from the ambulance 

service revealed that bystander 

CPR took place in 8 out of 10 

cases of cardiac arrest last year; 

a figure that stood at just over 5 

out of 10 cases in 2014. 

Chest compressions, rescue 

breaths and use of a defibrillator 

are the only way to help a person 

in cardiac arrest – without these 

interventions the person will die. 

Use of publicly accessible 

defibrillators has more than 

quadrupled in the past five years, 

but remains relatively low with 

community-based defibrillators 

used on just 9.5 percent of the 

eligible 3,591 patients. 


Where resuscitation was 

attempted, men accounted for 65 

percent of cardiac arrest patients 

and women 35 percent, with 66 

years-old the average age of 

victims. However, cardiac arrest 

can happen to anyone at any 

time - 86 patients were children. 

It takes the ambulance service six 

minutes on average to respond 

to these emergencies. But a 

58 


NEWSLINE 

person’s chance of survival 

decreased by around 10 percent 

for every minute that passes 

without a resuscitation attempt. 

Around 1 in 10 people survive 

an out of hospital cardiac arrest 

but where members of the public 

stepped in and successfully 

resuscitated a patient before the 

ambulance arrived, three quarters 

of people survived and were 

discharged from hospital. 

Those resuscitated by a member 

of the public with defibrillator 

from the community were twice 

as likely to survive as those 

resuscitated by the ambulance 

service, showing that speed is of 

the essence in these situations. 

With members of the public 

able to make a real difference 

to the lives of people in their 

communities, North West 

Ambulance Service has 

launched its new ‘CardiacSmart’ 

accreditation scheme to 

celebrate and recognise those 

who actively help to increase 

survival rates from cardiac arrest. 

Organisations, businesses, 

schools and other publicly 

accessible locations are invited to 

apply for CardiacSmart status by 

taking active steps to make their 

community safer and healthier. 

Successful applicants will 

be awarded one of three 

levels of accreditation status; 

accredited, accredited+ and 

accredited partner, all of which 

are determined by specific 

criteria. This includes having 

a readily available defibrillator 

that is checked and maintained 

regularly and making a 

commitment to providing lifesaving 

training. 

Accredited+ status is awarded 

to those who have a defibrillator 

accessible to the community on 

a 24 hour basis by storing it on 

the outside of a building in an 

appropriate cabinet or space 

within their building. 

Accredited partners are groups 

and communities that champion 

the ethos of CardiacSmart with a 

sustained effort in the long term. 

They continuously promote basic 

life-support skills, hold awareness 

sessions to give people the 

confidence to help a person in 

cardiac arrest and arrange for the 

placement of defibrillators. 

All of those who achieve 

accreditation will receive a 

certificate, a memorandum of 

understanding signed by both 

parties and publicity materials 

to help promote their life-saving 

status. 

Paramedic Community 

Engagement Manager, David 

McNally, said: “Every second 

counts in a cardiac arrest so it’s 

so important that people in the 

community step-in and begin the 

simple but life-saving treatment as 

soon as possible. 

“Doing CPR is the first step – it 

pushes oxygen around the body 

to prevent or limit damage to 

vital organs such as the brain. 

Defibrillators make the biggest 

difference and are incredibly 

easy to use as they speak to you 

and tell you exactly what to do. 

They will only deliver a shock 

to someone who needs it – you 

cannot get it wrong. 

“The increasing numbers of 

people in the North West of 

England willing to help in these 

situations is something we should 

all be incredibly proud of. Through 

our cardiac smart accreditation 

scheme, we will recognise 

those places that make their 

communities safer and healthier 

by promoting life-saving skills and 

having rescue-ready defibrillators 

available for nearby emergencies. 

“Those who achieve accreditation 

will belong to a growing network 

of potential lifesavers and 

will receive support from the 

ambulance service to ensure they 

are able and prepared to save 

lives.” 

Details of how to apply for the 

accreditation scheme can be 

found at www.nwas.nhs.uk/ 

cardiacsmart. 

AA launches free 

breakdown service 

for all NHS workers 

during Coronavirus 

crisis 

• The AA will keep NHS 

workers on the move for free 

during the COVID-19 crisis 

• Patrols will help NHS staff 

who break down on their way 

to or from work 

• A dedicated phone line has 

been set up on 0800 0725064 

The AA is launching a free 

breakdown service for NHS 

workers during the Coronavirus 

(COVID-19) crisis. 

From Thursday (2 April), NHS 

staff who break down on their 

way to or from work will be able to 

call for help, whether or not they 

are an AA member. A dedicated 

hotline has been set up on 0800 

0725064. 

The service, which is available to 

anyone with an NHS ID, includes 

free recovery to and from work as 

well as help if they break down at 

home. 

Simon Breakwell, AA chief 

executive officer, said: “We all 

recognise that everyone across 

the NHS is doing an absolutely 

vital job and we want to help 

them. 

“The last thing they need to worry 

about right now is a breakdown, 

so we’re pleased to be able to 

help them with free recovery to 

and from work for as long as the 

current crisis continues. 

“The idea came from numerous 

suggestions from our people 

indicating that the NHS are there 

for us, so we want to be there for 

them. 

“This applies to everyone in the 

NHS from cleaners, porters, 

nurses to surgeons, as they are 

all crucial. Like the entire nation, 

everyone at the AA is incredibly 

proud of the work and dedication 

of the NHS. We salute them and 

hope this assistance will help 

them.” 

Transport Secretary Grant 

Shapps, said: “As we look to do 

everything possible to combat 

coronavirus, it’s crucial that we 

put provisions in place so our 

NHS workers can focus on giving 

life-saving treatment in hospitals. 

“Offering free breakdown service 

support will keep health workers 

moving and is a fantastic example 

of how organisations are pulling 

together during this crisis.” 

Garrett Emmerson, London 

Ambulance Service chief 

executive said: “It is vital that 

all our key NHS people get to 

and from their essential work 

every day. It is very reassuring to 

know that the AA will be looking 

out for us should we need their 

breakdown assistance to help us 

along the way.” 

The offer will be available to the 

approximate 1.5 million NHS 

workers across the UK* while the 

crisis continues and reviewed on 

a regular basis. 

NHS people are encouraged to 

register on-line at www.theAA. 

com/nhs ** to receive an SMS 

message with the dedicated 

phone number to speed up any 

breakdown response, but they will 

still be able to get help from the 

AA if they have not registered. 


Do you have anything you would like to add or include in Newsline? Please contact us and let us know. 

59

NEWSLINE 


Knife crime related 

missions at an all 

time high 

New figures reveal the extent 

knife crime is having on the 

front line of our emergency 

services. 

According to statistics from the 

charity Air Ambulance Kent Surrey 

Sussex (AAKSS) knife crime is 

becoming a part of everyday 

shifts for AAKSS crew members. 

Since 2013, the paramedics 

and doctors of AAKSS have 

responded to over 400 critical 

knife crime related call outs. 

The figures reveal AAKSS critical 

missions across Kent, Surrey and 

Sussex related to knife crime were 

at an all-time high between June 

2018 and June 2019. These were 

in line with a recent report from 

the Office of National Statistics 

(ONS) that revealed knife crime 

has risen to its highest levels in 

eight years. 

Between June 2018 and June 

2019, there were 75 knife related 

critical pre-hospital cases across 

the four counties. It was the worst 

year of knife crime related call 

outs in five years; and an increase 

of 32% since 2013, when 57 

critical knife crime cases were 

responded to. 

The data also shows a rise in the 

proportion of knife crime victims 

treated by AAKSS who are female, 

increasing to 12% last year – its 

highest recorded level. 

According to the figures the 

highest number of victims of knife 

crime that needed critical care 

from AAKSS across Kent, Surrey 

and Sussex were in their thirties. 

9% of critical knife crime victims 

across Kent, Surrey and Sussex 

were aged 18 and under, more 

than a third (35%) were aged 

between 19-29, and over a quarter 

(27%) were in their thirties aged 

between 30-39. A further 16 % of 

victims were aged between 40-49, 

8% aged 50-59, 2% aged 60-69 

and 3% were in their seventies. 

Responding to the figures, 

Dr Magnus Nelson, a HEMS 

Consultant with Air Ambulance 

Kent Surrey and Sussex, said: “It 

is concerning that we have seen 

this rise in our region and we know, 

that as part of our response to 

this we will continue to work with 

partners to support not only the 

immediate care for victims, but 

our engagement with partners and 

strategies to look at the longer term 

reduction in this type of violence. 

“Our role in the treatment of 

the victims of this type of crime 

recognises the importance of 

being available 24 hours a day to 

provide a response region wide. 

Our teams offer the high acuity 

clinical interventions sometimes 

necessary to treat and stabilise 

patients along with the ability 

to rapidly transport them to the 

region’s Major Trauma Centres. 

“These cases are always 

challenging and the existing 

ability of our teams to work with 

the other emergency services to 

make a positive difference is vital 

in good clinical outcomes.” 

For further information on the work 

of Air Ambulance Kent Surrey 

Sussex visit: www.aakss.org.uk. 

Project to predict 

cardiovascular 

events at University 

of Manchester 

receives Heart 

Research UK grant 

A project at the University of 

Manchester aiming to develop 

a new tool for predicting the 

risk of a cardiovascular event 

or death in patients who have 

already suffered a heart attack 

has received a grant of almost 

£150,000 from national charity 

Heart Research UK. 

In the UK, around 7 million people 

are living with cardiovascular 

disease (CVD), which is 

responsible for one in four deaths. 

People with CVD are up to five 

times more likely to have a stroke, 

are six times more likely to die 

compared to those without, and 

up to half of them suffer a second 

heart attack. 

There are currently no methods 

to predict the risk in this group 

of patients, so there is an urgent 

need for such tools to help assess 

the risk of future cardiovascular 

events and deaths in patients who 

already have CVD. 

The project, which will be led by 

Prof Mamas Mamas, Professor of 

Cardiology at Keele University and 

Honorary Professor of Population 

Health at the University of 

Manchester, will use medical data 

to develop a tool that predicts 

the risk of a future cardiovascular 

event or death, in people who 

have already had a heart attack 

with the aim of improving care of 

patients with CVD. 

The development of such a tool 

would improve the quality of care 

for patients with CVD by helping 

GPs to identify patients at higher 

risk of future cardiovascular 

events and death, meaning that 

lifestyle changes can be made 

or appropriate medical treatment 

given to reduce their risk. 

Prof Mamas said: “This is an 

incredibly exciting project that we 

hope will be able to make a real 

difference to survivors of heart 

attacks. If we can accurately 

predict the likelihood of them 

suffering another cardiovascular 

event, then we can intervene early 

and hopefully reduce their risk. 

“This will not only help to improve 

their quality of life, but could 

ensure that patients receive 

care tailored to their condition, 

increasing its effectiveness and 

helping to reduce the strain on our 

health service.” 

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive 

of Heart Research UK, said: “We 

are delighted to be supporting the 

work of Prof Mamas and his team, 

which has the potential to have 

a big impact on how effective 

we can be at preventing people 

suffering from a cardiovascular 

event. 

“Our Translational Research 

Project Grants are all about 

bridging the gap between 

laboratory-based scientific 

research and patient care - 

they aim to bring the latest 

developments to patients as soon 

as possible. 

“The dedication we see from UK 

researchers is both encouraging 

and impressive and we at Heart 

Research UK are proud to be part 

of it.” 

The £147,816 Translational 

Research Project grant was 

awarded to the University of 

Manchester as part of Heart 

Research UK’s annual awards 

for research into the prevention, 

treatment and cure of heart 

disease. 

Last year, Heart Research UK 

awarded more than £1.6 million 

in grants for medical research 

projects across the UK. To date, 

the charity has invested more than 

£25 million in medical research via 

its grants programme. 

60 


NEWSLINE 

SECAMB 

SECAmb work with 

Jumbulance Trust to 

adapt multi-patient 

transfer vehicle 

South East Coast Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust 

(SECAmb) has teamed up with 

charity, the Jumbulance Trust, 

to adapt a vehicle to assist 

SECAmb with multiple patient 

transfers between hospitals as 

part of its Covid-19 response. 

Traditionally the accessible 

holidays and travel charity uses its 

Jumbulance medically-equipped 

coach vehicles, which are fitted 

with stretchers, to give those with 

disabilities and severe illnesses, 

and other significantly dependent 

individuals, the opportunity to 

travel in safety and comfort across 

the UK and Europe. 

SECAmb has commissioned the 

charity to provide a Jumbulance 

vehicle which it has adapted 

further to meet its specification. 

The charity will provide drivers for 

the vehicle, who have undergone 

additional training, while the vehicle 

will be crewed by critical care 

paramedics. The vehicle, which will 

be used in the coming weeks as 

required, will be able to transport 

up to five stretchered patients at 

a time – avoiding multiple trips by 

different ambulance crews. 

The SECAmb adaptations include 

the fitting of a bulkhead aluminium 

frame to protect the driver, updating 

stretchers to Trust specification, 

sealing off all fabric surfaces so 

they can be easily wiped clean 

and for improved infection control, 

fitting a piped oxygen system and 

installing clinical waste bins and 

hand gel dispensers. 

SECAmb Associate Director 

of Operations (Resilience), Ian 

Shaw said: “I am pleased that we 

have been able to work with the 

Jumbulance Trust and commission 

the charity to help with our 

Covid-19 response and prepare for 

the potential increase in demand. 

The role of these vehicles is usually 

very different and we are pleased 

that we have been able to adapt 

one of their vehicles to help with 

our response. I would like to thank 

everyone who has been involved 

in this important collective work to 

help patients.” 

Jumbulance Trust Chair, Gill 

Berry added: “We are proud 

that Jumbulance Trust, a small 

volunteer-led charity with 

specialist vehicles and dedicated 

staff, can help SECAmb with 

multiple patient transfers. It is 

humbling for us to be able to 

give something back and use our 

resources in this way. I would also 

like to add a huge thanks to all 

involved for their commitment to 

making this happen.” 


volunteers get vital 

boost to save lives 

Volunteers who respond to 

life-threatening emergencies 

for London Ambulance Service 

have been given three new 

response cars to help save 

lives in the capital. 

The Freemasons have donated 

the high spec Volkswagen Tiguan 

vehicles - each worth around 

£40,000 – to the charity that trains 

volunteers to support London 

Ambulance Service in its work. 

These ‘Emergency Responders’ 

must pass a rigorous application 

and assessment process before 

six days of intensive training 

where they learn life-saving skills. 

After successfully completing the 

training, these volunteers respond 

to 999 calls in response cars on 

blue lights. 

Athar Khan, Director of Integrated 

Patient Care at London 

Ambulance Service, said: 

“Our highly trained volunteers 

play a vital role supporting the 

work of London Ambulance 

Service’s medics in the capital. 

“These new cars will mean more 

lives in London are saved. Acts 

of kindness like this keep our 

Emergency Responders out on 

the road answering 999 calls, 

and I would like to thank the 

Freemasons for their generous 

gift.” 

Sir Michael Snyder, Metropolitan 

Grand Master, said 

“I am delighted, on behalf of all 

London Freemasons, to present 

these three fast response cars for 

use by the voluntary emergency 

responders within the London 

Ambulance Service, to further 

complement the five cars that 

London Freemasons generously 

donated just a couple of years 

ago. 

“The work of the London 

Ambulance Service is 

inspirational in their relentless 

efforts in assisting all those 

Londoners in time of need. This 

role is only achieved by the huge 

commitment given by the many 

volunteers from various different 

walks of life, and I have the 

utmost respect for their dedicated 

service across the capital.” 

The London Ambulance Service 

Voluntary Responder Group 

charity funds the Emergency 

Responder scheme. In 2019, 

these dedicated volunteers 

gave close to 25,000 hours of 

their own time attending 8,272 

emergency calls. Of these 

emergency calls, an ER team 

was on scene first in almost 

6,000 cases. They provide a 

valuable additional resource in 

helping London Ambulance in 

treating more than 1.1m patients 

a year. 

Tim Kirkby has been an 

Emergency Responder for nearly 

nine years. 

He said: 

“I do a 9 to 5 desk job so I 

initially started volunteering so I 

could get out, meet people and 

make a difference. 

“And most of the time, we really 

do. I’m usually the first medic on 

scene and that can often make 

the difference for the patient: 

giving early defibrillation can save 

a life.” 

At any time, London 

Ambulance Service has up to 

eight Emergency Responder 

crews on the road. There are 

currently nearly 150 Emergency 

Responders on the team but the 

service is hoping to double that 

number. 


Life Connections - The Affordable CPD Provider: www.lifeconnections.uk.com 

61

NEWSLINE 

The Duke of 

Cambridge becomes 

Patron of London’s Air 

Ambulance Charity 

The Duke of Cambridge has 

become Patron of London’s Air 

Ambulance Charity. The charity 

funds London’s Air Ambulance 

to bring the hospital to the 

scene, delivering cutting-edge 

medical care when every 

second counts. 

Last year, The Duke was Patron 

of the charity’s 30th anniversary 

campaign, during which he flew 

with the crew and met staff and 

patients from the service. Through 

this experience and his own work 

as an air ambulance pilot, The 

Duke has seen first-hand the 

impact of rapid response treatment 

for the most critically ill patients. 

London’s Air Ambulance has 

a world class reputation for 

delivering pioneering treatment 

at the roadside, delivering urgent 

care to the 10 million people who 

live and work in London. Primarily 

funded by donations made to 

London’s Air Ambulance Charity, 

the service is also supported 

by Barts Health NHS Trust and 

the London Ambulance Service 

NHS Trust. Barts Health NHS 

Trust provides the doctors, some 

financial support and the helipad 

facilities at the Royal London 

Hospital. The London Ambulance 

Service NHS Trust provides the 

paramedics and the emergency 

infrastructure to dispatch the 

service 24 hours a day. 

Thanks to The Duke’s support 

in 2019 at events including 

the charity’s 30th Anniversary 

Dinner and the Kings Cup 

Sailing Regatta, London’s Air 

Ambulance Charity was able 

to boost awareness efforts and 

reach several key milestones in its 

30th anniversary campaign. This 

included securing £1.4 million 

funding to develop new training 

and wellbeing facilities for the 

London’s Air Ambulance crews. 

London’s Air Ambulance was 

founded in 1989 and has treated 

over 40,000 critically injured 

people to date. Crews have 

attended most major incidents in 

London including 7/7, the Grenfell 

Tower fire and recent London 

Bridge terror incident. In 2019, 

the helicopter and rapid response 

cars took an advanced trauma 

doctor and paramedic to 1,730 

patients whose lives were on the 

line, at a cost of £2,080* to make 

each mission happen. 

Jonathan Jenkins, CEO of London’s 

Air Ambulance Charity, said: “We 

are honoured that The Duke of 

Cambridge has chosen to become 

Patron of London’s Air Ambulance 

Charity after getting to know us last 

year. The Duke truly understands our 

work and knows that every second 

counts in an emergency. 

“We know that with his help, as 

well as the continued support of 

the public, our crews can reach 

those who need them most - 

serving the people of London 

24 hours a day, every day of the 

year.” 

Medical Director Dr Tom Hurst 

said: “We are grateful to The Duke 

of Cambridge for backing us on 

our mission to save more lives in 

London. Critical injury from road 

traffic incidents, falls from height, 

assaults and other injuries are 

the biggest killer of people aged 

under 40, however our advanced 

trauma doctor and paramedic 

teams are dedicated to saving 

patients whilst developing 

the potential of pre-hospital 

emergency medicine.” 

For more information on London’s 

Air Ambulance Charity, and to join 

on its mission to save more lives 

visit: www.londonsairambulance. 

org.uk. 


62 


NEWSLINE 

Trust launches 

‘Where Best Next’ 

Campaign 

Isle of Wight NHS Trust has 

launched a new initiative 

‘where best next’ to help 

ensure its patients are 

discharged from hospital in a 

safe, appropriate and timely 

way. 

There is lots of evidence to show 

patients recover better at home 

once their hospital treatment is 

complete. Some 35% of patients 

over the age of 70 years old 

cope less well with daily activities 

during hospital admission 

compared to how they felt before 

they became unwell. Prompt 

discharge from hospital to home 

contributes to a speedy recovery 

and reduces the risk of hospital 

associated infections, which has 

become an increasing problem. 

Dr Mark Connaughton, 

Consultant Cardiologist, said 

“where best next encourages 

you and your family to discuss at 

an early stage the plans for your 

care once you leave hospital. 

“All the healthcare professionals 

looking after you will contribute 

to these plans and for almost 

everyone the discharge plan will 

work on the basis that “home 

first” is the best option. 

“Your needs may best be 

assessed in your own home, and 

your hospital staff will arrange 

this if required. We recognise 

that there will be a few people 

that will not be able to go home 

in the first instance and may 

need alternative care in the 

community. 

“Where best next should allow 

earlier and safer discharge from 

hospital for you, and should 

contribute to a speedier and 

more complete recovery.” 

Bunzl donates third 

vehicle to St John 


St John Ambulance has 

welcomed a new mobile 

treatment centre to its 

operational fleet in Greater 

Manchester, thanks to a 

generous donation from Bunzl 

Healthcare. 

It’s the third custom-built vehicle 

that Bunzl has donated to St John 

Ambulance, and is already being 

used to provide community health 

and first aid support in the area. 

The mobile treatment centre will 

be used by St John Ambulance 

at high profile events such as 

the Great Manchester Run and 

Manchester Pride, as well as 

smaller community events. It 

could be deployed to emergency 

situations in the Greater 

Manchester area, if required and 

also supports two community 

projects. 

Alex Bonthrone, Divisional 

Managing Director of Bunzl 

Healthcare commented: “We are 

so pleased to provide a treatment 

vehicle that will increase the first 

aid support for people in the 

Manchester area. The vehicle will 

enable those with minor injuries to 

receive immediate first aid which 

will benefit them, and will also 

help to take the pressure off our 

A&E centres.” 

Rob Macintosh, Head of Fleet at 

St John Ambulance, said: “We 

are delighted to be working with 

Bunzl Healthcare to make our 

communities safer – this vehicle 

is a welcome addition to our 

fleet which enables us to make a 

difference to those who need it, 

as well as reducing the number 

of people needing to access NHS 

services. 

“The generosity and support 

of Bunzl Healthcare is hugely 

appreciated, and we look forward 

to our continuing partnership with 

them.” 

The health charity uses the 

treatment centre to support two 

important community projects. 

Every Saturday night (10pm until 

4am), volunteers from St John 

Ambulance provide first aid 

support to the night-time economy 

in Manchester city centre, helping 

people get home safely after their 

night out and allowing emergency 

services to be there for those 

most critical patients. 

The vehicle, located on Peter 

Street, provides a place for 

people to be treated for minor 

injuries, or simply as a safe haven 

whilst they sober up, wait to meet 

their friends, or for a taxi home. 

This activity ensures that, as often 

as possible, patients are seen 

and treated by St John without the 

need for further NHS care. 

And, every fortnight on a Tuesday 

evening, St John volunteers work 

in partnership with the Bolton 

NHS Foundation Trust to support 

their outreach work for the town’s 

homeless and vulnerably housed. 

Based at Homeless Aid UK’s 

street kitchen event near Bolton 

Town Hall, St John’s first aiders 

work alongside NHS nurses 

to provide medical care and 

support to those who need it. 

The treatment centre provides a 

confidential area where people 

can freely talk about their health in 

a more private setting. 

To demonstrate the difference the 

new treatment centre is making 

in the local community, staff from 

Bunzl Healthcare’s Manchester 

office were recently shown around 

the vehicle. They were told about 

the important role it’s playing 

within the Greater Manchester 

area, and St John volunteers gave 

first aid demonstrations as well as 

showing them the vital equipment 

it has on board. 

Bunzl has worked with St John 

Ambulance over the past five 

years, initially to help young 

people not in education or 

employment to access first aid 

skills, and more recently by 

donating three bespoke treatment 

vehicles. 

In 2020, the partnership is 

supporting first aid training in 

schools, particularly young people 

in communities where Bunzl 

operates. For more information 

on Bunzl Healthcare visit 

www.bunzlhealthcare.co.uk 



63

NEWSLINE 


Physician Response 

Unit expansion 

supports London’s 

Covid19 response 

Expert teams of emergency 

medics are taking the 

Emergency Department to the 

patient in rapid response cars 

across North East London, 

forming a vital part of the 

capital’s Covid19 response. 

The Physician Response Unit 

(PRU) is a collaboration between 

London’s Air Ambulance, the 

London Ambulance Service and 

Barts Health NHS Trust. It is 

staffed by a senior emergency 

medicine doctor and an 

ambulance clinician, and carries 

advanced medication, equipment 

and treatments usually only found 

in hospital. The service responds 

to 999 calls, treating patients in 

their homes who would otherwise 

have often required an ambulance 

transfer to hospital. 

Since Monday 6 April, the PRU 

service is now operating with two 

cars and its operational hours 

have been extended to run from 

8.30am to 11pm seven days a 

week. 

The Covid-19 pandemic means 

that the NHS across the capital 

is responding to the biggest 

global health threat in a century 

while also ensuring that people 

who don’t have the virus can still 

access the other services they 

need in as safe a way as possible. 

In response to this, the PRU has 

also established new ways of 

working to provide care for more 

patients in their own homes. 

These include: 

• Enabling early discharge from 

Emergency Departments - ED 

clinicians in the Royal London, 

Whipps Cross and Newham 

hospitals may discharge a 

patient in order that they are 

visited at home by the PRU 

rather than referred for inpatient 

care 

• Saving vulnerable/ at risk 

patients a trip to hospital – 

PRU teams can be tasked to 

visit patients that are ‘high risk’ 

for instance cancer patients 

on chemotherapy that would 

otherwise need to come to 

hospital for assessment. 

They are able to perform 

an advanced assessment, 

do blood tests and other 

investigations, and administer 

treatments, all in the patient’s 

home. 

• Taking referrals from inpatient 

wards – the PRU has created 

a consultant rota so that ward 

teams can discharge patients 

that they would normally have 

to keep in hospital, but can now 

be discharged with the safety 

net of a review by the PRU in 

the community 

• Supporting palliative care 

services – palliative care 

teams at St Joseph’s Hospice 

and The Margaret Centre can 

liaise with PRU for them to 

visit and provide community 

review or clinical consultation, 

when otherwise patients would 

need to be taken to hospital by 

ambulance. 

These measures will free up 

hospital beds and reduce risks 

for vulnerable patients by helping 

them avoid a trip to hospital. 

In addition, the PRU is offering 

assistance to the London 

Ambulance Service to help with 

transfers of unwell Covid-19 

patients to the Nightingale 

Hospital. This undertaking 

will support the large-scale 

Nightingale project being 

orchestrated by NHS services 

across London and will offer the 

ambulance service additional 

support at a time when it is facing 

huge pressure from 999 and 111 

calls across London. 

Consultant in Emergency 

Medicine at Barts Health NHS 

Trust & Clinical Lead for the 

Physician Response Unit Dr Tony 

Joy said: 

“The Physician Response Unit 

is proud to be expanding our 

service and stepping up at 

this critical time. By taking the 

Emergency Department to the 

patient in their home we can 

ensure they get the right care 

fast, while also reducing risk and 

keeping hospital beds free for 

those who really need them. 

“The launch of a second car 

is a huge step forward for the 

PRU, allowing us to cover more 

hours of the day, delivering safe 

and effective emergency care in 

the community at this extremely 

challenging time. 

“This is another way in which 

the NHS is ensuring it is still 

open for business and there for 

everyone during this pandemic, 

and while Londoners are 

responding to advice on staying 

at home, they should still seek 

NHS medical help when they 

need it.” 

London Ambulance Service 

Chief Operating Officer, Khadir 

Meer said: 

“The expansion of the Physician 

Response Unit will ensure we 

continue to provide the best 

possible care for Londoners 

and help to reduce the 

unprecedented pressure on the 

wider healthcare system at this 

extremely challenging time. 

“The PRU, a collaboration 

between both the hospital team 

and ambulance clinicians – and 

dispatched from our 999 control 

rooms - helps bring clinical 

expertise into a person’s home, 

potentially saving a patient an 

avoidable, unnecessary trip to 

hospital. 

“Introducing an extra vehicle 

means more of our other 

ambulance resources will be 

available for critically injured 

patients in London. 

“This is one of a number of 

advances the Service has made 

to offer more people the right 

care for them closer to home, 

in their community, without an 

unnecessary trip to hospital.” 

Jonathan Jenkins, Chief Executive 

of London’s Air Ambulance 

Charity said: 

“At a time when NHS staff are 

working round the clock it is 

humbling to see blue light 

services pulling together, and the 

expanded Physician Response 

Unit is vital in terms of bringing 

the Emergency Department to 

the patient and helping the wider 

system respond to the Covid-19 

challenge.” 

“It is down to the unwavering hard 

work and determination of Tony 

Joy, Bill Leaning, and everyone 

at the PRU that we are able to 

expand the service in this crucial 

way, and at this crucial time, and 

they should be incredibly proud.” 

As well as carrying state-of-theart 

equipment, the PRU vehicle 

also has a computer with access 

to patients’ electronic records, 

allowing the team to review 

hospital and GP notes. 

The PRU is also using an 

innovative new mobile app, 

Pando, to manage referrals and 

disseminate information within 

its clinical team. Pando allows 

users to track tasks using the 

information-sharing platform, and 

the duty team can receive and 

communicate clinical information 

about patients wherever they are, 

enabling timely care and efficient 

decision-making. 

64 


NEWSLINE 

In addition, mobile network 

The Trust’s Director of Workforce 

the aircrew, protect hearing 

operator EE have donated 

iPhones and an iPad to the 

PRU and its expanded service, 

covering all associated running 

costs, in order to ensure a smooth 

communications operation. 

Barts Health, London’s Air 

Ambulance and the London 

Ambulance Service were 

the first in the UK to set up a 

PRU, launched in 2001. The 

innovative model has since been 

implemented across the UK, 

including Wales, Oxford, Lincoln 

and Leicester, with other parts 

of the country also looking to 

develop similar services. 

WMAS 

WMAS scoops award 

for it’s support to the 

Armed Forces 

West Midlands Ambulance 

Service has scooped an 

award for the work it does to 

encourage members of the 

Armed Forces to come and 

work within the NHS. 

The Step into Health Awards 2020 

took place on Tuesday 10th March 

in Central London and celebrated 

the work of employers that are 

pledged to support Step into Health. 

The programme recognises that 

veterans and people leaving the 

Armed Forces have transferable 

skills and the commitment that 

matches many roles within the 

ambulance service and wider NHS. 

and Organisational Development, 

Kim Nurse, scooped the ‘NHS 

Advocate for Step into Health’ 

award jointly with another 

shortlisted candidate. The award 

recognised her determination 

to drive forward engagement 

at a local level, her influence to 

change behaviour within WMAS 

and for her dedicated support 

to members of the Armed forces 

community. 

Kim, who attended the event with 

HR Manager Maria Watson and 

Military Champions Carl Pockett, 

Tim Atherton and Kelly Carr, had 

the privilege of being hosted by 

His Royal Highness The Duke of 

Cambridge for a private reception 

at Kensington Palace ahead of the 

award ceremony. 

Talking about her award, Kim 

said: “Staff who have previously 

worked in the armed forces are 

often ideally suited to roles within 

the ambulance service. Many say 

that the ambulance service has 

the same feel and camaraderie 

that they so enjoyed while 

serving their country. They see 

that they can continue to make 

a tremendous impact within the 

communities that we serve. 

“It was an honour and a 

privilege to represent WMAS 

and showcase nationally all the 

excellent work and commitment 

given by our staff at this Step 

into Health Awards. The Duke of 

Cambridge was interested to hear 

about the range of support we 

provide to encourage new military 

joiners and how our staff, who are 

HELP Appeal 

provides further 

new equipment for 

lifesavers 

The HELP Appeal, which is 

the only charity in the country 

that funds hospital and air 

ambulance helipads, has 

now funded 54 aircrew flight 

helmets for Midlands Air 

Ambulance Charity. 

Historically, the flight doctors 

and critical care paramedics at 

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity 

would predominantly share the 

flight helmets, which are used 

in flight as protection and to 

aid both communications in the 

helicopter, and with the ground 

control team. 

The previous helmets were 

several years old and were 

due to be replaced, or go 

through an extensive servicing 

programme. Therefore, the air 

operations management team 

made the strategic decision 

to invest in new equipment, 

ensuring each clinician had a 

bespoke fit helmet, which has 

better hearing protection, and to 

further aid infection prevention. 

Following extensive research 

by the Midlands Air Ambulance 

Charity into the most suitable 

type for air ambulance 

operations, it secured the entire 

funding needed from the HELP 

Appeal. The new helmets, which 

cost £1,800 each, are now 

being widely used by the team. 

and aid our vitally important in 

flight communications about the 

incidents the team go to. 

“In addition, we are always 

looking at ways to future-proof 

our service, which is why we 

have selected helmets that 

are compatible with night 

vision goggles, as we further 

investigate the demand and 

capabilities of flying at night.” 

Robert Bertram, chief executive 

of the HELP Appeal, adds: 

“The Midlands Air Ambulance 

Charity deserves the very best 

equipment to help them perform 

to the highest standard – a 

must when someone’s life is 

at stake. We knew the huge 

impact our donation would 

make, so we didn’t hesitate in 

providing the £100,000 needed. 

This is an exciting string to our 

funding bow as we continue 

to branch out in funding air 

ambulance equipment, while 

remaining fully committed to 

funding over 40 helipad projects 

in the future across the local 

region and beyond.” 

For more information on 

Midlands Air Ambulance 

Charity, and how to make the 

next Mission Possible, visit 

midlandsairambulance.com or 

follow the organisation on social 

media. 

The awards also recognise the 

successes of former armed 

services personnel who have been 

through the programme and are 

now employed in the NHS. As 

an ambulance service, the Trust 

actively supports reservists so that 

they can continue their military role 

while also working within the NHS. 

undertaking reservist roles are 

provided with assistance. 

“It is clear there is a real synergy 

of public duty values between 

those in the NHS and MOD and 

I am proud to have played a part 

in promoting our organisations 

career opportunities to such as 

wide audience.” 

Ian Roberts, air operations 

manager for Midlands Air 

Ambulance Charity, said: 

“There was a significant 

need to replace the old flight 

helmets, and this would not 

have been achieved without 

the significant investment by 

the HELP Appeal. The new 

helmets are comfortable for 

The HELP Appeal relies solely 

on charitable donations 

and does not receive any 

Government funding or money 

from the National Lottery. For 

more information on the charity 

visit www.helpappeal.org.uk or 

call 0800 3898 999. 


Life Connections - The Affordable CPD Provider: www.lifeconnections.uk.com 

65

NEWSLINE 

WAA 

Timely achievement 

for Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance 

paramedic Craig 

Newly qualified Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance critical care 

paramedic Craig Wilkins is 

celebrating his promotion in both 

his and the service’s 30th year. 

Craig was almost two months old 

when Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

began operating full time in 

March 1990 sharing a helicopter 

with Wiltshire Police. The 

charity became a stand-alone 

air ambulance using its own 

helicopter in January 2015. 

Craig, who lives in Bath, has 

worked at Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

since July 2017 and said he is 

proud to be part of the team. 

“I love working at Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance – it is my dream job. 

I’m very proud to achieve my 

ambition of qualifying as a critical 

care paramedic and to do it in 

my 30th year and Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance’s 30th year is really 

special. The service has saved 

a generation of people over the 

last 30 years and, along with my 

colleagues, I’m using my medical 

skills to help save the next 

generation,“ he said. 

Craig met some of the former 

crew members of Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance and Wiltshire Police 

when they visited Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance’s airbase recently. 

Many of them served on the 

helicopter in the early 1990s. 

Craig said: “It was such an honour 

to meet them. I was at nursery 

school when they were working on 

the shared helicopter! 

“Regardless of the skill set and 

the change from having a joint 

helicopter to Wiltshire having its 

own air ambulance, the mindset 

is the same among the former 

and current crew. There is that 

underlying passion and drive to 

provide the best care to patients. 

“Wiltshire Air Ambulance was 

formed because there was 

a clear need to provide prehospital 

emergency care to 

people who suffer life-threatening 

injury or illness and require rapid 

transport to hospital. Throughout 

its existence Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance has been 

progressive in how it delivers 

care to patients.” 

As a specialist paramedic in 

critical care Craig can give 

advanced drugs for pain relief 

and sedation, give pre-hospital 

blood transfusions and carry 

out surgical interventions at the 

scene of medical and trauma 

emergencies. 

He said: “Being a critical care 

paramedic opens up my scope 

of practice so I can provide 

a higher standard of care to 

patients. When I attend patients 

they are my world – they are my 

responsibility and I treat them 

as if they are my own family 

ensuring they receive the best 

possible care.” 

Craig joined Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance when the aircrew 

and helicopter and the charity 

team were based on different 

sites. The following year both 

teams began working under the 

same roof when the charity’s 

purpose-built airbase, in 

Semington, near Melksham, 

opened. 

Craig said: “Having a purposebuilt 

airbase is so much better 

for everyone. Having both teams 

on one site has meant we have 

been able to get to know each 

other. Our understanding of how 

the charity works has increased 

and vice versa with the charity 

team understanding how the 

operational team works. This 

means that we work harder and 

support each other as a result.“ 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance relies on 

donations from the community, 

businesses and grant-making 

trusts to continue its lifesaving 

work. 

Craig said: “Our volunteers 

are amazing people, giving up 

their time to spread the word 

about what we do and helping 

to fundraise. We are also really 

lucky to have so much support 

from people from all over 

Wiltshire, from all walks of life. 

“Every penny in a collection 

tin is helping to fund Wiltshire 

Air Ambulance and I am very 

mindful that we are only able 

to do what we do thanks to 

everyone who fundraises or 

donates to the charity.” 


Craig Wilkins, critical care paramedic at Wiltshire Air Ambulance 

Before he joined Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance Craig worked for 

six years as a land ambulance 

paramedic based at Bath 

Ambulance Station. He was also 

a learning development officer 

with South Western Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust, 

a role which included training 

emergency care assistants and 

paramedics. 

66 


NEWSLINE 

SECAMB 

Long service and 

achievements 

celebrated at annual 

awards ceremony 

SECAmb staff, volunteers and 

members of the public have 

been recognised for their long 

service and achievements at the 

first of the Trust’s annual awards 

ceremonies. 

The ceremony, the first of three to 

be held across the Trust’s region, 

was held on Thursday 27 February 

at The Orangery, Turkey Mill, 

Maidstone, Kent. 

Staff and volunteers were 

recognised for a combined total of 

more than 800 years’ service while 

Chief Executive Commendations 

were presented across a 

number of categories including 

Clinical Excellence and Quality 

Improvement, Demonstrating 

Compassion and Respect, and 

Leadership. 

Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, Dr 

Bhargawa Vasudaven, attended 

to present Queen’s Long Service 

and Good Conduct medals as the 

Queen’s representative, while staff 

were also recognised for 20, 30 and 

40 years’ NHS service. Volunteer 

community first responders 

celebrated 10 years’ service while 

three of the Trust’s chaplains were 

thanked for 20 years’ voluntary 

service. The longest serving 

paramedic to be recognised on the 

night was Dartford’s Ann Copson. 

Ann, who completed her final shift 

before retiring on the day of the 

awards, was recognised for a total 

of 41 years’ service. 

Those presented with Chief 

Executive Commendations 

included an ambulance team who 

demonstrated excellent clinical skill 

by delivering an astonishing 21 

shocks to save the life of Tunbridge 

Wells man, Peter Collins’. Peter and 

fiancée Chris were reunited with the 

Paddock Wood team on the night. 

Elsewhere, Deal teenager, Emma 

Boughton, was recognised for her 

efforts in attempting to save the life 

of a neighbour who had collapsed 

on a flat roof and paramedic Chris 

Fuller for the leadership qualities he 

showed when attending a serious 

assault in Maidstone last summer. 

In a new category introduced this 

year, the People’s Hero Award, 

members of the public nominated 

a SECAmb member of staff for 

special recognition. Hastings 

paramedic, Amanda Paine, picked 

up the inaugural award, for her 

actions in performing CPR on local 

man Dave Lee, when off duty at a 

restaurant celebrating her wedding 

the day before. 

SECAmb Chief Executive Philip 

Astle said: “I was delighted to 

attend the first of our awards 

ceremonies and congratulate such 

a variety of worthy commendation 

winners as well as staff and 

volunteers being recognised for 

their long service. 

“This was the first SECAmb awards 

ceremony I have attended since 

joining the Trust as chief executive 

and I am extremely proud of the 

hugely talented and committed 

staff who work for SECAmb. 

“I would also like to pay tribute to 

the public we have recognised. 

They should all be very proud of 

their actions in saving lives. 

“Of course, these awards 

showcase just a small number of 

examples of the amazing work 

which goes on across our region 

every day and I would like to thank 

all our staff for their professionalism 

and commitment to communities 

across our region day-in, day-out.” 

Details of every award winner 

can be found below – for further 

information on each award, 

please see the awards booklet. 

Please note that this is the first 

of three awards ceremonies so 

only those staff named below 

received their awards on 27 

February. 

Chief Executive 

Commendations 


Improvement: 

Paul Stocker – Hazardous 

Area Response Team, (HART), 

paramedic Paul, saved hundreds 

of hours by producing an online 

automated app-based system for 

vehicle checking, inspection and 

fault reporting on the Trust’s HART 

vehicles. 


Improvement: 

Emma Strangleman, Leanne 

Adams, Robert Smith, Alexander 

Smith, Stuart Plumbley, Gary 

Balderston, Stefani Sukoska – For 

their persistence and clinical skill 

in saving the life of Tunbridge 

Wells man Peter Collins which saw 

them deliver a total of 21 shocks 

with a defibrillator. 

Demonstrating Compassion 

Thanet team, Hollie Finch, Charlie 

Kennett, Adam Watts, Andy 

McBride, David Latham – For 

their efforts as a team to help a 

distressed child who had very 

complex health needs. 

Leadership 

Chris Fuller - For the leadership 

qualities he showed when 

attending a serious assault in 

Maidstone last summer. 

Leadership 

Sean Daisy – For his leadership 

skills in his work in the integration 

of the Trust’s 111, 999 and urgent 

care services. 

Public commendation 

Emma Boughton – Deal teenager 

Emma, was recognised for her 

efforts in attempting to save 

the life of a neighbour who had 

collapsed on a flat roof. She was 

aged just 14 at the time. 

People’s Hero Award 

Amanda Paine – For saving the 

life of Hastings man Dave Lee by 

performing CPR when off duty 

at a restaurant celebrating her 

wedding a day earlier. 

Queen’s Ambulance Service 

medals for Long Service & 

Good conduct (20 years) were 

presented to: 

Victoria Coulling – Medway 

Rachel Barton - Ashford 

Karen Downie – Coxheath EOC 

Paul Eldridge – Ashford 

Ann Holt – Medway 

Emma Howard - Isle of Sheppey 

David McQuillan - Ashford 

Edward Pearson - Ashford 

Lewis Price - Thanet 

Angie Rogers - Medway 

Gavin Thompson - Dartford 

Stephan Tucker - Ashford 

Peter Waterman - Sittingbourne 

20 years’ NHS Long Service 

medals 

Jo Russell - Thanet 

Adriano Serrecchia – Wadhurst 

Kathryn Spratling - Medway 


Award: 

Chris Billett – Paddock Wood 

Kim Broad – Dartford 

Andy Davis – Paddock Wood 

(retired) 

Mark Harrison – Whitstable 

John Lynn - Dartford 

Sue Orchard – Herne Bay 

Andrew Smith - Ashford 

Nicholas Wakefield - Ashford 

Frances Ward - Ashford 

Michaela Young - Thanet 


Award: 

Anne Copson - Dartford 

Volunteer’s 10 Years’ Long 

Service Award 

Gareth Aldridge, CFR – 

Folkestone 

Steve Joyce, CFR – Hoo and 

Cliffe 

Anthony Mogridge, CFR – 

Faversham 

Barbara Muir, CFR – Snodland 

Volunteer’s 20 Years’ Long 

Service Award 

Reverend Paul Fermor – Deal 

Reverend David Jones – 

Maidstone 

Reverend Donald Lugg – 

Whitstable 



67

NEWSLINE 

preferences, then making 

Patients’ preferences are then 

idea of what patients wish for 


takes front-line role 

in scheme allowing 

Norfolk and Waveney 

patients to express 

their treatment 

preferences 

and recording clinical 

recommendations with a 

healthcare professional based 

on those. This includes (but is 

not limited to) cardiopulmonary 

resuscitation (CPR). 

ReSPECT is a national initiative 

which is being rolled out across 

a wide range of healthcare 

recorded on a standardised, 

easily recognisable form that is 

used and recognised by health 

and care professionals. 

As frontline providers of 

emergency healthcare, EEEAST 

is an enthusiastic supporter of 

the initiative and is providing 

training and information to 

in their treatment and provides 

guidelines on how to respect 

those wishes. 

“We would recommend this 

to anyone making end-of-life 

plans, but also to people with 

long-term conditions that might 

want to make their preferences 

known in the event of an 

East of England Ambulance 

Service NHS Trust (EEAST) 

has signed up to the new 

ReSPECT process that 

provides a written record 

of patients’ treatment 

preferences. 

services in Norfolk and 

Waveney from March 18th 2020. 

The ReSPECT process 

aims to encourage 

individuals to consider, 

discuss and document their 

recommendations for their 

crews on how to respond to 

patients’ wishes on a ReSPECT 

form. 

Dr Tom Davis, Medical Director 

for EEAST said: “This is an 

excellent way for patients 

to let our crews know what 

emergency.” 

The scheme is being led 

in Norfolk and Waveney by 

the NHS Norwich Clinical 

Commissioning Group, and will 

be launched to the public on 

March 18th 2020. 

The Recommended Summary 

Plan for Emergency Care and 

Treatment (ReSPECT) is an 

approach to patients thinking 

about and discussing their 

future care and treatment 

clinical care. This includes 

decisions about CPR, but also 

focuses on treatments that 

should be considered as well 

as those that are not wanted, or 

would not work. 

treatments they do, or do 

not want in the event of an 

emergency, when they may 

not be able to communicate 

those wishes themselves. It 

gives our clinicians a clear 

Further information about 

taking part can be found at 

the national Respect website: 

https://www.resus.org.uk/ 

respect 


EEAST Staff answer questions about CPR from members of the public at a recent event held in Norwich to raise awareness 

of the ReSPECT programme. 

68 


NEWSLINE 

Call for healthcare 

workers to be 

first responders 

for ambulance 

service through the 

GoodSAM app 

When someone goes into 

cardiac arrest, getting help 

within minutes can save a life. 

GoodSAM is a community of 

registered responders willing to 

assist during a cardiac arrest until 

ambulance crews arrive. 

Many are off-duty doctors, nurses, 

paramedics and other members 

of the emergency services. 

Others are members of the public 

trained in basic first aid and 

qualified to perform lifesaving 

cardiopulmonary resuscitation 

(CPR). The app uses GPS 

technology to alert trained first 

responders to nearby lifethreatening 

emergencies. 

When an emergency call is 

directed to one of the GoodSAM 

emergency operations centers, 

the app automatically notifies 

nearby responders. 

If the responder is available, 

they can accept the alert via the 

GoodSAM app and make their 

way to the patient in need. If the 

volunteer responder is unable to 

accept the alert, it will get diverted 

to the next nearest responder. The 

responder is also advised of the 

location of the nearest defibrillator. 

EEAST of England Ambulance 

Service NHS Trust (EEAST) started 

using the app in June 2019 to alert 

nearby responders during those 

vital minutes while ambulance 

crews are on their way. 

More than 1,200 responders have 

signed up to respond for EEAST, 

with six successful survival-todischarge 

outcomes for patients 

where a GoodSAM responder has 

attended. 

This is just one of the incidents: 

We received a 999 call for a 44 

year old male in Welwyn Garden 

City with chest pain. 

While we were taking the call, he 

went into cardiac arrest. 

The GoodSAM app was activated 

and off-duty EEAST employees 

Keiran Robinson, Vicky Baughan, 

Ruby Mahy, Lilly Moran, and 

Lawrie Medina were on the scene 

within seven minutes with a 

portable defibrillator and began 

resuscitating the patient. 

Our ambulance crew Scott Wilson 

and Dan Boreham, along with 

Gary West in the rapid response 

vehicle arrived and the patient was 

shocked a total of seven times. 

Paramedic Vicky Baughan, one of 

the GoodSam First Responders 

said: 

“Before the first EEAST crew 

arrived, we had shocked this 

patient twice and completed 

many rounds of CPR. And then 

we stayed to assist the crew. 

“After a little while the patient was 

sitting up talking to us. 

“I visited the gentleman in hospital 

a few hours later when I started 

work with EEAST and doctors 

think there is a very good chance 

of survival with a good outcome. 

“I genuinely think that had we not 

all responded to this gentleman 

with the defibrillator and arrived so 

quickly that there would be a very 

different outcome now.“ 

The GoodSAM app in now 

entering its next phase and 

nationally governed healthworkers 

(such as GPs and Paramedics) 

can be part of EEAST’s GoodSAM 

responder community and 

deployed by EEAST’s emergency 

operations teams. 

If you are already signed up to 

GoodSAM, you do not need 

to take any action – you will 

automatically be added into 

EEAST’s responder community. 

If you are a healthcare worker 

and are interested in becoming a 

GoodSAM responder, please go 

to www.goodsamapp.org and 

sign up. 

An EPiCC response 

to emergencies and 

disasters 

The future media and 

communication response to 

emergencies and disasters 

within the UK will be shaped by 

a new not for profit organisation 

launched on Tuesday, 4th 

February. 

EPiCC (Emergency Practitioners in 

Crisis Communication) will support 

the development and delivery of 

effective crisis communication by 

providing a network for all who 

practice and operate in this arena to 

share good practice, train, learn and 

exercise within a safe environment. 

Director of EPiCC, Chris Webb, 

the former Head of News and 

Deputy Director of Public Affairs 

with the Metropolitan Police said: 

“EPiCC is built around three core 

principles. The need to Prepare, 

Plan and Practice. Having led the 

media and comms response to 

emergencies and major incidents 

for almost 30 years, I understand 

the benefits that an organisation 

like this will bring. 

“In 2017 and 2018 I was invited to 

deliver key note speeches to EMPA 

(Emergency Media and Public 

Affairs) a not for profit organisation 

in Australia and New Zealand who 

work with comms professionals 

from the public and private sectors 

to enhance and improve their 

response to disasters. EMPA has 

made a real difference to how 

those two countries now handle 

such incidents. 

“Over the last 12 months I have 

been working with partners involved 

in the emergency response at a 

national level here in the UK to 

set up a similar model and I’m 

delighted that the vision has now 

become a reality. There will continue 

to be a close working relationship 

between EPICC and EMPA.” 

EPiCC is supported by a Board 

of Advocates with wide-ranging 

and extensive experience of 

emergency management and crisis 

communication across a broad 

range of incidents and sectors. 

As well as enhancing what they 

deliver, through their knowledge, 

skills and international networks, 

they help to ensure EPiCC stays 

up to date, relevant and responsive 

to the rapidly changing nature of 

emergency management and crisis 

communication in today’s society. 

Advocate Alec Wood, the former 

Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire 

Police said: “Effective crisis 

communication must be at the 

heart of an effective emergency 

management response for any 

organisation that provides services 

to the public. Ultimately the quality 

and timeliness of information 

during an emergency can save 

lives and keep people safe.” 

“Developing and enhancing the 

skills of your people is key. If you 

fail to plan, you will plan to fail. 

One can only fully prepare when 

decisions are based on a sound 

understanding and comprehensive 

knowledge of what to expect 

during an emergency or crisis. The 

training and coaching from EPiCC 

gives greater confidence, should 

the worst happen.” 

You can find out more about EPiCC 

by visiting www.epicc.org.uk or 

follow us on Twitter @UKEPiCC 



69

NEWSLINE 

NWAS 


communicators 

recognised as 

‘unsung heroes’ 

Recognised for their creative 

campaigns and quirky social 

media tactics, North West 

Ambulance Service’s (NWAS) 

Communications Team has 

been celebrated at the Unsung 

Hero Awards 2020. 

Having taken place at The Hilton 

Hotel, Manchester on 28 February 

2020, the Unsung Hero Awards 

are exclusively for non-medical, 

non-clinical NHS staff and 

volunteers whose achievements 

go above and beyond in support 

of our National Health Service. 

With tough competition from 

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals 

NHS Foundation Trust and 

Northamptonshire Healthcare 

NHS Foundation Trust, the 

team took home the award in 

a new category for 2020, NHS 

Communications. 

Recognised for “launching 

successful campaigns that are set 

to make a positive difference to 

both staff and the general public’s 

lives”, the judges’ comments 

reflected on the team’s winter 

campaign which made people 

aware of actions they could take 

to stay well and what to do when 

needing help. 

The campaign used popular 

phrases and cheeky acronyms 

such as ‘fake news’ and ‘WTF 

– ways to fail’ to grab attention 

and highlight real-life examples 

of people who had used 999 

inappropriately. 

Working on all aspects of 

communications, the team is also 

responsible for the trust’s press 

office and an out of hours service 

as well as internal and external 

communications, public affairs, 

stakeholder and community 

engagement, FOI requests, 

videography, social media and 

the trust’s web and intranet 

content. 

In their nomination, managers 

cited the work of the 

communications team as 

“boosting staff morale – when 

staff were really feeling the 

pressure.” 

Salman Desai, Director of Strategy 

and Planning at NWAS said: “It’s 

fantastic to be recognised at 

this prestigious national awards 

ceremony. The team are great at 

shouting about the achievements 

of their colleagues so it’s a real 

treat for them to take centre stage 

and be celebrated for their hard 

work too. 

“The team supports all the 

services the trust provides from 

our 999 emergency response, 

to patient transport, NHS 111 

and corporate projects. They act 

as the voice of the organisation 

and aim is to bring to life our 

organisation’s vision and values 

through compelling narrative that 

connects with our wide variety of 

stakeholders. 

“Putting patients at the heart 

of everything they do, the team 

use creative and innovative 

approaches to make their 

messages stand out whilst using 

money responsibly. This award is 

great achievement and very well 

deserved, I am incredibly proud.” 

Keep up to date with NWAS by 

following them on Twitter, 

@NWAmbulance, Facebook, 

nwasofficial and Instagram, 

@nwasofficial. 

“It’s 

fantastic 

to be 

recognised 

at this 

prestigious 

national 

awards 

ceremony.” 


North West Ambulance Service’s Communications Team is presented with an Unsung Hero Award by Director of Communications and Engagement 

for London Ambulance Service, Antony Tiernan (third from left) and host Jake Mills (far right). 

70 


IN PERSON 

LAS News 

London Ambulance Service 

appoints Syma Dawson 

as Director of Corporate 

Governance 

London Ambulance Service announced 

that Syma Dawson will join the Trust as its 

new Director of Corporate Governance. 

She joins us on 1 April from the Royal 

Marsden NHS Foundation Trust where she 

has led the corporate governance team 

for eight years as Associate Director of 

Corporate Affairs. 

Syma has worked in a range of National 

Health Service organisations including the 

North East Ambulance Service where she 

was first struck by the invaluable contribution 

ambulance services make to the NHS. 

Heading the Corporate Governance 

Directorate, Syma will be responsible for 

ensuring the right rules, processes and 

systems are in place so that the organisation 

performs effectively and lawfully. 

Syma said: 

“I’m very much looking forward to joining 

London Ambulance Service and working to 

ensure we provide the best possible care for 

patients. 

“For me, good governance helps good 

decision making which means better 

performance and outcomes for patients. 

“I am really excited about finding ways to 

continuously improve the care we provide and 

supporting the board to deliver its ambitious 

strategy for future services in London.” 

She will be taking over from Philippa Harding 

who leaves London Ambulance Service to 

pursue other opportunities at the conclusion of 

a two-year fixed-term appointment as Director. 

Syma will report to Chief Executive Officer 

Garrett Emmerson who said: 

“I’m delighted to welcome Syma to my 

leadership team and to London Ambulance 

Service. 

“Syma has an impressive track record in 

corporate governance roles and the National 

Health Service more widely and I know she will 

bring that passion and leadership to our service. 

“I would like to put on record my thanks to 

Philippa for the huge progress of recent years 

establishing effective and robust corporate 

governance across the organisation.” 

Syma graduated from Leeds University where 

she studied Politics and Parliamentary Studies, 

Political Science and Government. She is an 

Associate of the Chartered Governance Institute 

and a Chartered Secretary by qualification. 

London Ambulance Service Syma Dawson 

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71

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Ambulance UK - April 2020

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