Ambulance UK October 2020

Volume 35 No. 5 

October 2020 

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CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Ambulance UK 

141 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

142 FEATURES 

142 Clinical Skills for Police Officers in Specialist Role: 

An Audit of Patient Report Forms in 2019 

146 Why a simple blood test could identify those most 

at risk of Covid-19 complications 

148 NEWSLINE 

166 COMPANY NEWS 

This issue edited by: 

Sam English 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

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139

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EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Welcome to this issue of AUK 

So here we are in October still haunted by the ghost of Christmas future, the other big ‘C’, and reeling from a 

summer not of whoa but woe. I don’t know about anyone else but sometimes I find writing somewhat cathartic 

so sitting here writing this I thought I might reflect on the year thus far in the fond hope I can find something 

positive. 

“Surprise, 

surprise, 

numbers 

began to 

increase and 

the strategy 

seemed 

obvious. 

A little like 

watching 

numbers 

fly up the 

tube in the 

National 

Lottery, 

area by area 

‘hot spots’ 

were closed 

down.” 

Let’s begin with last Christmas when everyone I knew had a weird flu-like illness, my GP friend told me it had 

even surprised him in its “different to the normal”presentation, lo and behold, enter stage left a brand new 

coronavirus. Now I’m not really into politics but come mid February it was, I think, obvious to everyone that 

things were not looking good. My parents boarded themselves into the house and haven’t been out since, Then 

mid March the politicians started listening to “science” and convinced the nation to close its doors…that worked! 

…I can remember working in my day job on the last weekend in March when our demand hit 100% increase on 

normal and thinking well this is going to need some creative thinking, this just isn’t working the way they said it 

would. I’ve found a positive ! The weather over Spring made working from home a distinct pleasure but then I’m 

lucky to work for the health service, thousands of others lost their jobs, their lives and their sanity so really not a 

positive, just a sobering reminder that sometimes the cure creates more issues than the disease. 

Everyone looks forward to Summer, so as restrictions eased and bars re-opened, I think most people breathed 

a sigh of relief. Surprise, surprise, numbers began to increase and the strategy seemed obvious. A little like 

watching numbers fly up the tube in the National Lottery, area by area ‘hot spots’ were closed down. I’m 

cynical, with a third of the country now ‘closed’ again, I’m not convinced that was successful, however, putting 

the cynicism to the side let’s consider my favourite intervention, the mask! So now everyone has a little piece 

of cloth that comes in and out of their pocket every two minutes, can be worn under the nose or chin, can be 

hung on the car mirror so it isn’t forgotten next time at the shops and protects others even though the rules 

that probably did protect people, hand washing and distance are pretty much obsolete because of the power 

of the mask and the psychological confidence it brings. Worse still, the fomitic things are all over the place, I’m 

just waiting for a dolphin to end up with one wrapped round its snout. 

Time for the second wave. What on earth did they think would happen when the kids got back to school. 

History perhaps might have given them a clue, since kids are the flu season super spreaders every single 

year. I’m not sure how many students there are in the UK but again not entirely surprising when you send 

them all over the country for the first time with a full grant and no parental oversight that within a fortnight every 

university had hundreds of new cases…now wasn’t that a surprise! 

And here we are, you just know its bad when the supermarkets are putting Easter eggs on their shelves, no 

family Christmas this year, although I suppose technically if you cremate the Turkey like my wife does each 

year you could get a few people round for its funeral. 

Did I say this was a cathartic exercise, it isn’t really, it just makes me sad to think of the people who have lost a 

year of their lives, the kids who should be enjoying life, the families who had their lives ruined, the people who 

have died not only of the disease but of fear to have that ‘lump’, that ‘weakness’, that ‘chest pain’ investigated. 

Those who have had operations cancelled, those that cannot see their grandchildren or grandparents. The 

vulnerable who might as well have been imprisoned for perhaps one of their last remaining years. And finally, 

let’s not forget the perhaps irreparable damage to the UK economy, the unemployment, the lost businesses 

and the debt that will probably have to be repaid for the next century, the next budget will be interesting. Will 

we look back when this is all over, if it ever is, they’ve never cured another coronavirus, the common cold, and 

say “I’m not sure our scientific decisions were that great.” 

Stay safe, stay distance, stay hygienic and of course, don’t leave the house without your shield of invincibility… 

Sam English, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 


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141

FEATURE 

CLINICAL SKILLS FOR POLICE OFFICERS IN 

SPECIALIST ROLE: AN AUDIT OF PATIENT 

REPORT FORMS IN 2019 

Abstract 

officers in specialist roles (referred to as officers in this report) are 

particularly proficient. It also evaluates components of the form itself. 


Some specialist police officers, predominantly from firearms units, are 

trained in pre-hospital medicine to a national standard curriculum initially 

developed in 2009. The incidents are recorded in Patient Report Forms, 

which are subsequently reviewed by their clinical governance oversight 

to quality assure the treatment given and to inform future training or 

curriculum development. This is a retrospective review of 298 Patient 

Report Forms from 2019 from five police forces covering a mixture 

of metropolitan and semi-rural areas. Patients were predominantly 

male and the mechanisms of injury were mainly stabbings, road traffic 

collisions or alcohol/ drug-related. There were 42 (14%) medical callouts 

which were mostly cardiac in nature. Other non-trauma incidents 

included mental health problems. The most frequent injuries sustained 

by patients were lacerations, stab wounds and abrasions and 116 (31%) 

patients were reported as being in pain. 55 (18%) patients required 

airway support. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was required in 

40 (13%) patients with a Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) 

on scene achieved in 17 patients (43%). More focus on medical 

emergencies and mental health in training could be valuable. Airway 

management has improved compared to previous audits and there 

is potential for supraglottic airways to be used more frequently. The 

relatively high numbers of ROSC on scene is commendable. These 

officers are well-trained and serial audits show a steady increase in use 

of skills, which makes them an important medical resource, although it 

is important to remember that they are police officers first. 

Introduction 

The year 2019 saw a 7% increase in knife & sharp object offences in 

England and Wales 1 ; the highest on record (however, this figure does not 

include statistics from Greater Manchester). There were 6060 incidents 

involving firearms and a terrorist attack on London Bridge 1 . It is, therefore, 

more important than ever for the police officers responding to such 

incidents to have a high degree of medical capability. In 2010, firearms 

police officers began training to a national curriculum in basic but essential 

life-saving skills. ‘Clinical Skills for Police Officers in Specialist Role’ is a 

module (previously named D-13), which involves the assessment and 

treatment of casualties using the ABCDE paradigm 2 . 

Patient Report Forms (PFRs) record details of the care provided each 

time an officer is called to a patient. They are reviewed by a registered 

medical professional for assurance of the treatment given and are 

used to inform future training for the continual quality improvement of 

medical care. This audit aims to examine the PRFs completed in 2019 

and compare the data to previous years using earlier audits. It will look 

for emerging trends, identify areas for improvement and where police 

Method 

This is a retrospective audit of 298 PRFs completed by predominantly 

police firearms officers in 2019. The PRFs are from five police forces 

in England, all under the same clinical governance structure 3 , covering 

a mixture of urban and semi-rural areas. Anonymised data was 

categorised into the mechanisms of injury, types of injuries, sex of the 

patient, observations recorded and interventions provided by officers. 

Results 

There were 217 male patients, accounting for 73% of PRFs. There were 

51 firearms deployments, making up 18% of PRFs. 16 PRFs did not 

record whether the incident was a firearms operation or not. Officers 

spent an average of 51 minutes on scene. 

Mechanism of Injury 

The three most common mechanisms of injury were stabbing, alcohol/ 

drug-related, or road traffic collisions (RTCs) (Figure 1). While there were 

11 incidents (4% of PRFs) where the mechanism of injury was alcohol 

or drugs alone, 66 incidents (22% of all call-outs) involved drugs or 

alcohol, including 13 self-harm/ parasuicides (59%) and 13 stabbings 

(19%). The ‘other’ category included three patients with hypothermia, 

Number of Patients 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Mechanism of Injury 

Alcohol/ drug-related 

Not alcohol/ drug-related 

Figure 1: Number of most commonly reported mechanisms of injury, 

including the proportion of incidents in each category where alcohol/ 

drugs were also reported in the PRF. 

142 

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FEATURE 


12 

11 

10 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

Pain 

116 patients (39%) suffered from pain. The analgesic Methoxyflurane 

(Penthrox) was used in 23 patients (8% of all patients), mainly in 

RTC (seven patients) or assault (seven patients). 83% of the patients 

(19) were given only one dose. Before administration of Penthrox, 

the majority of these patients reported ‘severe pain,’ which is rated 

at 8-10/10, and mostly reduced to ‘moderate pain’ (rated at 4-7/10), 

although one patient reported no change in pain levels. Two patients 

were identified as candidates for Penthrox but refused it or their care 

was taken over by paramedics. 


Medical Incidents 

Figure 2: The number of patients reported for each medical incident. 

Assessment 

- Catastrophic haemorrhage: 

137 patients (47%) had an external bleed, which was mainly treated with 

direct pressure. On one occasion, where a man had a heavily bleeding 

head wound after an assault, the application of a pressure bandage 

was commended by the Emergency Department. 12% of those who had 

an external bleed had a tourniquet applied (16 patients). One man had 

three fractures (two wrists and one hip), two completed suicides, two 

a catastrophic bleed from a deep laceration on his forearm which was 

12minor cuts, two welfare concerns, someone who was pushed through a 

treated with a tourniquet on his upper arm, stemming the bleed. The 

11 

window, one industrial accident, a fall from a horse and a casualty from 

10 

patient was identified as very unwell as a result of blood loss (confusion, 

9a police operation. Six incidents were unspecified. 

8 

pale complexion) and the two officers were complimented on the 

7 

application of a tourniquet by the Helimed doctor taking over care. 

642 PRFs (14%) were medical call-outs (this excludes mental health). The 

5 

As the first responders, their quick assessment and decision-making 

Amputation 

4majority of these incidents involved cardiac arrest or patients with chest 

0.9% 

markedly improved the outcome for this patient. 

3 

pain (Figure 2). Mental health problems were noted explicitly in the free- 

of 10 PRFs (3%), although the true number of incidents where mental 

2 

1text 

0 

Abrasion Burns A - Airway: 

health played a part is likely to be much higher, considering 14.8% that the 0.3% 

Abrasion 

55 patients (18%) had obstructed airways, which were often managed 

total number of suicides, para-suicides, missing persons and domestic 

Burns 

using a combination of manoeuvres (Table 1). Positioning the patient 

incidents was 35 (which would Laceration make it involved in 15% of PRFs). 

Bruising 

31.1% 

on their side or turning the patient was commonly used to manage 

Bruising 

Open Fracture 

Medical Incidents 

obstruction. All patients with a reported initial AVPU Score (Alert, Verbal, 

11.3% 

Injuries 

Closed Fracture 

Pain, Unresponsive Puncture Score) of Pain or Unresponsive (74 patients) were 

The most frequently reported injuries were lacerations, stab wounds and Open given airway support where required. 24 (8%) patients had suspected 

abrasions (Figure 3). 46 patients (11%) sustained fractures and three Fracture 

Stab Wound 

2.2% bony GSW injuries Entry to the face, mainly from falls over six feet or from RTCs. 

patients had amputations (one hand, one finger and one foot). Closed One Fracture patient 

GSW Exit 

12.3% 

A supraglottic GSW Exit airway was used on one occasion for a child in cardiac 

suffered self-inflicted 0.9% disembowelment, where officers sealed large wounds 

arrest. Laceration In two patients who had substantial facial trauma and were 

with clingfilm. The GSW doctors Entry and surgeons at the hospital were grateful for 

Stab Wound Wound 

unresponsive, Amputation 

3.8% 

the ambulance crews replaced oropharyngeal airways 

their resourceful actions, which helped to 16.0% save the young Puncture man’s life. 

6.3% 

that had been placed by police with supraglottic airways. 

GSW Exit 

0.9% 

GSW Entry 

3.8% 

Laceration 

31.1% 

Amputation 

0.9% 

Stab Wound Wound 

16.0% 

Abrasion 

14.8% 

Puncture 

6.3% 

Burns 

0.3% 

Bruising 

11.3% 


12.3% 

Open 

Fracture 

2.2% 

Abrasion 

Burns 

Bruising 

Open Fracture 


Puncture 

Stab Wound 

GSW Entry 

GSW Exit 

Laceration 

Amputation 

Figure 3: The proportions of injuries, out of all injuries sustained by 

patients reported in the PRFs. (N.B. patients may have had more than 

one injury). 

B - Breathing: 

Table 1: Number of times officers used 

each airway manoeuvre. 

Airway Management Frequency 

Repositioning patient 28 

Suction 10 

Chin lift 15 

Jaw thrust 20 

Nasopharyngeal airway 15 

Oropharyngeal airway 16 

Supraglottic airway 1 

The respiratory rate was recorded in 265 (89%) PRFs. 33 (11%) patients 

had chest seals (vented or non-vented) and only one had a suspected 

flail chest. 121 patients were treated with oxygen (40% of patients). 39 

patients had breathing recorded as ‘not normal’ but were not given 

oxygen by police. This was mainly because it was refused, not available, 


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143

FEATURE 

or given by the ambulance or fire service, so was not recorded. In three 

RTC patients with abnormal breathing and in two patients who had been 

stabbed and had chest seals applied, oxygen was not given. 

C - Circulation: 

141 (47%) PRFs had an exact heart rate filled in rather than only indicating 

the presence or absence of a pulse. CPR was required in 40 patients 

(13%) and 75% of those patients had an Automated External Defibrillator 

(AED) applied. ROSC on scene was achieved in 17 patients (43%). 

Pre-hospital oxygen treatment is mandatory in all major trauma; shock; 

cardiac arrest; convulsions; smoke inhalation; carbon monoxoide 

poisoning and in unwell paediatric patients 2 . Audits from 2010-15 and 

2017 indicate that oxygen delivery was generally lower than expected 4,9 . 

Data from this audit suggests that officers are very capable of identifying 

which patients require oxygen, but its use can be limited by the situation 

on scene. Oxygen delivery may be impractical, the patient may refuse it, 

or other emergency services may provide it. Considering that excessive 

oxygen can be detrimental to patient outcome 10 , its use in 2019 

generally seems appropriate. 


Discussion 

Airway Management 

The airway ladder used to protect the airway begins with repositioning the 

patient, using a chin lift or a jaw thrust, then progressing to airway adjuncts 2 . 

Often, simple manoeuvres such as positioning the patient on their side 

provided an adequate airway in the patients included in this audit. 

An audit in 2017 found some PRFs involving unresponsive casualties 

had the ‘Airway’ section of the form left blank. The report stressed 

that a patient’s reduced consciousness should always lead to prompt 

airway protection 4 . As in the manual, airway obstruction in unconscious 

patients is most commonly caused by the tongue and early, often 

simple actions can re-open the airway 2 . In 2019, all unresponsive 

patients’ airways were assessed and the majority were successfully 

managed with positional support or an adjunct. This indicates an 

improvement in airway management across all forces. 

There was only one occasion in which a supraglottic airway was used 

by an officer, although they were used by ambulance staff in two 

patients with major facial injuries. The low usage of these airways may 

be explained by the effectiveness of the commonly used adjuncts 

paired with careful patient positioning which protects the airway in 

the short-term before paramedics arrive. However, there may be an 

argument for using supraglottic airways more during CPR. In out of 

hospital cardiac arrest, there is evidence that asynchronous CPR has 

an improved outcome compared to conventional compressions and 

ventilation in a 30:2 ratio when CPR is not performed by an emergency 

medical service (EMS) professional 5, 6, 7 . In the context of these officers, 

it may be appropriate to use bag-valve-masks and supraglottic airways 

for asynchronous CPR in cardiac arrest. The technique is also useful if 

the number of responders is limited, as the airway can be maintained 

and good ventilation provided by only one person, whilst the other can 

deliver compressions. This is suitable for officers in specialist roles 

who may be alone or medically unsupported in more rural locations. If 

not frequently used, it may be a difficult skill to keep current. However, 

considering the number of cardiac arrests officers attend compared 

to some other incidents, it would become fairly common if used in 

most cardiac arrests. Certainly, those officers in specialist roles may 

benefit from this training. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, 

first responders should be wearing aerosol-generating procedure 

(AGP) personal protective equipment (PPE) if carrying out AGPs 8 . In 

light of this, it is unlikely that officers have adequate PPE to perform 

safe asynchronous CPR currently. This may mean that for the time 

being, officers get limited opportunities to use supraglottic airways and 

improve this skill. 

Non-Trauma Incidents 

There was an increased proportion of medical incidents in 2019 

compared to previous years 4,9 . 19 (8%) PRFs filled in between 2010-15 

were medical in nature, compared to 42 (14%) incidents in 2019. The 

types of medical problems encountered are comparable to previous 

years: mainly cardiac arrest or chest pain. Officers are trained in basic 

life support so are competent at managing medical cardiac arrests. 

However, 12 patients (29% of patients with medical problems) had 

(non-traumatic) chest pain, which is not covered to the same extent in 

training. This represents more than the combined number of patients with 

burns, found hanging or who had fallen from a height of greater than six 

feet (a combined total of 11 patients), and almost equals the number of 

shootings attended (14 patients). Although police officers are generally 

more likely to be called to trauma incidents, it is interesting that the most 

common medical emergencies are more frequent than some types of 

trauma. Perhaps this should be acknowledged more in training. 

There was a comparative increase in incidents related to drugs or 

alcohol. Between 2010-15, 31 PRFs (13%) reported alcohol/ drugs 

as the mechanism of injury 9 . Based on audits in 2017, 24 PRFs were 

in this category, 4,11 which made up 11% of incidents. In 2019 it rose 

to 67 PRFs (22%). However, alcohol/ drug use among patients may 

be underreported as, where it is not the main mechanism of injury, it 

may not be detailed in the PRF. The PRFs, which are specific to the 

patients, may not reflect the use of alcohol/ drugs in some situations. 

For example, in assaults, the victim may not be under the influence, but 

others involved may be. 

Pain 

Pain was very frequently reported in PRFs. However, the number is likely 

to be inaccurate, as it is clear that some injuries which would have been 

painful did not have pain recorded in the PRF, as noted in a 2017 audit 11 . 

Penthrox was only introduced in 2017 and it is difficult to compare 

trends due to differences in forms. In 2018, it was used in 10 (6%) patients 

compared to 23 (8%) in 2019. Generally, it appears to be effective in 

reducing pain score from severe to moderate, but its use by officers is 

currently limited by strict protocols. An audit of the use of Penthrox in 

these five forces 12 (Franklin, Elford et al, in preparation) looks at whether 

these protocols might be safely loosened to improve availability. 

Return of Spontaneous Circulation on Scene 

A report into out of hospital cardiac arrests 13 found that ROSC was 

achieved in 29.8% of all cases and in 41.8% of those who arrested in the 

presence of EMS. This indicates that the rate of 43% ROSC achieved by 

officers on scene is in line with the national standard. However, this is not 

directly comparable because the national report included all out of hospital 

cardiac arrest ROSCs rather than just ROSC on scene. Considering that 

144 

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FEATURE 

these officers often deliver CPR in challenging circumstances, in a prehospital 

environment without the kit of an ambulance, it is a credit to their 

training and abilities that the rate is so high. 

Improvements to the PRF 

It is a pity that the comparability of PRFs is limited by subtle differences 

in the forms between forces. It would be easier to audit data if there was 

a national standard of form. Better still, an online version would reduce 

errors in audits and save time. That said, the difficulty of agreeing on a 

national form has previously been documented 4 . It is more likely that a 

national reporting template might be used to inform the development of 

PRFs toward a standard format. 

The components of the PRF could also be improved. The respiratory 

rate was almost always recorded, but less than half of PRFs recorded 

an exact heart rate. Perhaps if the form had tick box categories for heart 

rate, as it does currently for respiratory rate, it could improve the number 

filled out. Although it is less important than recording a respiratory 

rate, heart rate of over 120 beats per minute is currently part of the 

exclusion criteria for use of Penthrox, so it would be useful if this was 

incorporated in the PRF. 

The PRFs included in this audit may not reflect all of the medical care 

given by the units in 2019. For instance, some forms were not filled 

in completely. Many of the incomplete observations, examinations or 

interventions were carried out by other members of the emergency 

services (as often noted in the free-text). Adding a tick-box to indicate 

when this was the case would avoid care appearing insufficient and 

would highlight the admirable teamwork between police and medical 

practitioners on scene. 

The free text section is a valuable part of the form that to some degree 

bypasses the problems with the form itself. The level of detail in the freetext 

section of the PRFs is often high and also acknowledges the PRF as a 

feedback mechanism to improve on care given. However, in some PRFs, 

the free text contradicted the boxes ticked, which leads to flawed reporting. 

This audit reveals a substantial number of incidents involving mental 

health, but this is based on analysis of the free-text material and clinical 

judgement of the incidents. Unfortunately, as there is no standard way of 

reporting mental health incidents on the PRFs, it is difficult to compare 

this to previous years but it could be an interesting component of future 

audits. An important addition would be a tick-box option for mental 

health, to enable a more reliable audit of these cases. 

Conclusion 

highlights the importance of medical and mental health training. 

There is no doubt that the skill of these officers saves lives and the 

quality of care given is commendable. 

References 

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Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/ 

bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingdecember2019 [Accessed 02 May 2020]. 

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6736(10)61454-7/fulltext [Accessed: 25 May 2020]. 

8. Fphc.rcsed.ac.uk. 2020. Statement From The FPHC Regarding Resuscitation During 

The COVID Pandemic - The Faculty Of Pre-Hospital Care. [online] Available at: https:// 

fphc.rcsed.ac.uk/about/about-us/news/2020/statement-from-the-fphc-regardingresuscitation-during-the-covid-pandemic 

https://fphc.rcsed.ac.uk/my-fphc/about-us/ 

news/2020/statement-from-the-fphc-regarding-resuscitation-during-the-covidpandemic. 

[Accessed 03 June 2020]. 

9. Hartley, F., Howells, A., Thurgood, A., Hall, F. and Porter, K., 2017. Medical training for 

police officers in specialist role (D13): A retrospective review of patient report forms 

from 2010–2015. Trauma, 20(1), pp.20-24. 

10. O’Driscoll, B., Howard, L., Earis, J., et al. British Thoracic Society Guideline for oxygen 

use in adults in healthcare and emergency settings . BMJ Open Resp Res 2017;4 

11. Rhimes, P., Williams, S., Hall, J., Porter, K, 2020. Retrospective Audit of Patient Report 

Forms (PRFs) from semi rural specialist police firearms units January to December 

2017. Faculty Published Resources - The Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care. Available at: 

https://fphc.rcsed.ac.uk/media/2883/retrospective-audit-of-patient-report-forms-prfsfrom-semi-rural-specialist-police.pdf 

[Accessed: 30 June 2020]. 

12. Franklin, M., Elford, J. Hall, J., Porter, K., 2020. Penthrox Audit 2020. Due for 

publication. Available at: https://fphc.rcsed.ac.uk/media/2898/administration-ofmethoxyflurane-penthrox-as-a-pre-hospital-analgesic-by-specialist-police-officers-aretrospective-audit-of-patient-report-forms.pdf 

13. Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes Registry Epidemiology Report, 2018. English 

Ambulance Services. [online] Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/ 

ctu/trials/ohcao/publications/epidemiologyreports/ohcao_epidemiology_report_2018_ 

published.pdf [Accessed: 25 May 2020]. 

PRFs recording the management of patients are essential tools for 

governing their clinical activities, aiding the training of specialist 

officers and enabling quality improvement of the care they provide. 

Simple modifications to the forms could enable police officers to 

more accurately and reliably record information. Officers showed 

improvements in airway management compared to previous years 

and there is possibly scope for increased use of supraglottic airway 

devices, primarily for asynchronous CPR. Generally, oxygen was used 

appropriately and the frequency of ROSC achieved demonstrates sound 

resuscitation skills. Incidents are frequently not trauma-related, which 

Authors 

Corresponding author 

Dr Jane Elford MBChB BSc (Hons), Foundation Year 1 Doctor, Ysbyty 

Gwynedd, Bangor. jane.elford@doctors.org.uk 

Miss Maggie Franklin, Medical Student, University of Liverpool. 

Miss Amy Elford BSc (Hons), University of Durham. 

Dr J Hall MBE, Hon Secretary FPHC RCS Ed. 

Prof. Sir K Porter, Professor of Clinical Traumatology, University Hospital 

Birmingham. 


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145

FEATURE 

WHY A SIMPLE BLOOD TEST COULD 

IDENTIFY THOSE MOST AT RISK OF 

COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS 


Abstract 

One of the biggest challenges facing medical teams treating Covid-19 patients 

is identifying which ones are likely to suffer the most extreme responses to the 

virus. Knowing this would make it possible to direct resources more efficiently 

and begin potentially life-saving treatment earlier. 

A large proportion of Covid-19 patients recover without a serious illness, and 

while certain factors such as age, diabetes or obesity are known to increase 

the chances that a patient will have more serious complications, these alone 

do not give a clear prediction of how the disease will progress. 

Now scientists believe they have an answer: a simple, affordable well 

established blood test which essentially measures the thickness of blood 

and makes it possible to separate the patients that are mildly affected, on the 

road to recovery or who are likely to deteriorate. 

The test in question is clinical viscosity. Scientists have been measuring 

viscosity for over 100 years and easy to use analysers have been available 

for 50 years. Interest in and demand for clinical viscometers has increased 

following the discovery that severe Covid-19 patients have very significantly 

raised plasma and serum viscosity levels. 

This is reported in the publication of a paper in the Lancet on 25 May 2020 by 

Cheryl Maier from Emory University, Georgia, Atlanta which demonstrated a 

dramatic rise of blood viscosity in severe Covid-19 patients. The sickest patients 

had the highest plasma viscosity levels, more than double normal values, and 

were also more likely to have a blood clot. 

Despite having prescribed medications, known as blood thinners, to prevent 

blood clots in Covid-19 patients, clotting unusually still occurred. Although 

referred to as blood thinners, these medications would normally block factors 

involved in the clotting process as opposed to thinning the blood. As a result 

of this, it is believed that there is more to investigate within the coagulation 

process. Hyperviscosity may be an important piece of the puzzle in linking 

inflammation to clotting. Cheryl Maier said: “One thing that stood out was the 

extremely high levels of fibrinogen, a big sticky protein that increases with 

inflammation and is a key building block for making blood clots.” 

Performing plasma viscosity measurements is a simple procedure when 

using viscometers specifically designed for clinical analysis. However, it 

appears that in north America, (USA and Canada) the majority of clinical 

laboratories are having to use viscometers that are designed for commercial 

use or for whole blood analysis. Many publications on clinical viscosity 

from north America actually report a “relative” viscosity rather than a true 

viscosity. This is because the analysers in use have not been designed to be 

calibrated, to standardised international values, SI units. 

The advantage of reporting an absolute viscosity value rather than a 

relative viscosity, is that absolute viscosities are scientifically a true value, 

independent of testing method and removes the potential for errors due to 

contamination of the water standard or the requirement to specify type of 

water used; e.g. tap water, distilled water, sterile water, de-ionised water etc. 

Results are then capable of being expressed in an internationally agreed 

standard format of Pascals second (Pa-s). 

The main advantage of using a viscosity system which has been designed, 

calibrated and controlled for clinical analysis, compared to an adapted 

industrial viscometer is that a clinical viscometer has increased precision 

and sensitivity in the clinical relevant range of 1.2 to 10 mPa-s. Commercial 

viscometers tend to have an operating range of between 10 and 100,000 Pa-s. 

Introducing clinical viscometers to pathology laboratories will enable 

clinicians to rapidly obtain results which can be easily interpreted for both 

plasma and serum viscosity, which for covid-19 patients will allow a simple 

rapid decision on which patients require more intensive therapy. 

Further advantages include: 

• Systems designed for closed vial sampling to reduce biohazard risk to 

operators 

• Systems designed for high sample throughput by fully automated 

sampling and cleaning 

• Automated cleaning designed to remove sample contamination and carry over 

• Software designed to highlight clinically abnormal/significant results 

• Systems designed to analyse small sample volumes under 0.5ml 

• As only 50µl is used per test, repeat tests can be carried out on 0.5ml sample 

• Integration to clinical laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) 

standard 

• Systems designed to be compliant with clinical laboratory regulatory 

requirements such as ISO:151489 

How can a combined plasma and serum viscosity be used and 

interpreted? 

The key to predicting how a patient’s illness is progressing lies in comparing two 

different viscosity measurements, blood plasma and blood serum both of which 

can be carried out on modern clinical viscometers. 

Plasma viscosity is mainly determined by the level of a blood clotting protein 

called fibrinogen and antibody concentrations produced by the body’s 

immune system, when it detects and neutralises harmful substances. 

Dr.Cheryl Maier’s Covid-19 patients had fibrinogen levels of up to five times 

the normal value. 

Serum is a clear fluid released from blood when blood clots. There is no 

fibrinogen in serum as this is all used in the production of the clot. Serum 

viscosity levels are mainly dependent upon the number of antibodies, the 

‘fighting proteins’ present. So, an increased serum viscosity can indicate a 

strong antibody response to Covid-19. 

If both plasma and serum results are normal and the patient has a diagnosis of 

Covid-19, they are probably asymptomatic, an infected patient who does not 

present with serious symptoms but is possibly a carrier. 

If only the serum viscosity is raised, this indicates increased antibody 

production and may indicate a recovering patient. 

If the plasma and serum viscosity analysis reveals that both results are 

raised, then the patient has raised antibody levels, and may also have a 

raised fibrinogen level. These patients should have their fibrinogen monitored 

to see if it is rising or falling. 

A raised plasma viscosity with normal serum viscosity indicates raised 

fibrinogen with no antibody response. These patients are probably 

deteriorating and will therefore be more likely to require intensive therapy. 

146 


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NEWSLINE 

Just brew-ti-ful: 

firefighter 

entrepreneurs serve 

up 20,000 cups of 

coffee to Covid-19 

key workers 

Two firefighter entrepreneurs 

handed out over 20,000 cups 

of coffee to frontline key 

workers, including Ambulance 

staff, during the peak of the 

coronavirus in the UK as they 

gear up for a second spike in 

the pandemic. 

Matt Broxton, 28, and Tom Taylor, 

28, decided to set up an online 

coffee company because the 

instant coffee at the fire stations 

they both worked at was ‘terrible’ 

and ‘tasted like tarmac’. 

The pair has sold 4741.25kg of 

coffee so far which at 7g a cup 

is the equivalent of 677,321 cups 

of coffee with 20,000 of those 

going direct to the frontline for 

free during the UK lockdown in 

the spring. 

Frontline Coffee aims to support 

frontline charities ‘one coffee bean 

at a time’ and has so far raised 

over £17,000 with donations 

made to NHS Charities Together, 

the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat 

Institution), TASC (The Ambulance 

Staff Charity) and The Firefighters 

Charity. 

Matt said: “Our emergency and 

health services are the best in 

the world, but they are only the 

best because of the people that 

make them up. We strive to be 

a company that supports these 

amazing people. 

“In the fire service after you’ve 

been out on a ‘shout’ to a house 

fire or had to deal with a difficult 

situation, it’s a typically British 

thing to do to have a coffee or 

cup of tea. 

“When lockdown happened and 

key workers were having to deal 

with the enormity of Covid-19, 

we felt these people would be in 

even more need of a good cup of 

coffee when they finally sat down 

for a break. 

“That is why we made it our 

mission to get good coffee to key 

workers working exceptionally 

hard during these troubling times 

in hospitals, police, fire and 

ambulance stations during the UK 

lockdown. 

“Our soul mission is also to raise 

awareness about the great work 

They felt all key workers involved 

in dealing with the Covid-19 

pandemic ‘deserved a decent cup 

of coffee’. The young founders set 

up Frontline Coffee with its profits 

donated to emergency service 

and health charities. 

“Me and Tom both have a passion 

for real coffee so we always 

used to joke about how terrible 

the instant coffee was at the fire 

station and how it used to taste 

like tarmac. 

our frontline services do and 

raise money for their respective 

charities. We’re absolutely 

delighted to have raised more 

than £17,000 so far.” 

Frontline Coffee has taken off so 

rapidly that Matt has left his job 

as a firefighter with the London 

Fire Brigade to focus on their 

social enterprise full-time. Tom, 

meanwhile, still works for the 

Devon and Somerset fire service. 


148 


NEWSLINE 

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Matt and Tom’s collection 

includes a blend for each 

emergency service such as First 

Response supporting TASC, the 

Bevan Blend for NHS Charities 

Together named after its creator, 

Aneurin Bevan and The Thin Red 

Line for Firefighter Charity and 

more. Frontline Coffee also sell 

grinders, brewing kits, specialist 

tea and merchandise. 

The pair got started with one 

second hand industrial roaster 

and it is now manufactured 

on a grand scale in the south 

west of England. Matt and 

Tom hand-picked the coffee 

beans to match the exact taste 

the pair were looking for. They 

hand-pack orders themselves 

before arranging deliveries to 

customers. 

Tom said: “We never expected 

Frontline Coffee to take off like 

this but it grew legs so we had to 

make a decision that one of us 

would have to take it on full-time. 

We decided that Matt would be 

better pushing it further on a dayto-day 

basis as he had created 

the website and runs all of our 

social media. 

“We didn’t want to look back in 

10 years’ time and say ‘what if?’. 

We had spoken quite a few times 

about setting up something for 

charity and giving something 

back. The sudden arrival of 

Covid-19 brought Frontline Coffee 

forward quicker than either of us 

ever imagined. It has just been an 

amazing journey so far.” 

Working in the Frontline services 

clearly runs in both families. Matt’s 

mum, Jannette was a nurse, and 

his Dad, Gary and uncle, Ron, 

were both in the Royal Navy, while 

girlfriend Rosie, who is Tom’s 

cousin, is also a nurse. Tom’s 

wife, Kirsty, meanwhile, is a police 

detective. 

Matt added: “Both mine and 

Tom’s families both have a history 

of working for frontline services so 

I guess we all have it in our blood 

to help people. Now more than 

ever, we aim to support our key 

workers through this next set of 

challenging times.” 

 

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149

NEWSLINE 

WMAS 

Ambulance: Code 

Red, the new 

documentary on 

paramedics 

The first episode of the new 

documentary on paramedics 

“Ambulance: Code Red” went 

on air on Channel 5. The 

EMS protagonist is the West 

Midlands Ambulance Service. 

Critical care paramedic Tom 

Waters speaks about his 

experience as a paramedic on 

the ambulance, but also about his 

experience on stage. Indeed, he 

starred in this new documentary 

series on paramedics and 

ambulance life. 

In 2015, Tom alongside Dr Dave 

Cooper was involved in the rescue 

and treatment of 18-year-old Leah 

Washington and 20-year-old Vicky 

Cooper during the Alton Towers 

rollercoaster crash. Together they 

climbed 40ft to treat Leah and 

Vicky, who both had to have part 

of their legs amputated following 

the horrific accident. They were 

given a national award for their 

efforts. 

In this new series, Tom will 

appears with specially trained 

paramedics battling at the 

roadside to save a 13-year-old 

boy left with suspected brain 

injuries following a road accident. 

Time is ticking for the patient 

and the critical care paramedics 

will have to use their diagnostic 

and life-saving skills to prioritise 

treatment so he can make it to the 

hospital. 

Without giving further spoilers, 

the chief executive of West 

Midlands Ambulance Service, 

Anthony Marsh, reported that “the 

programme gives a real insight 

into the support that critical-care 

paramedics and doctors provided 

by the air ambulance charity 

can give to its own ambulance 

crews who are dealing with some 

of the most complex patients. 

It demonstrates how they work 

with the crews on scene to use 

their enhanced skills to benefit 

patients. Without the work of the 

staff on scene, the teams wouldn’t 

be able to use those skills, so it 

really is all about working together. 

The teams provide critical care 

at the scene that saves lives, 

brains and limbs, including prehospital 

surgery and pre-hospital 

anaesthesia.” 

EEAST 

Ambulance service 

strikes back 

with hard-hitting 

campaign against 

abuse 

The EAST of England 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust 

has responded to increased 

assaults and abuse against 

staff with a tough publicity 

campaign that spells out the 

impact that abuse has on 

crews – and their ability to do 

their job. 

The Choose Respect! 

campaign features shocking 

images of ambulance crew 

members – accompanied by 

text describing being violently 

or sexually assaulted while on 

duty, along with facts about how 

it affected their ability to work. 

Alex, 27, is an Emergency 

Medical Technician, working out 

of Thetford, who volunteered to 

feature in the campaign. 

He was assaulted on Boxing 

Day 2019 by a violent drunk, 

causing him to be off work for 

more than a week. He said: 

assistance, and the police took 

him away. 

“There was no major damage, 

but I was off work for a week 

and a half as I couldn’t drive 

because of headaches. And 

I had a black eye for three 

weeks. 

“I’m more hesitant now about 

going into situations that are 

flagged as potentially violent… 

instead of going in and seeing 

what the situation is, I’ll wait 

until the Police arrive.” 

Chief Executive Dorothy 

Hosein said the campaign was 

intended to make people aware 

that assaults against staff were 

not without consequences: 

“We are seeing a steady 

increase in assaults and abuse, 

year-on-year from just over 

1,000 incidents in 2015-16 to 

over 1,300 in 2018-19. 

“This has to stop. There were 

250 incidents between March 1 

and June 11 this year alone. 

Not only does this cause 

terrible long-term physical 

and psychological harm to our 

“We had taken our patient to 

West Suffolk Hospital, when 

there was a problem with 

another patient being admitted 

in front of us. The patient 

became aggressive to the duty 

sister and the students, and 

when I went over to him, he 

punched my colleague. 

employees, but clinicians and 

other essential staff needing 

time off work because of 

assaults or abuse affects our 

capacity to serve the public 

during the pandemic. 

“No-one deserves to be abused 

at work, but we will not tolerate 

our staff – who are only ever 


“I managed to push him out the 

of door, where he began to try 

and break into the back of an 

ambulance before he returned 

and tried to hit me. 

“I dodged the punch, but didn’t 

expect the head-butt. The 

security team and two passing 

prison guards came to my 

there to help people – being 

abused and left unable to work, 

at a time when the public really 

needs them. 

“We will always support our 

staff and work with the police 

to secure convictions and the 

strongest penalties wherever 

appropriate.” 

150 


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151

NEWSLINE 


Statement in 

response to CQC 

inspection report 

Today’s Care Quality 

Commission report is 

clear that the Trust has 

not addressed some longstanding 

concerns around 

culture, leadership and 

governance. The Trust’s 

executive team absolutely 

recognise the seriousness 

of the concerns raised by 

the CQC, and have set out to 

improve the organisation’s 

culture, strengthen 

safeguarding, and tackle 

inappropriate behaviour, as 

urgent priorities. 

Since the inspection during June 

and July this summer, the Trust 

has: 

• updated safeguarding policies; 

now using new procedures 

to record, manage and audit 

concerns 

• increased support and 

mentoring for staff raising 

concerns and clearer routes 

for mental health support 

identified; 

• introduced more robust 

complaints procedures to 

ensure effective investigations 

and lessons are learned 

systematically. 

During the next month the Trust 

will: 

• increase the visibility of the 

Freedom to Speak Up Guardian 

and encourage staff to speak 

up 

• introduce campaigns to 

encourage positive cultural 

change and behaviour 

• survey all staff on their 

experience of the Trust’s 

culture including inappropriate 

behaviour. 

The Chair of the East of England 

Ambulance Service, Nicola 

Scrivings said: 

“Today’s report calls out where 

we need to improve and we will 

now do everything possible, as 

fast as possible, to make the 

improvements required. 

“We are working closely with the 

CQC, NHS colleagues and other 

partners to take action right now 

to address these concerns and 

put this right for the long-term. 

“The trust aims to provide 

outstanding quality of care and 

performance for patients and be 

an exceptional place to work, 

volunteer and learn. In a message 

to staff today, the executive 

team has again reinforced its 

commitment to listen to and 

support anyone who raises 

concerns. 

“It is clear from the CQC staff 

survey that the majority of staff 

at the Trust are proud to work for 

EEAST. The role of the leaders 

is to make sure every member 

of the team feels that pride, with 

the support and culture they 

deserve.” 

SECAMB 

Ambulance crews 

return to improved 

and modernised 

Sheppey station 

South East Coast Ambulance 

Service (SECAmb) staff have 

returned to Sheppey Ambulance 

Station following a six-month 

major refurbishment project. 

The station modernisation forms 

part of the Trust’s ongoing work 

to convert all of its estate to its 

Make Ready system – a vehicle 

preparation system which sees 

specialist teams of staff employed 

to clean, restock and maintain 

vehicles, meaning staff, who 

previously undertook these tasks, 

can spend more time treating 

patients. 

The improvement work at the 

Main Road site in Queenborough 

means the station now boasts 

modern rest, educational and 

training facilities including a 

training room including named 

in memory of Rhod Prosser, a 

SECAmb paramedic who sadly 

died following a battle with cancer 

earlier this year. 

Ambulance crews, who 

temporarily began shifts in 

Sittingbourne while the works 

took place, and responded 

from response posts including 

Sheppey Fire Station, will now 

start their shifts at the new base 

before being posted to respond 

from a number of Ambulance 

Community Response Posts 

across the region. 

As part of wider improvements 

in the area, and as announced 

last month, ambulance crews 

starting and ending their shifts 

at Medway and Sittingbourne 

ambulance stations will, instead, 

start and finish at a new facility 

in Gillingham, which expected to 

become operational in 2022. 

The new centre will house a 

Make Ready Centre as well as 

999 and 111 operations centres. 

Sheppey vehicles will feed into 

the Gillingham centre regularly 

for restocking, cleaning and 

maintenance. 

SECAmb Operating Unit Manager 

for Dartford and Medway, Will 

Bellamy, said: “It’s been great to 

welcome crews back to the muchimproved 

station. Our staff, and in 

turn our patients, will benefit from 

this development which ensures 

our site on the island is modern 

and provides us with a building 

and facilities which are fit for the 

future. 

“I would like to thank staff for their 

patience while the work took place 

and also Kent Fire and Rescue for 

their continued support which has 

included us using their premises 

as a rest point for crews.” 

SECAMB 

Trust achieves 

gold award for 

commitment to 

equality and diversity 


Service NHS Foundation Trust 

(SECAmb) is pleased to have 

achieved a gold award from 

enei (Employers Network for 

Equality and Inclusion). 

The TIDE (Talent Inclusion and 

Diversity Evaluation) gold award is 

the third year in a row SECAmb has 

been recognised by the organisation 

following two silver awards. 

SECAmb is the only ambulance 

trust in a record 98 entries from 

organisations from across 26 

sectors. A total of 51 achieved an 

award with SECAmb among 13 

achieving the highly-coveted gold 

award. 

Other gold winners include IBM 

UK ltd, the Ministry of Justice and 

fellow NHS organisation, North East 

London NHS Foundation Trust. 

SECAmb will use the benchmark 

report to implement further 

improvements in how diversity 

and inclusion is thoroughly 

embedded throughout the 

whole organisation and a part of 

everything it does. 

SECAmb Executive Director of 

HR & Organisation Development, 

Ali Mohammed said: “I’m really 

pleased that our approach to 

diversity and inclusion has once 

again been recognised, this year 

with an enei gold benchmark. 

We know that we must do lots 

more to ensure this is embedded 

throughout the whole organisation 

but it’s great to see our continued 

progress recognised in this way.” 

152 


Solution Sheet 

HEXAGON INTRODUCES ASSISTIVE AI TECHNOLOGY FOR 

PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES 

Insights from next-generation tools 

Next-generation (NG9-1-1 / 112) technologies open new 

In today’s world, headline-grabbing emergencies are happening 

more communications frequently in more channels places. (e.g., It is hard texting to watch and messaging 

television, listen 

to apps) the radio, between or read the a news public article and without public safety learning answering about another 

incident points impacting (PSAPs). And communities because in PSAPs both the are short the and first long link term. in 

the public safety chain, many next-generation solutions 

Unfortunately, are designed those with responding call-takers to complex in mind. emergencies often have very 

little lead time and real-time information, making complex emergencies 

even When more integrated challenging within and disruptive. a PSAP’s Whether data-rich it is an computer-aided 

explosion, terrorist 

attack, dispatch or smaller (CAD) events system, like coordinated for example, thefts AI across and ML a city, can there help is 

a fill need operational for clear, immediate blind spots insights with that assistive can inform insights, swift and effective helping 

action. avoid seeking The impacts faster to public from build safety large, agencies safer, rapid on-set can smarter detect incidents. and respond cities And to 

complex because events, those the insights better they are can based contain on the the effects. organization’s 

data, Once it considered promotes confident a futuristic decision-making. 

science fiction concept, 

Hexagon’s artificial Safety intelligence & Infrastructure (AI) division plays identified critical this roles gap in and developed 

a Another society 

new AI-powered benefit today. 

product, 

From of NG9-1-1 HxGN 

smartphones 

OnCall / 112 ® technologies Dispatch 

and computers 

| Smart include Advisor, a to fill it. 

caller’s to infrastructure ability to quickly and government share photos operations, and videos AI with is 

Why call-takers. do public safety agencies need assistive AI? 

pervasive and PSAPs utilized with remote in countless access ways. to cameras A recent can IDC 

leverage report described AI to quickly AI as and “inescapable,” accurately identify and predicted potential 90% 

When complex emergencies occur, anyone working in a public safety 

suspects, of new enterprise suspect vehicles, apps will unsafe have embedded incident scenes, AI by 2025. or a 

agency knows relevant information trickles in. Crucial insights can be 

suspicious package. And passing images and video to the 

hidden in the noise or spread across systems and departments. Even 

field But what gives is first it, responders exactly? The invaluable National information. 

Institute of Justice 

members of the same team may hold different fragments of information. 

describes AI as a machine’s ability to independently 

These fragments need to be filtered and pieced together to understand 

Organizations perceive and respond commonly to tasks utilize that AI in would other typically ways, 

the magnitude and nature of what is happening, but it’s often impossible 

from 

to 

require gunshot 

see the big 

human detection 

picture 

intelligence systems 

until it’s too late 

and 

to act. 

decision-making. to evidence analysis AI, 

and along processing. with machine Genetic learning testing (ML), utilizes works AI behind and ML the 

to 

A scenes uncover 

sad example to enhance patterns 

of this is the the in DNA 

2019 execution that solve 

Christchurch of shootings tasks crimes like and 

in New 

Zealand identify transcribing that perpetrators. 

were audio over in less and than video, 20 minutes. blocking It is unwanted 

those types of 

situations emails, that preventing are keeping banking agency supervisors fraud, and even directors diagnosing up at night. 

medical conditions. 

Many agencies have analytics solutions that mine data and give clarity 

to How past AI events processes in order data to prepare varies for because the future. it A can recent be survey autonomous of 

public (i.e., safety applied professionals across an in the entire US found business 81 percent process) of respondents or 

said assistive AI somewhat, (i.e., applied very, or extremely in specific important stages). to their IDC organisations.* 

describes 

these processes as producing insights, assessing 

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NEWSLINE 

a helipad so close to our highly 

Patients were previously flown to 

Measuring 30 metres by 30 

£600,000 helipad 

operational at Hull 

Royal Infirmary 

Helicopters are now able to fly 

critically ill and injured patients 

directly to Hull Royal Infirmary 

after its new £600,000 helipad 

was declared operational. 

Hull University Teaching Hospitals 

NHS Trust has completed the 

major construction project 

so patients seriously hurt in 

accidents across East and North 

Yorkshire and parts of Lincolnshire 

can be flown into the hospital 

grounds, the Major Trauma Centre 

(MTC) for the area. 

The helipad, behind Hull Royal 

Infirmary’s £12m Emergency 

Department (ED), had been 

funded entirely by the HELP 

Appeal, the only charity in the 

country dedicated to funding NHS 

hospital helipads. 

Trust Chief Executive Chris 

Long said: “We are deeply 

grateful to the HELP Appeal for 

its £600,000 donation which 

has allowed us to construct 

the helipad directly behind our 

Emergency Department. 

skilled major trauma team means 

we will be able to save more lives 

in situations where every second 

counts.” 

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive 

of the HELP Appeal, said: 

“As the Major Trauma Centre 

for the whole region, funding 

a helipad outside ED was 

essential. Everyone is aware of 

the vital roles that hospitals and 

air ambulances play in treating 

a critically ill patient but having 

a helipad outside the ED can 

play a significant part in saving 

vital minutes when transporting 

a patient to the expert care they 

need to save lives. 

“As the only charity in the country 

funding live-saving helipads, we 

are pleased to be able to cover 

the entire cost of the helipad. 

We know the difference having a 

ground-level helipad right outside 

ED would make. 

“With the support of the air 

ambulances and the excellent 

emergency care team at Hull 

Royal Infirmary, this unique mix of 

helicopters, helipad and hospital 

medical staff will make a huge 

difference to those people who 

may need life-saving treatment 

the helipad on the other side of 

the hospital car park on Argyle 

Street and had to be transferred 

to Hull Royal in an ambulance 

along Anlaby Road, one of the 

busiest roads in the city centre. 

Intensive Care Consultant Dr 

Tom Cowlam, the trust’s clinical 

lead for the MTC, said: “The new 

helipad will shorten the journey 

by a quarter of an hour and 

remove the need for the patient 

to be transferred in a second 

ambulance to the Emergency 

Department. 

“It will make the transfer quicker 

and more seamless for the trauma 

patient. 

“When you have a really poorly 

person, this might be the 

difference between life and death 

because this could be the time 

when they are having surgery or a 

massive blood transfusion to save 

them.” 

Duncan Taylor, Director of Estates, 

Facilities and Development, said 

the trust funded the demolition 

of the Haughton building among 

others and clearance of the site 

before main contractor Unico 

Construction could begin work on 

metres, 900 tonnes of concrete 

were brought onto the hospital 

site, over the course of one day. 

An access road for fire engines 

and service vehicles has been 

built alongside a second 

pedestrian route where patients 

will be carried out of the air 

ambulance and rushed into the 

ED. 

Special double fences have been 

erected around the helipad as 

“baffles” to reduce noise pollution, 

provide security and the majority 

of the site has been turfed with 

pinned grass covered with mesh 

overlay to act as a “soakaway” to 

remove water from the helipad. 

Lights have been imported 

from Holland to be set into 

the concrete, now covered in 

specialist paint. 

Hull is one of the country’s 27 

Major Trauma Centres (MTCs), 

credited with saving an additional 

1,600 people’s lives since they 

were established in 2012. 

Lincs and Nott Air Ambulance 

use the Hull helipad most often, 

with Yorkshire Air Ambulance 

and Derbyshire, Leicester and 

Rutland Air Ambulance also flying 

casualties to the city. 

“There is no doubt that having 

urgently.” 

the helipad. 

The Search and Rescue 

helicopter, based at Humberside 

Airport, also lands in Hull with 

people winched off mountains or 

those injured on oil rigs or out at 

sea. 


The helipad will also be used by 

the Children’s Air Ambulance, 

which can fly specialist medical 

teams into Hull to treat seriously 

ill children as well as fly children 

from here to hospital with 

specialist paediatric services. 

To support the HELP Appeal 

please call the donation helpline 

on 0800 389 8999 or text HPAD22 

plus the amount and send to 

70070. 

154 


NEWSLINE 

The event dedicated to transforming 

our emergency services 

Be part of The Emergency Services Show 2021 to demonstrate what the future 

holds for the emergency services industry. Sell to the buyers and specifiers at the 

UK’s leading annual showcase of the blue light sector. 

> 10,000+ 

VISITORS 

Use The Emergency Services Show to: 

> Meet buyers and specifiers of equipment 

and services 

> Network with the market 

> Launch new products 

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> Collaborate with other suppliers 

and services 

> Raise your profile in the industry 

> 450+ 

LEADING SUPPLIERS 

> 15th 

SHOW 

Meet visitors with active buying requirements for: 

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NEW FOR 2021 

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It’s the best show that I can recall 

coming to. There’s a buzz about 

the show and a lot of energy. 

The quality of the people who have 

come and who are genuinely 

interested in what we are doing, 

we can offer them a genuine benefit. 

It’s been a real roaring success. 

Colin Hanna, Head of National Sales, 

St John Ambulance 

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” 


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

155

NEWSLINE 

LAS 

Service introduces 

new measures 

to help lead to 

tougher staff assault 

sentences 

We have recruited two Violence 

Reduction Officers as part of our 

ongoing work to protect staff. 

The officers will work closely with 

the Met Police as they support 

victims who want to take their 

cases to court. 

Louise Murray is one of the new 

Violence Reduction Officers and 

also works as an emergency 

medical technician out of Bromley 

Ambulance Station. 

She said: “Aggression against our 

staff can leave them in fear, it can 

lead to PTSD and cause all sorts 

of mental health problems. 

“I’ve seen the increase in assaults 

and know the impact it can have – 

I’ve been assaulted myself. That’s 

why I’m so passionate about 

what we are doing – making sure 

people have the support they 

need and also getting as much 

evidence as we can so we can 

push for prosecutions.” 

“We will do everything to support 

someone who has been attacked 

and that includes trying to ensure 

the attacker is prosecuted.” 

Ambulance crews in London were 

physically attacked 59 times in 

August alone. 

New figures from the Service 

show assaults dropped during 

March and April but as lockdown 

restrictions began easing, 

physical abuse has been on 

the rise with an average of two 

attacks a day. 

There have been 260 violent 

incidents since April – usually 

patients or their families attacking 

the ambulance crews who are 

there to help. 

Attacks include kicking, punching, 

head-butting and biting and there 

have also been nine assaults with 

weapons. 

There were 625 reported physical 

attacks last year and a further 

713 non-physical assaults, which 

include threats and verbal abuse. 

Managers fear the true scale of 

the problem could be worse as 

incidents are often not reported – 

despite a campaign to encourage 

staff to report all abuse. 

Chief Executive Garrett Emmerson 

said: “Protecting our people and 

ensuring they are safe while they 

are working is a highest priority. 

“Our crews and call handlers 

have made huge sacrifices to 

care for patients with courage 

and compassion – it is absolutely 

disgusting for them to be attacked 

while doing so and should not be 

seen as something which goes 

with the job. 

“We will push for the prosecution 

of anyone who attacks our staff.” 

saying exactly where you are can 

be challenging. Emergencies 

can happen anywhere, from 

Northumberland countryside to 

heritage North East beaches; 

these all present a challenge to 

locate patients in rural areas for 

NEAS. 

Explaining where you are can 

be difficult over the phone and 

landmark-based descriptions 

are prone to errors and GPS 

coordinates are long and difficult 

to communicate. Finding your 

location quickly can mean the 

difference between life and 

death in some cases. In winter 

especially, if you are not found 

quick enough outside you can 

suffer from hypothermia, which is 

a series condition when your body 

temperature drops dangerously 

low. 

The what3words platform has 


Violence Reduction Officer Louise 

Violence Reduction Officer Andrew 

NEAS 

3 words can save 

lives 

The North East Ambulance 

Service (NEAS) has invested 

in new technology to increase 

its response time to patients in 

hard to reach locations. 

‘Where’s the emergency?’ is 

one of the first questions you 

are asked when calling 999 but 

divided coordinates of the world 

into a grid of 3m x 3m squares. It 

has given each square a unique 

combination of three words - a 

what3words address, which will 

take you to a precise location. 

After it was used successfully 

used elsewhere in the region 

by neighbouring emergency 

services, NEAS now joins over 90 

emergency services across Great 

Britain who are doing the same. 

156 


NEWSLINE 

The new app has been 

streamlined within the ambulance 

service’s Emergency Operations 

Centre by integrating the platform 

into its system where emergency 

calls are taken. Once the three 

words have been provided to the 

call handler, they will then input 

these into the app and track your 

location. Emergency help can 

then be directed to you. 

Systems and resilience dispatch 

officer Mark Hagan has been the 

lead for NEAS on installing the 

what3words app into its system. 

He said, “A 999 call could be 

one of the worst times of your 

life. You might be on your own in 

immediate danger, possibly in a 

lot of pain or feeling very unwell. 

It’s the job of our health advisors 

to find where you are as quickly 

as possible. As every minute is 

delayed getting our frontline crew 

to you, the more your condition 

will deteriorate. 

“It is often assumed that our 

call handlers know your location 

based on phone signals, but they 

don’t and it can be very stressful 

at times trying to find the location 

of a patient who needs urgent 

help. 

“Before the new technology, we 

relied on people trying to identify 

landmarks, shops or junctions 

and this often proved difficult. If 

people were from outside of the 

area this was an added challenge 

as they weren’t familiar with where 

they were. 

“In the week we have been using 

what3words, it has been used five 

times so far to locate patients and 

we anticipate it will be used more 

frequently. 

“We also rely on resources from 

neighbouring partners such as the 

Coastguard and Mountain Rescue 

Service to locate a patient, but 

this app will really cut down on 

the time it will take to respond to 

patients and potentially save more 

lives.” 

The app is free to download for 

both iOS and Android and works 

entirely offline – making it ideal for 

use in areas of the UK, even with 

an unreliable data connection. 

What3words can also be used via 

the online map at: 

https://what3words.com and 

the technology is available in over 

40 languages, as well as being 

accessible anywhere in the world. 

Remember, if you are in an 

emergency and unable to tell the 

call handler of your exact location, 

follow these instructions on how 

to use what3words: 

1. Find the three-word address 

for your current location on the 

what3words app. 

2. Share your three-word address 

over the phone to the call 

handler. 

3. The emergency service can 

then coordinate a response 

directly to the exact location 

where help is needed. 

From horse riders, kayakers and 

rural walkers to mountain bikers, 

car crashes and sailors; the list 

is endless for reasons why you 

should download the what3words 

app as you never know when you 

might be in an emergency and it 

might just save your life. 

SECAMB 

Trust appoints new 

Non-Executive 

Director 

1 October, subject to the usual 

employment checks. 

Tom is a passionate supporter of 

the NHS. A nurse, he has spent 

four decades in healthcare and 

has experience in both hospital 

and pre-hospital care. Now a 

senior academic the majority 

of his research has focused on 

improving outcomes for patients 

under ambulance care. 

Tom has a long-standing 

relationship with SECAmb and 

has previously served as a 

SECAmb governor while at the 

University of Surrey. He holds a 

number of volunteer roles locally 

including being Clinical Director 

of HeartStart Farnham Lions and 

nationally as a Trustee of British 

Association for Immediate Care. 

He is a Fellow of the Royal 

College of Nursing, European 

Society of Cardiology, American 

Heart Association and American 

College of Cardiology. His 

contribution to patient care was 

recognised in 2019 by election as 

an honorary Fellow of the College 

of Paramedics. 

SECAmb Chairman, David Astley 

said: “I am pleased we have 

been able to appoint Tom and I 

look forward to working closely 

with him. I know SECAmb will 

benefit from his extensive clinical 

experience and his long-standing 

relationship with the Trust and 

other local partners.” 

Tom added: “As a patient I have 


Service NHS Foundation 

Trust (SECAmb) is pleased to 

announce the appointment of a 

new Non-Executive Director. 

The Trust’s Council of Governors 

recently passed a resolution to 

appoint Professor Tom Quinn to 

the role. Tom, who works at St 

George’s, University of London 

and Kingston University, will begin 

a three-year term of office on 

first-hand experienced calling 

999, receiving expert care from 

call handlers and the ambulance 

crew who came to my aid. This 

interaction confirmed the highly 

professional and compassionate 

care which I already knew 

SECAmb delivered day-in, dayout. 

I am looking forward to taking 

up this new role and working 

with everyone across the whole 

organisation for the benefit of 

patients.” 



157

NEWSLINE 


Health Scholars 

and the American 

Academy of 

Pediatrics Partner 

to Develop Pediatric 

Emergency Virtual 

Reality (VR) 

Simulation Training 

for First Responders 

The new VR applications will 

provide a remote, scalable 

way for first responders to 

practice properly assessing 

and providing care during a 

pediatric emergency. 

Health Scholars, the company 

recognized for voice-directed VR 

simulations including advanced 

cardiovascular life support (ACLS) 

training for first responders and 

clinicians, and the American 

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 

the 67,000-member organization 

dedicated to the optimal health 

and well-being for all infants, 

children, adolescents and young 

adults, are pleased to announce 

a partnership to co-develop VR 

training applications to equip 

first responders with skills vital to 

assessing and treating pediatric 

medical emergencies. 

“Health Scholars is proud to 

partner with AAP to bring a truly 

meaningful innovation to market,” 

noted Cole Sandau, CEO, Health 

Scholars. “The partnership will 

provide highly differentiated 

training to help first responders 

better prepare for pediatric 

emergency situations.” 

The goal of the partnership is to 

leverage VR technology to deliver 

more active and impactful training 

opportunities for first responders. 

As a result, EMS providers will 

have the first-ever capability to 

continuously train on real-to-life 

pediatric emergency encounters 

using deliberate practice. The use 

of VR makes rich, experiencebased 

training highly accessible 

to all first responders in a low 

cost/high yield model. “During the 

time of COVID, we need to design 

innovative educational methods 

that deliver critical content and 

skills, while recognizing that 

in-person training is not always 

feasible,” said AAP member 

Sarah Denny, MD, FAAP who 

reviewed and provided feedback 

to the VR scenarios. “Through this 

collaboration, EMS professionals 

can participate in distance 

learning using virtual reality and 

simulation to practice the critical 

hands-on skills that are necessary 

to treat pediatric emergencies in 

the field.” 

The two co-developed VR 

applications, “Pediatric 

Emergency Assessment” and 

“Pediatric Emergency Care,” are 

the first VR simulations dedicated 

to pediatric emergencies for EMS 

professionals. Recognizing severe 

illness in infants and children 

is challenging, and it’s further 

compounded by limited exposure 

to pediatric emergencies. 

Unless providers are practicing 

frequently, the nuanced critical 

skill sets needed to effectively 

treat infants and children decline 

over time, leading to significant 

readiness challenges. 

AAP and Health Scholars 

recognized a substantive 

gap in preparing for pediatric 

emergencies and see VR as 

a solution for increasing the 

frequency of training in realto-life 

scenarios. The new 

applications represent an 

industry breakthrough in using 

converged VR technologies 

to address critical outcomes. 

The applications use artificial 

intelligence (AI-enabled) voice 

technology to replicate real-world 

interaction and to create highly 

sophisticated, self-directed 

learning experiences that adapt 

to the providers’ proficiency 

level to optimize learning gains. 

This innovative approach to 

learner assessment captures 

rich information about individual 

learner competencies and the 

overall readiness of departments 

or regional/national organizations. 

The combination of all these 

elements creates one of the most 

sophisticated and consequential 

training platforms in the market. 

“Limited exposure to severely 

ill infants and children in the 

prehospital setting presents a 

challenge in terms of training. 

Providers need continuous 

deliberate practice for pediatric 

emergencies in order to maintain 

readiness for the subtle symptoms 

which severely ill infants and 

children often manifest and to 

promptly initiate high-quality 

resuscitative care. VR enables the 

delivery of this training to large 

learner populations,” said Brian 

Gillett, President & Chief Medical 

Officer, Health Scholars. 

“Pediatric Emergency 

Assessment” is available for 

immediate use, and “Pediatric 

Emergency Care” is available for 

pre-sale. For more information, 

visit https://healthscholars.com/ 

solutions/first-responders/ 

About Health Scholars 

Our mission is to advance 

healthcare education through 

virtualization, making experiencebased 

training scalable, 

accessible and affordable to 

both Healthcare and Public 

Safety providers. Our VR platform 

provides management, delivery 

and performance analysis 

of VR training and our AIenabled 

VR simulations deliver 

scenarios for resuscitation, 

perioperative, obstetrical, and 

public emergencies, providing 

a risk-free environment for 

repeated deliberate practice. 

For more information, visit www. 

HealthScholars.com. 

About the American Academy of 

Pediatrics 

The American Academy of 

Pediatrics is an organization of 

67,000 primary care pediatricians, 

pediatric medical subspecialists 

and pediatric surgical specialists 

dedicated to the optimal health 

and well-being for all infants, 

children, adolescents and young 

adults. For more information, visit 

www.aap.org. 

NEAS 

Supporting BAME 

communities thanks 

to NHS Charities 

Together donation 

North East Ambulance Service 

has received a grant of £50,000 

from NHS Charities Together to 

progress its work with Black, 

Asian and minority ethnic 

(BAME) communities and 

develop initiatives to support 

BAME staff in the workplace. 

The money will be used to support 

a community positive action officer 

to raise awareness of the services 

we provide and how to access 

them. The officer will also help to 

set up a community ambassador 

scheme working with local BAME 

community organisations and 

individuals and promote ourselves 

as an inclusive employer. 

Money for some smaller scale 

projects to improve BAME employee 

experience in the workplace is also 

included in this grant. 

Karen O’Brien, director of people 

and development, said “This 

money will be used to fund a post 

to improve our engagement with 

BAME people in the region. 

“This is especially important at 

this time due to the increased risk 

of COVID on BAME communities. 

It is important we improve our 

engagement and communication 

and it also gives us an opportunity 

to promote the many employment 

and volunteering opportunities 

available in the Trust.” 

158 


NEWSLINE 

EEAST 

East of England 

Ambulance Service 

celebrate graduation 

of first apprentices 

The East of England 

Ambulance Service (EEAST) is 

celebrating after its first group 

of apprentices passed their 

courses to become qualified 

emergency medical technicians. 

A national programme, the level 4 

associate ambulance practitioner 

apprenticeship offers an 

innovative way to gain a higherlevel 

qualification in emergency 

care by combining a full-time job 

with study. Apprentices benefit 

from earning whilst they study and 

having their fees paid for by the 

Trust. 

The four apprentices – Sarah 

Batchelor, Sam Eaton, Mark Jones 

and Sarah Pym – passed their 

apprenticeship in August and will 

now go on to work as emergency 

medical technicians as part of 

a two-person ambulance crew 

responding to emergency (999) 

and urgent calls. 

required to achieve a level 3 

award in emergency response 

driving and a level 4 associate 

ambulance practitioner (QCF) 

diploma. 

The apprenticeship opens the 

door to higher education and the 

opportunity to gain paramedic 

qualifications. An apprenticeship 

pathway to become a paramedic 

is set to be introduced at EEAST 

next year, with all four newly 

qualified emergency medical 

technicians interested in following 

that route. 

Mark Stead, education manager 

at EEAST, said: “We are delighted 

to have our first four apprentices 

successfully complete their 

end point assessment. The 

four apprentices have worked 

incredibly hard and their 

dedication has been recognised 

with two merits and two distinction 

grades being awarded. 

“Many congratulations to Sarah, 

Sam, Mark and Sarah and 

to everyone in the Trust who 

supported them on their learning 

journey. We wish them a long and 

successful career at the East of 

England Ambulance Service.” 

been with EEAST for four years 

and took up the apprenticeship to 

progress his career. 

“I jumped at the chance of the 

apprenticeship to further my 

career with the ambulance service 

and see it as a stepping stone to 

becoming a paramedic,” he said. 

“I would say that dedication and 

a willingness to learn is crucial to 

completing the course, as there is 

lot to take in, but there is extensive 

support to help you throughout.” 

Sarah Pym, 42, was a support 

teacher at a SEN (special 

educational needs) school before 

starting the apprenticeship and 

is based at Harlow Ambulance 

Station. 

She said: “I learnt so much in 

a short space of time in the 

apprenticeship programme and 

the support we received from 

Kevin Cowan [training centre 

and quality assurance manager 

at Welwyn Garden City] and the 

tutors was amazing. I had such a 

positive experience from training 

to operations and am glad I took 

the opportunity to change my 

career. 

“I have been 

interested in 

working for 

the ambulance 

service for 

a long time, 

but I wasn’t 

in a position 

to pursue it 

until I saw the 

advert for the 

apprenticeship.” 

a paramedic and longer term, 

given my background in teaching, 

would like to be involved in 

training.” 

Sam Eaton, 29, who works out of 

Potters Bar Ambulance Station, 

said: “The tutors were excellent 

in guiding us through the course 

and I would definitely recommend 

the apprenticeship to people 

looking to further their career with 

the ambulance service.” 

The course takes 18 months to 

complete, with the apprentices 

Mark Jones, 25, who is based at 

Thurrock Ambulance Station, has 

“In the future I would like to 

undertake the training to become 

Sarah Batchelor, 46, who works 

out of Huntingdon Ambulance 

Station, said: “I have been 

interested in working for the 

ambulance service for a long 

time, but I wasn’t in a position to 

pursue it until I saw the advert for 

the apprenticeship. 

From left to right: Sarah Batchelor (top), Sam Eaton, Sarah Pym and Mark Jones 

“As someone who has come 

back to the classroom after an 

absence, the course was a bit of 

a shock to the system to start off 

with but everyone at the training 

centre was so supportive and it 

was a positive experience.” 

If you would like to find out 

more about becoming an 

apprentice at East of England 

Ambulance Service, please email 

apprenticeships@eastamb.nhs.uk 



159

NEWSLINE 


SECAMB 

New combined 

ambulance and 111 

centre for Medway 

given planning go 

ahead 

Plans to develop a new multipurpose 

ambulance centre in 

Gillingham have been given the 

green light by planners. 

In a first for South East Coast 

Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), the 

development at Bredgar Road 

would comprise of a new Make 

Ready Centre for the Medway 

region, as well as 999 and NHS 

111 operations centres relocated 

from Coxheath and Ashford in 

Kent respectively. 

Following the approval by Medway 

Council planners, and subject to 

full business case approval from 

SECAmb’s Trust Board, building 

work is expected to begin at the 

site early next year ahead of it 

becoming fully operational in 2022. 

The development will be funded 

with a previously announced £6.52 

million of government capital 

funding. 

The Trust’s Make Ready system, 

which is already in place across 

much of SECAmb’s region, is a 

vehicle preparation system which 

sees specialist teams of staff 

employed to clean, restock and 

maintain the Trust’s fleet. 

Ambulance crews currently starting 

and ending their shifts at Medway 

and Sittingbourne ambulance 

stations will, instead, start and 

finish at the new centre. They will 

then respond from ambulance 

community response posts across 

the region with suitable rest 

facilities for crews between calls 

and when on a break. 

Staff based in Sheppey will 

continue to start and end their 

shifts from the ambulance station 

on the island which is currently 

undergoing a major refurbishment 

and upgrade to provide new 

educational and training facilities. 

The plans would see the new 

Make Ready facility in Gillingham 

housed on the two lower floors of 

the new centre while staff currently 

based at the Trust’s East 999 

Emergency Operations Centre 

(EOC) in Coxheath will benefit 

from a modern open plan office 

above. The Trust’s NHS 111 staff, 

currently based in Ashford, Kent, 

will occupy the top floor. 

Bringing the 999 and 111 

services under one roof will 

allow for greater support for 

each service, with the modern 

facilities matching the Trust’s West 

Emergency Operations Centre, 

based in Crawley, which opened 

in 2017, and reflects the ambitions 

of the Trust to deliver new 

integrated urgent care services 

over a wider area. 

Having both of these services 

housed in the same building will 

facilitate greater sharing of best 

practice and, where feasible, 

will enable the Trust to optimise 

functions between the two. 

An integrated region-wide 

approach will provide clearer 

pathways for patients and a more 

efficient and resilient emergency 

and urgent care response service. 

The development also provides 

SECAmb with greater capacity, 

allows it to improve the ratio of 

999 call taking across its two 

Emergency Operations Centres 

and will bring local recruitment 

opportunities for people across 

both 999 and 111 services. 

SECAmb currently operates eight 

Make Ready Centres across its 

region with the latest set to open 

in Brighton in the coming months. 

SECAmb Associate Director of 

Contact Centres and Integrated 

Care, John J O’Sullivan said: 

“I’m really pleased the project 

has been given the go-ahead by 

planners. Our current Emergency 

Operations Centre for the East 

of our region is outdated, lacks 

space and is no longer fit for 

purpose. In addition, bringing our 

999 and 111 operations under 

one roof provides us with greater 

resilience and enables the two 

services to work more closely 

together to benefit patients across 

our whole region.” 

SECAmb Operating Unit Manager 

for Dartford & Medway, Will 

Bellamy added: “This latest 

stage in the roll-out of our Make 

Ready system is an important 

step in the development of the 

service we are able to provide 

our patients locally. The system 

is more efficient and also means 

ambulance crews have access 

to improved modern facilities for 

training. 

“We understand that changes like 

this have an impact on staff and 

we will fully engage with all those 

the development affects ahead of 

go live in 2022.” 

What is Make Ready? 

• The Make Ready initiative 

significantly enhances and 

improves the service SECAmb 

provides to the community. 

• It minimises the risk of crossinfection, 

frees up front-line 

staff - who traditionally cleaned 

and re-stocked ambulances 

- to spend more time treating 

patients, and keeps vehicles on 

the road for longer. 

• The initiative ensures that 

specially-trained operatives 

regularly deep-clean, restock 

and check vehicles for 

mechanical faults. 

• Make Ready Centres are 

supported by a network 

of Ambulance Community 

Responses Posts (ACRPs) 

across the area with staff 

beginning and ending their 

shifts at the new centre. 

• During their shifts, staff will 

respond from the ACRPs which 

will provide facilities for staff. 

These are located based on 

patient demand. 

• Crews continue to respond 

from the same towns under the 

system but begin and end their 

shifts at staggered times with a 

vehicle that is fully prepared for 

them. 

• The system ensures crews have 

access to improved training 

facilities and opportunities 

and increased support from 

managers. 

NHS hospital 

helipads see 15,500 

landings 

The HELP Appeal, which 

improves helicopter emergency 

medical services (HEMS) by 

funding the construction of 

new or upgraded hospital and 

air ambulance helipads, has 

announced there have been 

15,500 landings on the NHS 

hospital helipads it has funded 

across the country. 

Since the charity’s creation in 

2009, it has donated £20 million 

towards 39 new or upgraded 

helipads, of which 32 have been 

NHS hospital helipads - including 

17 based at Major Trauma 

Centres - and six air ambulance 

helipads. The cost of planned 

helipad projects equates to 

£50.75 million so far. 

This year alone, despite the 

pandemic, new helipads funded 

by the charity opened at the Royal 

Devon and Exeter Hospital, Hull 

Royal Infirmary and Hereford 

County Hospital. 

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NEWSLINE 

New helipads at the Royal Sussex 

County Hospital, Brighton; 

Manchester University NHS 

Foundation Trust; Airedale 

General Hospital, Keighley; 

Campbeltown Hospital, Worcester 

Hospital, Luton & Dunstable 

Hospital and Sheffield Children’s 

Hospital are planned to open 

within the next year or two. 

The charity is also currently 

funding improvements to existing 

helipads at University Hospital 

Coventry; University Hospital 

Crosshouse, Kilmarnock; Carlise 

Hospital, and Peterborough City 

Hospital, which will open this year. 

The HELP Appeal expanded into 

Scotland in 2015, to fund nine 

hospital helipads including the 

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital 

in Glasgow and Edinburgh Royal 

Infirmary, and Raigmore Hospital, 

Inverness with another three in the 

pipeline. It also provided £200,000 

over a four-year period to the 

Scottish Air Ambulance Service 

to fund replacement secondary 

landing sites throughout Scotland. 

The charity pioneered the 

introduction and funding of Deck 

Integrated Fire Fighting System 

(DIFFS) on five rooftop helipads 

across the country including 

King’s College Hospital and St 

George’s hospital, with three more 

planned, which save each NHS 

hospital around £250,000 every 

year in firefighting costs. 

It has also funded helipads at 

brand new air bases for several 

air ambulances, including the 

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance; 

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity; 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance; Great 

Western Air Ambulance; Kent, 

Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance 

and London Air Ambulance; and 

is funding helipads for Lincs & 

Notts Air Ambulance in 2020 and 

Great North Air Ambulance. 

The HELP Appeal also funded 

lifesaving equipment for the 

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity 

(MAAC) and two Critical Care 

Cars in partnership with MAAC, 

with a third car launching in 2020. 

It has also provided life-saving 

funding for the British Association 

for Immediate Care (BASICS) 

annually since 2019. 

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive 

of the HELP Appeal says: “Over 

10 years ago, hospital helipad 

facilities were severely lacking, 

yet finance for hospitals was tight. 

There was little doubt that if we 

didn’t offer non-repayable funds 

towards the cost of helipads, 

hospitals would struggle to ever 

have one, despite emergency 

medics saying they were 

desperately needed to save time 

and save lives. 

“Today, finance for hospitals 

remains tight, but the demand 

for our helipad grants continues 

to grow and we are recognised 

as the only charity in the country 

dedicated to funding hospital 

helipads.” 

Of the 15,500 landings, critically ill 

patients like 12-year-old George 

are alive and recovering well from 

their illness or injury, because 

the helipads they landed on 

were built beside the Emergency 

Department. 

George’s story 

George, who is 12 years old, was 

walking to school when he was 

hit by a motorbike at speed. He 

was flown to St George’s hospital 

helipad in 22 mins from Ashford in 

Surrey, a journey that would have 

taken one hour by road. 

Caroline, George’s mother, was 

at home when she received the 

news. She said: “George and I 

always walked to school together. 

This was the first time that he was 

going off by himself. 

“I was just waiting for my boys to 

come home, when I got a knock 

on the door. The lady said to 

me, your son has been in a road 

accident. As I walked round, I was 

so shocked. The road had been 

closed off, there were three police 

cars, an ambulance and George 

was in the middle of the road.” 

“When I went up to him at the 

scene, I didn’t know what to say 

to him. At the roadside, I just felt 

so guilty that he was on his own 

when this had happened to him.” 

HEMS doctor Sarah was at the 

scene: “If a fracture is open, like 

George’s was, that means that 

there’s also damage to the skin. 

If the fracture is displaced the 

bone may be facing in the wrong 

direction, which may affect blood 

supply, cause nerve damage and 

could be a lymph threatening 

injury. 

“It’s really important to reduce 

that risk, by putting it back into the 

position it was in before it broke. 

What we can provide is good 

pain relief, immediate reduction 

and emergency interventions, but 

what the patient actually needs 

is an orthopaedic surgeon and a 

theatre and it’s important we get 

the patient to this as quickly as 

possible. “ 

This is why George was flown 

directly to St George’s hospital 

helipad which has immediate 

access to the Emergency 

Department. 

Caroline adds: “The helipad’s 

location made the process of 

getting to A&E as stress free as 

possible. This was important 

as it was a very stressful time 

for us. The alternative of landing 

anywhere else and being 

transported to hospital by vehicle 

would have taken longer and 

added to the strain.” 

St George’s orthopaedic registrar 

explains the danger behind 

George breaking his tibia (shin 

bone): “Children’s veins are 

different from adult’s veins. They 

have a weak spot and that’s the 

growth plate and it’s particularly 

vulnerable to injury. If the growth 

plate is damaged too much, 

the vein in that region will stop 

growing all together. This can 

result in lifelong disablement.” 

Caroline also adds: “With 

regards to George’s treatment 

the consultant said that it was 

important to get George to theatre 

as soon as possible.” 

Fortunately, surgeons were able 

to perform emergency surgery on 

George to repair his growth plate. 

He stayed in for two more nights 

as he was in a lot of pain and 

Caroline stayed by his side the 

whole time. 

Three months after the accident 

George says: “My legs feel 

good at the moment. It just felt 

good to start walking again. My 

mum is probably one of the most 

important people to me and I love 

her so much.” 

Caroline adds: “George has 

recovered well and is back to 

normal. The doctors are seeing 

him every six months to check for 

any growth plate issues. 

“Thank you to the air ambulance 

service for their help and support. 

He received first class treatment 

and for that we are extremely 

appreciative. 

“Also, having the helipad at 

the hospital made it possible 

for George to receive the best 

treatment in the quickest time 

possible. We will truly be forever 

grateful for this.” 



161

NEWSLINE 

SECAMB 

Joint police and 

ambulance response 

service proving 

successful in Brighton 

Meet the police and ambulance 

Joint Response Unit (JRU) 

vehicle team which has been 

patrolling and responding to 

incidents in Brighton and Hove. 

National 

resuscitation 

organisation updates 

process to support 

conversations about 

an individual’s 

care and realistic 

treatment choices in 

a future emergency 


The vehicle which is staffed by 

Sussex Police and South East 

Coast Ambulance (SECAmb) 

allows a response police officer 

and a paramedic to work together 

to respond to incidents which 

require both services. 

The SECAmb vehicle, is kitted 

out with everything police 

need to tackle crime and 

medical equipment required by 

paramedics. 

Police officers working on the 

unit receive medical technique 

familiarisation and paramedics 

benefit from an input on conflict 

resolution. 

Assaults, collision and alcoholrelated 

incidents are the most 

common calls the JRU gets. 

The unit was started as a trial 

project in December 2019 and 

runs on Friday and Saturday 

twilight shifts from 6pm to 2am to 

meet the demands of the night 

time economy in the city. 

Both police and ambulance 

control are aware of the JRU and 

will actively seek to deploy the 

JRU to incidents that require a 

response from both services. 

Inspector Steve Hill said: 

“The Joint Response Unit is a 

worthwhile initiative which involves 

police officers and paramedics 

travelling together to incidents 

which may require both areas 

of expertise, resulting in a more 

effective and efficient service. 

“For example if there has been a 

fight and an arrested suspect has 

an injury, the medic could treat 

them then and there negating 

the need for officer to go and 

wait with them at hospital or call 

a double crewed ambulance. 

A cause for concern call could 

allow the officer to force entry 

to a premises to check and 

should a person be located there 

needing help, the medic is well 

placed to do so. Road collisions 

with injury are also an obvious 

incident where both services will 

be required. 

“The JRU also retains the ability 

to ‘self-deploy’ to an incident 

be it medical or police that they 

feel they could readily assist 

with. They can be proactively 

doing directed patrol activities, 

searching for missing people and 

if they are the closest unit to a 

category 1 medical emergency or 

a police assistance call they will 

attend. 

The unit has been responding 

to five or six incidents per shift 

and even during the Covid-19 

lockdown when the night time 

economy was closed, it still 

remained busy. 

During one shift last month, the 

team responded to a four calls in 

one Friday night shift including a 

man who had taken an overdose, 

a woman who was armed with 

two large kitchen knives and was 

self harming, a woman in distress 

on the edge of a cliff and a fight 

where a victim had been injured 

with a glass bottle. 

SECAmb operational team leader 

Tim Clark said: “Setting up the 

Joint Response Unit in the city of 

Brighton and Hove, and working 

so closely with the Sussex 

Police has been a celebration of 

collaborative working, enabling 

us to provide a more focused and 

specialised response to incidents 

requiring both ambulance and 

police attendance. While JRUs 

are not a new concept to the 


Service, developing a joint 

working system within a busy and 

vibrant city such as Brighton and 

Hove presented a new challenge 

and the unit has proven to be 

an invaluable resource to both 

services. 

“It ensures a greater 

understanding of each services 

working practices, builds on 

our already robust collaborative 

relationship, reduces lost 

operational hours and, most 

importantly, provides the residents 

of Brighton and Hove with a more 

streamlined and tailored response 

to the varied and unique incidents 

we attend.” 

A second Sussex JRU is currently 

being trialled in Worthing. 

COVID-19 pandemic has drawn 

attention to importance of 

person-centred discussions 

when making decisions about 

cardiopulmonary resuscitation 

Resuscitation Council UK 

has updated the ReSPECT 

(Recommended Summary 

Plan for Emergency Care and 

Treatment) process which 

supports person-centred 

conversations about care in 

a future emergency following 

feedback from professionals, 

patients and their families. 

As patients are often not able 

to make decisions about their 

priorities of care or treatment in an 

emergency, discussing what they 

would want to happen in advance 

is essential. 

The ReSPECT process is 

already widely used by health 

and social care organisations 

across England and in parts of 

Scotland to support them having 

important conversations with 

patients in advance about their 

emergency care, and whether 

cardiopulmonary resuscitation 

(CPR) should be attempted in a 

future emergency. 

The ReSPECT process is 

supported by a discussion 

guide and form and version 3 

is being introduced into clinical 

practice today. The form is used 

to document the discussion and 

any recommendations agreed, is 

signed by the clinician and can be 

162 


NEWSLINE 

signed by the patient/ their legal 

proxy or family member if they 

wish to do so. 

The changes made to the form 

have resulted in a more patientcentred 

form, with increased 

prompts for explicit clinical 

reasoning. It addresses areas 

where misunderstandings have 

been reported and includes more 

personable and clearer language. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has 

highlighted the importance of 

sensitive and well-structured 

conversations about someone’s 

realistic care choices and for 

there to be shared understanding 

between professionals, patients 

and their families. 

The ReSPECT process was first 

introduced by Resuscitation 

Council UK in 2016, with design 

expertise from the Helix Centre, 

Imperial College London, 

to support discussions and 

clinical recommendations 

about emergency care being 

made in advance. It was 

developed by experts and 

patient representatives keen to 

develop a process that supports 

professionals, patients and / or 

their families having a carefully 

constructed and person-centred 

conversation. It aims to develop 

a shared understanding between 

the healthcare professional and 

the patient of their condition, 

the outcomes the patient values 

and those they fear and then 

how realistic treatments and 

interventions, such as CPR, fit 

into this. 

The completed form stays 

with the patient and should be 

available immediately to health 

professionals called to help in an 

emergency, whether the patient 

is at home, in their community 

or in a healthcare setting. 

Professionals such as ambulance 

crews, out-of-hours doctors, care 

home staff and hospital staff will 

be better able to make quick 

decisions in an emergency about 

how best to help if key information 

has been recorded on the 

ReSPECT form. 

Sue Hampshire, Director of 

Clinical and Service Development 

at Resuscitation Council UK said: 

“We’re pleased to be introducing 

updated documentation to 

underpin the ReSPECT process 

today. 

“Communities in around 70% 

of counties in England and 

parts of Scotland are already 

using the ReSPECT process 

and the improvements we have 

introduced today are based on 

feedback from organisations who 

are already using the process as 

well as from patients and their 

families. 

“People have different views 

about the care or treatments they 

would want if they were suddenly 

ill and could not make decisions 

about their care or treatment. 

The new form will support better 

conversations and well-informed 

decision-making in advance, and 

we are happy to be introducing it 

for professionals and patients.” 

Dr Zoe Fritz, chair of the ReSPECT 

subcommittee, said: “We first 

developed the ReSPECT process 

to help professionals and 

patients or their families achieve 

better conversations and better 

recording of important treatment 

recommendations. The ReSPECT 

process encourages discussion 

about the individual’s condition, 

what’s important to them, what 

their realistic options are and 

what the likely potential health 

outcomes will be. 

“A number of misconceptions 

exist about CPR and when and 

how recommendations not to 

attempt CPR are made. So, it is 

crucial to have a person-centred 

approach and conversations 

that aim to ensure shared 

understanding between the 

professional and patient. By 

doing so, any misunderstandings 

can be addressed, and 

professionals can ensure that 

any recommendations made are 

based on what’s important to the 

patient.” 

When completed, the ReSPECT 

form provides a clinical 

record of agreed and realistic 

recommendations that come out 

of that conversation between a 

professional and the patient or 

their legal proxy or family member. 

A person’s ReSPECT form 

includes recommendations 

about emergency treatments 

that could be helpful and should 

be considered, as well as those 

not wanted by or that would not 

work for the patient. It includes a 

recommendation about CPR, but 

that may be a recommendation 

that CPR is attempted, or a 

recommendation that it is not 

attempted. 

For more information on the 

ReSPECT process, visit: 

www.resus.org.uk/respect 

WHY NOT WRITE FOR US? 

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reports or news that you feel will be of interest to your colleagues. 

Material submitted will be seen by those working within the public and private sector 

of the Ambulance Service, Air Ambulance Operators, BASICS Doctors etc. 

All submissions should be forwarded to info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

If you have any queries please contact the publisher Terry Gardner via: 

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163

NEWSLINE 


WAS 

Launch of the South 

Wales Trauma 

Network 

Monday 14 September saw 

the official launch of the South 

Wales Trauma Network, held at 

the new Major Trauma Centre at 

the University Hospital of Wales. 

Serving the population of South 

Wales, West Wales and South 

Powys, the network is made up 

of hospitals, emergency services 

and rehabilitation services 

across the region, working 

together to ensure patients with 

life-threatening or life-changing 

injuries receive the best possible 

treatment and care. 

The Welsh Government has 

provided £3.7 million capital 

and over £13 million recurrent 

revenue funding to support the 

pre-hospital, major trauma centre, 

specialist services and network 

elements of the programme 

business case. 

Its arrival marks a major step 

forward in the delivery of 

emergency care in Wales. Across 

the network more than 2,000 

patients a year are expected to be 

treated, and up to 70 lives saved 

over the next five years. 

Dr Dinendra Gill, Clinical Director 

for the South Wales Trauma 

Network, explains: “Today marks 

a significant milestone in planning 

for the network, and represents the 

culmination of extensive work by all 

NHS partners over many years. 

“Major trauma – which refers to 

multiple and serious injuries – is 

the leading cause of death in 

people under the age of 45 and 

a significant cause of disability or 

poor health. Patients with these type 

of injuries will have a better chance 

of survival if they are treated within a 

major trauma network. 

“As well as saving lives, the 

network will improve patient 

outcomes by preventing 

avoidable disability, returning 

more patients to their families, to 

work and to education. 

“I want to thank all those who 

have worked incredibly hard to 

open the service so that those 

who most need specialist care are 

able to benefit from it.” 

Officially opening the South Wales 

Trauma Network, Vaughan Gething 

MS, Minister for Health and 

Social Services – who attended 

the launch event virtually – said: 

“I am delighted to formally open 

the South Wales Trauma Network 

which will save lives and prevent 

avoidable disability for people 

involved in serious incidents. 

“While the new Major Trauma 

Centre at University Hospital of 

Wales is the setting for today’s 

launch event we celebrate the 

start of the Network which is a true 

collaboration of health services 

across the region with services 

in trauma units in each health 

board area and the major trauma 

desk within the Welsh Ambulance 

Service. 

“This has been a long journey for 

many people and I thank all of 

those involved in what has been a 

truly collaborative effort to improve 

trauma services.” 

The University Hospital of Wales 

in Cardiff – which is Wales’ 

only specialist neurosurgery 

hospital, and home of Noah’s Ark 

Children’s Hospital of Wales – 

becomes the region’s adult and 

children’s major trauma centre. 

As major trauma is relatively 

uncommon and complex to 

manage, services provided in 

the major trauma centre are 

highly specialised and available 

24 hours a day, seven days a 

week. The major trauma centre 

will collaborate with and support 

hospitals across the network. 

Establishing the network has led 

to enhanced roles for a number 

of other hospitals, including 

Morriston Hospital in Swansea, 

becoming a trauma unit with 

specialist services. Elsewhere, the 

network is supported by trauma 

units, rural trauma facilities and 

local emergency hospitals. The 

operational delivery network, 

which is hosted by Swansea 

Bay University Health Board, will 

oversee the running of the South 

Wales Trauma Network. 

Work to establish the network has 

been led by the NHS Wales Health 

Collaborative, in collaboration 

with health boards, the Welsh 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the 

Emergency Medical Retrieval and 

Transfer Service, Welsh Health 

Specialist Services Committee, 

Emergency Ambulance Service 

Committee, as well as third sector 

and community health councils. 

LAS 

Episode 2 of 

‘Ambulance’ to 

highlighted the 

contribution of 

voluntary Emergency 

Responders 

The second episode of the new 

series of the BBC documentary 

‘Ambulance’ highlighted the 

contribution of volunteer 

responders as London 

Ambulance Service (LAS) faced 

challenges from large protests 

and an IT system outage. 

The episode went behind the 

scenes of two busy weekend 

shifts where LAS faces the 

challenges of Extinction Rebellion 

protests and People’s Vote 

marches and an IT systems 

outage which meant the Service’s 

Emergency Operations Centre 

control room teams had to use 

pen and paper to take down 

information from 999 callers. 

Filmed in the autumn of 2019, 

viewers saw the variety of what a 

weekend day shift can bring for 

the country’s busiest ambulance 

service – from advanced paramedic 

Kevin responding to a cardiac 

arrest to crewmates Emily and 

Laura treating a 100-year-old who 

has fallen. All this while protests 

across central London posed the 

challenge of how crews can ensure 

they reach patients quickly. 

Viewers also saw Gary and Fabio – 

two of around 150 LAS Emergency 

Responders (ERs) - on shift. Retired 

police officer Gary and Fabio – who 

works in finance – volunteer their 

spare time responding to patients in 

the capital. 

ERs are LAS-trained volunteers 

who attend a range of emergency 

calls in Service uniform and in 

blue-light response cars. 

LAS Chief Executive Garrett 

Emmerson said: 

“This second episode again 

showed the breadth and variety of 

our Service and the commitment 

of all our staff and volunteers – 

as they faced challenges from 

protests and IT system outages, 

but still responded to those who 

needed us. 

“We were also delighted to see 

some of our volunteer Emergency 

Responders on the screen. 

Volunteers play a key role in our 

Service and this show highlights 

their commitment, professionalism 

and dedication.” 

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NEWSLINE 

GNAAS 

The jet suit 

paramedic 

Mr. Mawson said the exercise had 

demonstrated the huge potential 

of utilising Jet Suits to deliver 

critical care services. 

The Lake District could become 

home to the world’s first Jet Suit 

paramedic, according to those 

behind the concept. 

A collaboration between Gravity 

Industries, which has developed 

and patented a 1050 brake 

horsepower Jet Suit, and the 

Great North Air Ambulance 

Service (GNAAS), has resulted 

in a test flight in the heart of the 

Lakes. 

He added: “In a time in healthcare 

when we are exhausted with 

COVID and its effects, it’s 

important to still push the 

boundaries. 

“Our aircraft will remain a vital 

part of the emergency response 

in this terrain, as will the fantastic 

mountain rescue teams. But this 

is about looking at supplementing 

those resources with something 

completely new. 

The test at the Langdale Pikes 

saw Gravity Industries founder 

and Chief Test Pilot Richard 

Browning fly from the valley 

bottom to a simulated casualty 

site on The Band, near Bowfell. 

The simulated casualty site would 

take around 25 minutes to reach 

by foot. The Gravity Jet Suit is 

able to cover that distance in 90 

seconds, opening a range of 

possibilities in the emergency 

response arena. 

The ground-breaking exercise 

was the culmination of a year of 

discussion between GNAAS and 

Gravity Industries. 

Andy Mawson, director of 

operations and paramedic at 

GNAAS, identified the Lakes 

as a possible location for a Jet 

Suit paramedic after hearing of 

Mr. Browning’s work and then 

studying the charity’s own call-out 

data. 

“We think this technology could 

enable our team to reach some 

patients much quicker than ever 

before. In many cases this would 

ease the patient’s suffering. In some 

cases, it would save their lives.” 

Richard Browning added: “It was 

wonderful to be invited to explore 

the capabilities of the Gravity Jet 

Suit in an emergency response 

simulation and work alongside 

the team at GNAAS. We are just 

scratching the surface in terms 

of what is possible to achieve 

with our technology. Emergency 

response is one of the areas 

Gravity are actively pursuing, 

alongside launching a new 

commercial training location at 

the world-renowned Goodwood 

Estate.” 

With the test complete, GNAAS 

and Gravity Industries are now 

exploring the next steps in this 

collaboration. 

He said: “It showed dozens of 

patients every month within the 

complex but relatively small 

geographical footprint of the 

Lakes. 

“We could see the need. What 

we didn’t know for sure is how 

this would work in practice. Well 

we’ve seen it now and it is, quite 

honestly, awesome.” 

GNAAS and Gravity Industries 

would like to thank Langdale 

Mountain Rescue Team, the 

National Trust, Stool End Farm 

and Cumbria Police for their part 

in making the test possible. 

GNAAS is a charity and relies on 

donations to survive. To find out 

more please call 01325 487 263 

or visit gna.as/jet-suit 



165

COMPANY NEWS 

significantly, safely and rapidly; 

preferably at the earliest possible 

intervention point of injury. 

Quantum is a Game-Changing 

innovation that has succeeded in 

closing a critical capability gap 

The Quantum 

Solution 

previously left exposed by other 

commercial off-the-shelf fluid 

warmers currently fielded. 

The Quantum exceeds all 

healthcare and logistical 

requirements for the delivery 

of warmed blood or fluids 

across the defined spectrum 

of care. 

With the Quantum, size, weight, 

performance, and ease of use are 

no longer collective barriers to 

the delivery of whole blood in far 

forward and Point of Injury (POI) 

casualty management. 

The system consists of unique 

thermal administration sets that 

incorporate sensing elements 

with an integrated heating system 

that does not disrupt the fluid 

path. With advanced intelligence 

throughout the system, the 

lightweight Controller modulates 

and moderates the energy flow to 

the integrated heating elements to 

ensure consistent normothermic 

fluid delivery to the casualty. 

The battery is the smallest in 

category, able to rapidly adjust 

power distribution based on 

the temperature and flow rate 

of the input fluid. This creates a 

highly efficient system capable of 

previously unrealized performance 

optimizations. 

The Quantum system has an 

operational weight of just 624 

grams yet can deliver one litre of 

4°C Whole Blood (WB) at 100mL/ 

min with an output temperature 

of 38°C+/- 2°C with only a 24 

second warm-up period. 

The Quantum Blood and Fluid 

Warmer provides the Health 

Care Professional with significant 

technological advantage in the 

fight to eliminate preventable 

death. 

The Problem: Why Warm 

Infusion Fluids? 

Even a small decrease in body 

temperature of an injured patient 

starts a cascade of negative 

events significantly increasing 

morbidity and mortality. A core 

temperature of less than 35C 

(95F) is a poor prognostic 

indicator A core temperature 

of 32C (90F) is associated with 

100% mortality. 

Known as Secondary or 

Unintentional Hypothermia (UH). 

Once established, UH is very 

difficult to correct. Prevention 

measures starting from the 

earliest point of patient care is the 

most effective strategy. 

DS Medial have been appointed 

as UK & Ireland distributor please 

contact DS Medical on 01329 

311451 or alternatively email 

info@dsmedical.co.uk should 

you wish to discuss this in greater 

detail. 

Great Western Air 

Ambulance Charity 

unveil new critical 

care car 

Great Western Air Ambulance 

Charity (GWAAC) have 

unveiled a new critical care 

car, which will allow them 

to reach more critically ill 

patients across the region. 

The charity’s critical care cars are 

operated alongside the helicopter, 

and carry the same equipment as 

the helicopter, bringing the crew 

and their lifesaving skills to the 

side of those in urgent need. 


166 

Administration of un-warmed 

IV fluids and cold stored blood 

products are an established risk 

factor for patients to develop 

UH. Particularly when initiated 

in the uncontrolled prehospital 

environment. 

Blood must be stored, refrigerated 

and kept very cold prior to 

transfusion. During transfusion, 

blood must be warmed 

For more news visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com 

The new model, a Skoda 

Kodiaq, which is used by South 

Western Ambulance Service 

NHS Foundation Trust, has been 

specially converted to meet the 

requirements of the Critical Care 

Team. 

The 720-litre boot has been 

redesigned to house essential 

lifesaving equipment, including 

ventilators, oxygen, controlled

COMPANY NEWS 

drugs and other specialist 

equipment the Critical Care 

Team carry. The front of the car 

has been adapted, with a 999 

response screen installed for the 

crew to receive details of call-outs 

and navigate to the location of 

the patient in need quickly and 

efficiently. 

The model has also been 

kitted out with additional power 

supplies, including split charging 

and mains shoreline capabilities 

to ensure that both the cars and 

the kit inside are constantly ready 

to respond. 

In 2019, GWAAC’s crew received 

over 2,000 call-outs, of which over 

two thirds were responded to by 

critical care car. The cars ensure 

that the crew are always ready 

to respond in any conditions, for 

example when the helicopter is 

unable to fly due to bad weather 

or maintenance, or when the 

location of a patient has limited 

safe landing sites nearby and is 

easier to access by road. 

Air Operations Officer at GWAAC, 

John Wood, said: “Having 

reliable, appropriate and fully 

equipped cars are essential for 

us to reach and treat patients in 

the most effective way. The new 

vehicles will enable our team to 

negotiate tougher terrain and 

drive safely in challenging weather 

conditions to reach patients 

quickly and safely, particularly in 

rural areas.” 

This new car will be one of three 

vehicles to join GWAAC’s fleet, 

updating the current models that 

the service uses, after the charity 

successfully bid for a one-off 

Government grant from the 

Department of Health and Social 

Care last year to purchase the 

much needed new cars. 

To find out more about GWAAC’s 

new critical care car, visit: www. 

gwaac.com/critical-care-cars 

South Central 

Ambulance 

Service partners 

with GoodSAM to 

bring innovative 

video streaming 

technology into their 

Clinical Coordination 

Centre 999 Control 

Rooms 

South Central Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust 

(SCAS) is launching a groundbreaking 

digital product - 

GoodSAM’s Instant On Scene - 

to enable the public to stream 

video directly from their 

smartphones into the SCAS 

999 Clinical Coordination 

Centres (CCC). The system 

is set to revolutionise triage 

for the Ambulance Service, 

ensuring medics can now see 

what the patient sees in just a 

few seconds. 

It will enable SCAS’s 999 CCC 

staff to send a text or email 

message to a caller containing 

a link which, when clicked on, 

enables video to be streamed 

live from the caller’s smartphone 

directly into the CCC. There’s 

nothing to download and no 

logins, the system works on any 

smartphone and on any network; 

its use is entirely voluntary. All 

data is securely transmitted with 

end-to-end encryption and no 

video is recorded, so members 

of the public can be absolutely 

confident that their information is 

safe. 

The 999 call continues while the 

video is streaming. Instant on 

Scene will help ensure patients 

are quickly assessed and 

given effective medical advice. 

It will support SCAS in better 

understanding the level of care 

or resources which may be 

required to deliver the best patient 

outcomes. 

Luci Stephens, Director of 

Operations (CCC) said: “This 

marks the start of an exciting new 

chapter in patient care by SCAS. 

We have previously been able 

to resolve patients’ healthcare 

issues, either by the dispatch 

of an emergency ambulance, 

by referring them to other areas 

of the NHS to receive ongoing 

care or by advising them over 

the telephone how to manage 

their symptoms at home. Using 

GoodSAM’s Instant On Scene 

brings an additional visual layer 

to our well-practiced processes 

and procedures and this will help 

to ensure that our patients get the 

right care, in the right place and 

at the right time. Patient safety 

remains at the heart of everything 

we do, and video consultations 

will provide exceptional support in 

allowing us to achieve this goal”. 

Ali Ghorbangoli, Technical Director 

and Co-Founder of GoodSAM 

said: “Developing a highly 

accessible and simple to use 

system is central to success. Our 

products are designed specifically 

for emergency situations - no 

apps, downloads or logins are 

required”. 

It is anticipated that the video 

solutions will translate into lifechanging 

outcomes, enabling 

SCAS to respond more rapidly 

and appropriately. Instant On 

Scene will also support major 

incidents and enable emergency 

services to share video streams in 

real-time. 

Medical Director and Co-Founder 

of GoodSAM, Professor Mark 

Wilson said: ‘In emergencies, time 

is vital in saving a person’s life 

or reducing long-term disability. 

Often Ambulance Services 

have limited information from 

bystanders about a patient’s, or 

multiple patients’, injuries to make 

decisions. Instantly being able to 

see the scene radically improves 

situational awareness. We are 

incredibly excited to be bringing 

this technology to SCAS, and 

we look forward to working with 

them in ensuring the GoodSAM 

system continues to save lives 

and further enhance patient care 

in the region’. 

GoodSAM’s Instant On Scene is 

being rolled out as part of SCAS’s 

Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) 

programme. This initiative is 

supported by NHS Digital and is 

designed to leverage technology 

to improve patient outcomes and 

staff working practices. 

“Developing 

a highly 

accessible 

and simple to 

use system 

is central 

to success. 

Our products 

are designed 

specifically 

for emergency 

situations 

- no apps, 

downloads 

or logins are 

required”. 



167

INTRODUCING THE X SERIES ® 

ADVANCED: 

ADVANCE YOUR CARE FOR EVERY RESCUE 

Manage your patients more effectively than ever with ZOLL’s new 

X Series Advanced monitor/defibrillator. X Series Advanced offers 

two groundbreaking new features: 

Real BVM Help provides real-time clinical feedback on 

manual ventilation, including delivered tidal volume and 

rate, a ventilation quality indicator, and a countdown timer. 

TBI Dashboard enables care providers to effectively 

manage patients with traumatic brain injury. The 

dashboard combines trending of critical vital signs with 

real-time ventilation feedback in one comprehensive view. 

Interested to learn more? Request a demo and receive 

a free BVM: www.zoll.com/xseriesadvanced-uk 

© 2019 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. Real BVM Help, X Series Advanced and 

ZOLL are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the United States 

and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

MCN IP 1910 0295-05

Ambulance UK October 2020

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