Ambulance UK April 2021

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NEWSLINE AMBULANCE UK - APRIL SECAMB SECAmb marks 50 years since birth of UK paramedics in Brighton South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is celebrating 50 years since the birth of the UK paramedic profession in Brighton. It was March 1971 when the first ‘ambulance men’, who had been selected for additional training with renowned cardiologist Douglas Chamberlain, began to respond to patients in the Brighton area equipped with the first ambulance defibrillators. The six men, who had attended lectures by Dr Chamberlain, and whose additional skills included being taught to interpret ECGs and administer particular drugs for cardiac emergencies, paved the way for the development and formalisation of the profession over the next decade and beyond. SECAmb marked the anniversary via its social media channels and paid tribute to Douglas whose early work led to better outcomes for people suffering cardiac arrests in the community. The Trust will also share how the profession has developed in its service over half a century. Just one of the original six individuals is still alive. Robin Friday, 78, now lives in Kent and retired from SECAmb in 2012. He proudly recalls being selected for the additional training. He said: “I look back fondly on my 50-year career in the ambulance service. I am very proud to have been one of the original six to undergo the additional training under Douglas Chamberlain. This undoubtedly was a very important early step towards the ambulance service developing into the service it is today. We were, for the first time, bringing far more expert care to patients prior to their arrival at hospital.” Douglas said: “The profession has of course come a long way in 50 years but I am very proud of the first individuals and this work I and my colleagues did to progress the role the ambulance service plays in pre-hospital care. “From my association with SECAmb over many years I am very aware that a career in the ambulance service is challenging and I am sure especially so during this last year. It is, however, also extremely rewarding and I would encourage anyone with an interest to seriously consider it as a future career.” SECAmb Chief Executive Philip Astle added: “I would like to pay tribute to Douglas and his clinical colleagues as well as Robin and his fellow members of staff. Their decision to be part of this innovation was vital in the ambulance service being more actively involved in the type of prehospital care which is so important in improving patient outcomes.” Strokes caused by Covid-19 under the spotlight in world’s largest research study The Stroke Association is funding the world’s largest research study to investigate worrying reports that Covid-19 is causing life-threatening strokes [1-2]. As Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the globe, this critical research may help to prevent Covid-19-related death and disability. The study will build on the work of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK (HDR UK). 100,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year, that’s one every five minutes and means there are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK. Stroke is the fourth biggest killer in the UK, the second biggest killer in the world and one of the leading causes of adult disability. Announced today, the study uses health data from nearly all UK adults. Having access to large amounts of data will allow the researchers to follow the health of Covid-19 patients. Data analysts will compare stroke in patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 with patients without the virus, to confirm if Covid-19 increases risk of stroke and by how much. The researchers will also analyse stroke risk and characteristics including age, sex, ethnicity and geography to identify which Covid-19 patients may be most at risk of stroke. Stroke risk due to Covid-19 will be compared to increases in stroke risk due to other infections and cardiovascular conditions. Dr Rubina Ahmed, Research Director, Stroke Association said: “Stroke already strikes every five minutes and we’re extremely concerned that Covid-19 may lead to more strokes, destroying more lives. Equally concerning are reports that stroke patients who have Covid-19 may be younger, and experience more severe effects of stroke, including death [3]. Severe illness due to Covid-19 is a challenge enough– but it’s worrying that a deadly stroke might also be on the way. This new research can help guide the development of new treatments that can prevent life-threatening strokes.” This research forms part of the CVD-COVID-UK flagship project consortium, which is led by the BHF Data Science Centre at HDR UK. This project consortium aims to understand the relationship between Covid-19 and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke in the UK population. Dr William Whiteley, Reader in neurology at the University of Edinburgh and a lead on this research said: “Covid-19 may cause stroke in some patients. So far studies of Covid and stroke have been small. More data will improve our understanding and give a better idea of the risks of stroke after Covid-19 infection. With the funding of the Stroke Association and access to the data and research community brought together by the BHF Data Science Centre, the team can use health information from nearly all adults in the UK. By working with information specialists, we’ll be able to accurately detect even the smallest increase in risk of stroke across different groups of people. We’re incredibly grateful to have the support of charities to help get this urgent research underway, so that we can better inform patients and health care professionals about Covid-19 and risk of stroke.” Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, there have been reports of Covid-19 patients also having a stroke. David Kirton, 64 from South Shields had a stroke shortly after being diagnosed and treated for Covid-19. David said: “We think my stroke was linked with the effect Covid-19 has on the blood. Because it was so early in the pandemic, I don’t think they were prepared for people having strokes. They just knew something was wrong and were trying whatever they could think of to find out what the problem was. It was absolutely terrifying.” 46 For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com
NEWSLINE David adds: “If people know Covid-19 can cause strokes, they will be able help prevent it from happening and make sure there is the right support. Even awareness is potentially going to save lives and as much physical and mental ability as possible. If people can get stroke treatment quickly, and administer the right drugs at the right time, it could make a big difference.” Dr Rubina Ahmed continues: “We will be living with Covid-19 for the foreseeable future and we don’t want to see the pandemic leave more deadly strokes in its wake. Stroke is a leading cause of adult disability in the UK and the second biggest killer in the world. This research is crucial to our understanding of Covid-19 and strokes, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our income and is threatening life-saving breakthroughs. Now more than ever, we need the public’s support. If you can, please help us find a way through the research funding crisis by donating today, so that we can fund more life-saving research.” Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association said: “We’ve been supporting stroke survivors throughout the pandemic through our Helpline and our Stroke Association Connect and Here For You services. Strokes changes lives in an instant and stroke survivors need support to recover, cope and adapt and those with Covid-19 may have additional needs. We need to be prepared with new knowledge about links between Covid-19 and stroke to support people affected by stroke long into the future.” Prof Cathie Sudlow, Director of the BHF Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK said: “The BHF Data Science Centre is delighted to be providing the scientific and data access infrastructure to enable this important Stroke Associationfunded research project. We look forward to working with and supporting Dr Whiteley and his research team as they generate insights to help people with stroke, their carers and health professionals understand the impact of Covid-19 on stroke risk, and make informed decisions about their treatment and care.” Over the past 30 years the Stroke Association has played a crucial role in supporting stroke research in the UK. This year, as a result of the pandemic the charity has had to halve its budget for stroke research. To find out more about research funded by the charity visit stroke.org.uk/research or to donate please go to: stroke.org. uk/donate-research References [1] Ling, Mao., Huijuan, Jin., Mengdie, Wang., et al. Neurologic Manifestations of Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Neurol. 2020;77(6):683- 690. doi:10.1001/ jamaneurol.2020.1127. [2] Shadi, Yaghi., Koto, Ishida., Jose, Torres., et al. SARS-CoV-2 and Stroke in a New York Healthcare System. 2020;51:2002– 2011. doi.org/10.1161/ STROKEAHA.120.030335Stroke. [3] Ntaios G, et al. Characteristics and outcomes in patients with Covid-19 and acute ischemic stroke. Stroke. 2020;51:e254–e258. SAFELY TRANSFER PATIENTS IN AN EMERGENCY The new Adapter+ converts a standard stretcher into a medium dependency critical care trolley. Crash tested to British and European standard BS EN 1789 Secures critical-care equipment for safe transportation Compatible with existing front-line Stryker stretchers Simple to install Book your free Adapter+ demonstration Call 0121 700 7455 Email info@paraid.com paraid.com AMBULANCE UK - APRIL For the latest Ambulance Service News visit: www.ambulancenewsdesk.com 47
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Ambulance UK April 2021

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