Ambulance UK February 2022

Volume 37 No. 1 

February 2022 

DEDICATED TO THE AMBULANCE SERVICE AND ITS SUPPLIERS 

SEAMLESS SYNCHRONISATION 

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with the corpuls 3 & corpuls cpr 

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CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Ambulance UK 

4 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

7 FEATURES 

Lessons learned from the first 50 COVID-19 critical care transfer 

missions 

16 NEWSLINE 

26 IN PERSON 

31 COMPANY NEWS 

COVER STORY 

SEAMLESS SYNCHRONISATION – THE PERFECT INTERACTION 

BETWEEN CORPULS 3 & CORPULS CPR DURING RESUSCITATION 

corpuls 3 / C3T 

With its revolutionary modular design, the corpuls3 & C3T can be used 

as a compact unit or separated into the Monitoring Unit, Patient Box and 

Defi brillator/Pacer. The modules communicate wirelessly and adapt to 

the requirements of the paramedic on scene, or inside the ambulance. 

This issue edited by: 

Sam English 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks, Lockhill 

Upper Sapey, Worcester, WR6 6XR 

ADVERTISING: 

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February, April, June, August, 

October, December 

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corpuls cpr 

The unique rotating arm of the corpuls cpr grants free access to the patient’s thorax 

at all times, meaning the emergency responders are able to provide additional lifesaving 

therapy during CPR. The various back boards are designed for fl exibility on scene and 

during patient transport. 

The corpuls cpr ensures fully automatic, fatigue proof thorax compressions, and the 

compression depth, rate and mode can be tailored to the patient. The device can 

accommodate a thorax height of 14-34cm with no restrictions regarding the patient’s 

weight and breadth of the thorax. 

Synchronised Therapy 

Thanks to the Bluetooth connectivity, the corpuls cpr is effectively the fourth module of the 

corpuls 3 . The modular design of the corpuls 3 allows the monitor to be taken by a medic to 

a safe distance to observe the patient’s vitals and control the corpuls cpr and defi brillator. 

With corpuls synchronised resuscitation, chances of ROSC can be higher thanks to 

automatic pre-shock CPR capabilities. Stress amongst the team can also be signifi cantly 

reduced with shorter hands-off time. 

This can reduce the number of rescuers needed in the event of a 

cardiac arrest. It is a huge benefi t during prolonged resuscitation, 

especially when providing treatment in small, confi ned spaces 

and during patient transport in an ambulance. Built-in connectivity 

functions of the corpuls 3 / C3T are ideal for telemedicine and the 

corpuls communication platform corpuls.mission. 

Learn more at: https://pages.theortusgroup.com/synchronisation 

PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: 

The views and opinions expressed in 

this issue are not necessarily those of 

the Publisher, the Editors or Media 

Publishing Company. 

Next Issue April 2022 

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3

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Welcome to this issue of AUK. 

Let me start by passing on condolences from the team here at AUK to the family, friends, colleagues and all 

at SECAM on the tragic loss of a young Paramedic, Alice Clark, who lost her life in a crash early in January. 

Our thoughts are with you all at this sad time and we wish her colleagues, who were also involved, a speedy 

recovery. At times like these you reflect on the family that is the ambulance service and share in the shock 

and grief. 

“But we 

must look 

forward, not 

backward, and 

remember 

the Chinese 

proverb, ‘in 

the midst of 

chaos there 

is always 

opportunity’...” 

February is a particularly grim month, not just because of the post New Year lull and the gloomy outlook 

with little hope of decent weather for another two months, but also because the pressures do not get any 

better. I’ve just watched a story on TV about the mother of a young man who died waiting for a delayed 

response. There was nothing that could have been done to match demand and supply during that awful 

couple of months around Christmas, especially with the staff absence factor created by Covid. It was not an 

isolated incident, nor specific to any particular region, the point is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to 

keep up with rising demand and public expectations. 

Furthermore the vicious circle of delayed discharge, delayed admission, delayed handover is seemingly 

impossible to break without significant input into a social care system which has been broken for years 

and will not get any better with the staffing pressures brought into place with mandatory vaccination. 

It’s just my opinion but when I hear such stories I’m disappointed and saddened because no-one wants 

to make patients wait. I’ve been in the Control room and watched the pressure on dispatchers struggling 

to find something, anything, to send out and I’ve seen them cry when there isn’t anything available. 

They take it personally as do the Paramedics who know they’re arriving way out of the time frame and 

spend the first minutes of an interaction apologising and sometimes, as the front end, becoming the object 

of their frustrations for those who have had to wait. I don’t know what the answer is, I’m not sure anyone 

really does. We work at handover schemes and put as much into resource as we can but the simple truth 

is there is a clear gap between what we need and when we can have it. It takes two years to address the 

increased Paramedic resource needed to meet this year’s growth, not to mention the funding. But we must 

look forward, not backward, and remember the Chinese proverb, ‘in the midst of chaos there is always 

opportunity’… 

Anyway, on a less depressing note, travel restrictions are slowly being removed so with luck some of you 

might get a well-deserved holiday abroad this year. It’s been a long slog over the last two years and it really 

is time for all of us to recharge the batteries… 

Sam English, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 


4 

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6 

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FEATURE 

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIRST 50 COVID-19 CRITICAL 

CARE TRANSFER MISSIONS CONDUCTED BY A CIVILIAN UK 

HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE TEAM 

J. Jeyanathan 1 , D. Bootland 1 , A. Al-Rais 1 , J. Leung 1 , J. Wijesuriya 1 , L. Banks 1 , T. Breen 1 , R. DeCoverly 1 , L. Curtis 1 , 

A. McHenry 1 , D. Wright 1 , J. E. Griggs 1,2 and R. M. Lyon 1,2* 

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2022) 30:6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-022-00994-7 © The Author(s) 2022. 

Abstract 

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed exceptional 

demand on Intensive Care Units, necessitating the critical care 

transfer of patients on a regional and national scale. Performing these 

transfers required specialist expertise and involved moving patients 

over signifi cant distances. Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex 

created a designated critical care transfer team and was one of the 

fi rst civilian air ambulances in the United Kingdom to move ventilated 

COVID-19 patients by air. We describe the practical set up of such a 

service and the key lessons learned from the fi rst 50 transfers. 

Methods: Retrospective review of air critical care transfer service set 

up and case review of fi rst 50 transfers. 

Results: We describe key elements of the critical care transfer 

service, including coordination and activation; case interrogation; 

workforce; training; equipment; aircraft modifications; human factors 

and clinical governance. A total of 50 missions are described 

between 18 December 2020 and 1 February 2021. 94% of the 

transfer missions were conducted by road. The mean age of these 

patients was 58 years (29–83). 30 (60%) were male and 20 (40%) 

were female. The mean total mission cycle (time of referral until the 

time team declared free at receiving hospital) was 264 min (range 

149–440 min). The mean time spent at the referring hospital prior 

to leaving for the receiving unit was 72 min (31–158). The mean 

transfer transit time between referring and receiving units was 

72 min (9–182). 

Conclusion: Critically ill COVID-19 patients have highly complex 

medical needs during transport. Critical care transfer of COVID-19- 

positive patients by civilian HEMS services, including air transfer, can 

be achieved safely with specifi c planning, protocols and precautions. 

Regional planning of COVID-19 critical care transfers is required to 

optimise the time available of critical care transfer teams. 

Keywords: COVID-19, Critical care, Transfer medicine, Helicopter 

Emergency Medical Services, Intensive care 

Background 

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic (COVID-19) has challenged 

health systems across the globe [1]. In particular, a major demand 

has been placed on critical care facilities. A signifi cant proportion of 

COVID-19 patients required treatment with critical care interventions, 

including ventilatory support [2]. This unprecedented demand led to 

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) resources being put under signifi cant strain 

on both regional and national levels. At a local level, ICU bed pressures 

necessitated the rapid creation of acute surge capacity. Despite 

these expanded footprints, the critical care capacity in many hospitals 

remained under signifi cant pressure. In order to preserve standards 

of critical care and mitigate these demands, it became necessary for 

hospitals experiencing acute demand to request critical care transfers 

to other ICUs, utilising system resources across the region and then 

beyond. During the height of the pandemic in early 2021, there were 

several requests on a daily basis within our region requesting critical 

care transfers of COVID-19 patients. These demands could not be met 

by the existing hospital workforce. The unprecedented level of demand 

led to resource strain at both regional and national levels and mandated 

the creation of de novo critical care transport teams in order to maintain 

equitable access to intensive care. The number of necessitated transfers 

also meant that many of these were undertaken over large distances to 

other regions [3]. 

The demand for critical care transfers during the height of the pandemic 

was unprecedented [2]. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with 

experience and capability to undertake critical care transfers were 

asked, at very short notice, to increase their capacity and adapt to being 

able to transfer critically unwell COVID-19 positive patients. The highly 

infectious nature of COVID-19, particularly in relation to performing 

Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs), required specifi c protective 

measures to be taken to safely transfer COVID-19 patients, without 

putting EMS or associated personnel, such as pilots, at risk [4]. In the 

UK, pre-hospital critical care teams such as Helicopter Emergency 

Medical Services (HEMS) have adapted, overcome, and continued to 

deliver high acuity trauma and medical care to patients at their time of 

need. In addition, several HEMS services rapidly adapted to provide 

a critical care transfer capability. Indeed, the combination of highly 

experienced senior clinicians working within a mature governance 

framework alongside an established transport platform, lent itself well to 

HEMS services adapting to undertake work of this nature. 

Critical care transfer medicine has several essential areas which 

require careful consideration [5]. These considerations were especially 

highlighted in the context of ICU-level COVID-19 patients, due to their 

need for complex multi-organ support, particularly advanced ventilatory 


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7

FEATURE 

support, and their physiological fragility. The challenge of these 

transfer cases was often exacerbated by short notice, urgent referrals 

for transfers over significant distances and the need for escorting 

clinicians to wear level 3 /ICU Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 

throughout. This paper provides a descriptive overview of how our UK 

HEMS service, in collaboration with our local National Health Service 

(NHS) ambulance provider (South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust—SECAmb), rapidly evolved to provide an aeromedical 

transfer capability for COVID-19 patients. We present a pragmatic 

review of the first 50 COVID-19 transfers undertaken by Air Ambulance 

Kent Surrey Sussex and highlight key lessons learned that would be 

useful to other EMS services tasked with setting up such a service. 

Methods 

Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (AAKSS) delivers care to a mixed 

urban and rural area, covering 4.5 million people across the south east 

of England. The HEMS team comprises of an experienced physician 

and paramedic, capable of delivering enhanced care, including 

pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia, blood product administration, 

procedural sedation and emergency surgery. These interventions 

cannot be routinely performed by land ambulance crews. The HEMS 

service operates from two separate bases, responds 24/7 and can 

respond in either a helicopter or response car, depending on geography 

and weather limitations. Patients are transported to hospital either by 

helicopter or land ambulance. 

In December 2020, a so-called “Kent” variant (subsequently known as 

B.1.1.7.) of COVID-19 which appeared more contagious than other 

variants, rapidly spread through the south east of England, the region 

which AAKSS serves. The number of critically unwell patients rapidly 

challenged the intensive care unit (ICU) capacities within many of the 

hospitals of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. As part of a national strategy, 

overseen by the NHS, to maintain equitable access to critical care, 

coordination and provision of a robust critical care transfer capability 

became a necessity [3]. With a notice period of just a few weeks, 

AAKSS developed a Critical Care Transfer Service to dovetail with 

its primary pre-hospital emergency medicine (PHEM) duties. To build 

in layers of safety, a number of standardised processes were rapidly 

implemented. 

Results 

The key elements that needed to be established for a dedicated 

aeromedical transfer service to launch are described below. These 

elements were considered by all authors as the most important when 

having to rapidly adapt from primary HEMS work to secondary COVID 

transfers. 

Coordination and activation of a specifically tailored and 

rehearsed level 3 COVID-19 transfer process 

Transfer requests were identified via a central process to SECAmb 

following a daily regional meeting and subsequently passed to the 

AAKSS Duty Clinical Manager. This would commence a chain of defined 

concurrent activity in order to plan the conduct of the tasking. Each 

individual transfer request was overseen by the Duty Clinical Manager 

and an on-call AAKSS HEMS Transfer Consultant (with experience 

in both pre-hospital emergency medicine and current ICU COVID-19 

care). The Duty Transfer crew consisted of a Transfer Doctor (who 

was an AAKSS HEMS doctor from an ICU-Anaesthesia specialty) and 

an AAKSS Transfer Paramedic. The temporal nature of identifying 

and tasking a transfer following the receipt of requests after regional 

meetings meant that transfers typically occurred in the afternoon and 

evening. The process overview is shown in Fig. 1. 

Case “Interrogation” process 

Requests for COVID-19 transfers were coordinated at regional level 

by the NHS England Improvement critical care coordination cell and 

SECAmb. Each request was considered on an individual basis by 

AAKSS. A patient selection proforma utilised a specifically tailored case 

interrogation template, as shown in Fig. 2. The complexity, instability and 

physiological fragility of COVID-19 patients meant that rigorous clinical 

interrogation, with case-by-case consideration of the challenges posed 

by moving these patients was required on each occasion. 

Prior to deploying on a transfer tasking, a “command huddle” was 

conducted. At the command huddle the transfer team, duty transfer 

consultant and duty clinical manager would appraise the clinical and 

logistic aspects of the case, identify potential risks and pitfalls, discuss 

mitigation strategies, and decide the most appropriate course of action. 

Particularly complex or high risk transfers were escalated to the Medical 

Director for further review and final decision making. 


At the time of implementation, ICUs in the south east of England were 

under unprecedented pressure. There would often be several patients 

on particular hospital sites requiring admission to ICU when the local 

unit was already at capacity. To manage system capacity, patients were 

transferred between ICUs, with the most stable patients being selected 

for transfer. These would often involve non-COVID patients. 

We review the steps required to set up an aeromedical transfer service 

capable of safely and robustly moving Level 3 COVID-19 positive 

patients; the training, operational and medical elements needed to 

deliver such a service safely and effectively and we present key lessons 

learned from the first 50 COVID-19 transfers. The key elements were 

based on internal expert opinion and we sought to present a pragmatic, 

descriptive approach to inform other pre-hospital services involved in the 

transport of COVID-19 patients. 

Workforce 

The AAKSS crew was a doctor and paramedic. The doctors were all 

experienced, long-standing AAKSS PHEM doctors and were additionally 

Consultants in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine and had recent 

and regular ongoing exposure to patients who were critically unwell with 

COVID-19. The AAKSS paramedics had undertaken concurrent training 

in specific elements of critical care and COVID-19 [6]. This specific crew 

configuration allowed for a familiarity in caring for the critically unwell 

patient in the out-of-hospital environment. Familiarity between members 

of the workforce was a particularly important factor in overcoming the 

additional and significant challenges posed by operating in full Level 3 

PPE. Personal protective equipment need to be in-line with standard 

hospital practice including eye protection, FFP3 masks and surgical 

gowns. Crews were also given the option of wearing Positive Airway 

Pressure Respirator hoods. 

8 

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FEATURE 

AAKSSCCTT Request 

AAKSS Critical Care Transfer Team (CCTT) Process 

SECAmb Critical Care Transfer desk 

request 

Duty Manager 

Initial AAKSS Call Handler. Attains:- 

1)Patient demographics and basic clinical 

synopsis. 2) Details and contacts of 

Referring and Receiving ICU Consultants 

andNurses-In-Charge 

Critical Care 

Transfer Team 

Activation 

Flowchart 

CCTT Pre-Alert 

Transfer Doctor Paramedic Duty Manager&HEMS Pilot 

Case Interrogation &Preparation 

Communication&CCTT Activation 

Clinical Interrogation 

Process, viaReferring 

andreceiving ICU 

Consultants. 

Issue Transfer “Wish- 

List” request 

Equipmentand 

logistical 

preparation. 

CCTT Pre-missionCommand Huddle 

Tactical &Logistic 

assessment:- 

Land 

Aviation 

Hybrid –Land- 

Aviation 

Oncall Transfer Consultant,Critical Care Transfer Team,Duty Manager 

+/- Pilots. 

Discussthe case together,assessing theclinical, transfer andaviation 

riskswithappropriate mitigation strategies. Concludewitha“plan 

proposed”for theTransferMission Cycle 

Transfer Doctor 

Inform ReferringICU of 

CCTT activation andETA 

Reaffirm Communication 

on Comprehensive 

DischargeSummary, 

Equipment, Packaging 

andDrugpreparation:- 

- Infusions 

- Emergency drug 

Transfer accepted 

Paramedic 

Inform HEMS desk 

on CCTT activation 

andthe proposed 

logistical details 

Pre-Departure 

Checklist 

Transfer declined 

Duty Managerinforms 

HEMS desk &SECAmb 

Critical Care transfer 

desk 

Doctor informs 

ReferringICU 

30 mins 

15 mins 10 mins 

Team Activation 

Team StandDown 

Fig. 1 AAKSS critical care transfer process 

Training 

A competency-based critical care transfer training module was 

developed and instituted to ensure specific training and currency in 

critical care practice and the management of patients with multi-organ 

dysfunction. Training built upon the pre-existing PHEM practices and 

expertise and, as the service developed, was further enhanced, and 

standardised to a formal training pathway for Critical Care Transfer 

Medicine. All transfer team members undertook a HEMS Transfer 

Training day, alongside a half day Critical Care COVID Transfer Medicine 

Package, with a specific focus on the physiology, pharmacology and 

practical techniques required to manage complex and critically ill 

patients. Individual crew members were then required to complete a 

curriculum of core clinical topics, equipment competencies and logistic 

considerations. It took varying amounts of time for crew members to 

develop competence and confidence in critical care transfer and while 

there was no set time to complete the training log, 2–4 weeks was 



9

FEATURE 

AAKSSCriticalCareTransfer TeamInterrogation Template 

Transfer Details [Completed by HEMS Duty Clinical Manager] 

Date of transfer 

Time 

request 

Referring 

Name andcontact 

Hospital 

Referringhospital 

Consultant and 

Nurse-in-charge 

Contactnumber: 

Receiving 

Hospital 

Precise 

DestinationDetails 

Name andcontact 

Receiving hospital 

Consultant and 

Nurse-in-charge 

PatientDetails [Completed by HEMS Duty Clinical Manager] 

Name : DoB : 

Reasonsfor 

Transfer 

Specialist 

requirement: 

COVIDStatus 

Briefclinical 

synopsis 

Capacity 

Clinical 

Repatriation 

Positive 

Negative 

Patient’sWeight 

(Kg) 

Specific access 

instruction: 

Clinical information [Completed by Duty Crew Transfer Doctor] 

ReferringHospital 

ReceivingHospital 

andprecise 

andprecise 

location 

location 

Referring 

Consultant 

Receiving 

Consultant 


Family informed 

Clinical Overview 

Clinical history: 

Fig. 2 AAKSS critical care transfer planning sheet 

Yes 

No 

suggested. During this period the crew member also undertook at 

least four transfer shifts under the supervision of a Transfer Consultant. 

Family Contacts 

[Ifavailable] 

Name: 

Contactnumber: 

Training culminated in a full day sign-off assessment, including a clinical 

viva, equipment test and clinical long case discussion. 

10 


FEATURE 

Equipment 

A specific, dedicated set of transfer equipment and bags were 

assembled. The content was based on the need to maintain the highest 

standards of intensive care throughout the duration of the transfer. 

Ventilation was provided with a Dräger Oxylog 3000 ventilator in line with 

our primary HEMS work and monitoring maintained using the Tempus 

Pro Monitor (Phillips RDT). This allowed for the added advantage of 

recording physiological data directly into the electronic clinical record. 

Infused medicines were delivered via Braun perfusor syringe drivers. 

Using identical equipment to that used in primary HEMS work was 

an important consideration in order to enhance the safety of this type 

of work and minimise the cognitive load that comes with managing 

patients of this complexity. The transfer kit was physically entirely 

separate to the HEMS kit and could be deployed onto a land ambulance 

or helicopter. 

Transfer platform and infrastructure 

All critical care transfers were considered for transfer via land, air or 

a land-air hybrid. Given the complicated geography in our region, 

with a mix of urban areas within rural and coastal settings, the 

potential opportunity for air or hybrid transfer mission cycles allowed 

an enhancement in care by decreasing the period a sick COVID-19 

patient was out of a hospital ICU environment. This also accelerated the 

regeneration of the critical care transfer crew. Several transfers, including 

the long distance mission cycles, whilst considered for air transfers, 

often resulted in either pure land or hybrid transfers. Overall, 94% of the 

transfer missions were conducted by land. This was due to the time 

of year being winter (December-February), with both light and weather 

restrictions, which made long distance critical care transfers by air using 

visual flight rules challenging to undertake. 

Care of the COVID-19 patient during transfer 

Meticulous handling of the COVID-19 patient was required prior to, 

during, and after transfer. Respiratory failure was the overwhelming 

organ failure, requiring multi-faceted management strategies, particularly 

for refractory hypoxia. Stabilising the patient on the transport ventilator 

was a particular challenge for some patients and was typically 

attempted early in the transfer process. In practice, our transfer team 

most commonly encountered pressure-controlled ventilation. Our team 

mirror the pressure setting as the initial step of ventilator transition. 

We then closely observe the changes of the patient’s minute volume. 

If minute volume reduced, our team will implement an incremental 

increase to inspiratory pressure until the desired minute volume is 

achieved. We allowed permissive hypercapnia. We obtained an arterial 

blood gas sample 15 min after the transition to the transport ventilator 

(Oxylog 3000). To avoid patient-ventilator asynchrony during the mission, 

deep sedation and paralysis were used for the entire transfer journey. 

Interpersonal relationships, human factors and communication 

The management of a COVID-19 patient is made harder by the need 

to work carefully in full PPE. Clear communication was therefore 

imperative. As a Critical Care Transfer Team, it was important to forge 

relationships with referring critical care teams, clearly communicate 

with the receiving ICU and work cohesively alongside a number of new 

groups of health professionals and team members. The primary PHEM 

training and practices, particularly in crew resource management (CRM) 

and communication skills, proved a core strength and foundation for the 

critical care transfer capability response. 

Aircraft modification 

To protect the pilots, a sealed barrier curtain was installed between 

the cockpit and cabin section of the AW169 helicopter. This achieved 

a hermetic seal with different air supplies to the pilot and patient cabin 

sections. Pilots flew with standard surgical masks, following testing 

and approval of radio communications whilst wearing them. The size 

and specification of the AW169 cabin allowed for excellent access to 

the patients throughout flight, and the ability to maintain monitoring 

and titrate infusions presented no problems. A closed suction system 

allowed for in-flight suction of the trachea if required. 

Clinical Governance 

A specific Clinical Governance framework was established that 

mirrored that of AAKSS primary missions but stood as an independent 

framework. Whilst this specific process was created de novo to address 

a specific challenge in the critical care transfer of level 3 COVID-19 

patients (Fig. 1), it was embedded in a mature system of standard 

operating procedures, governance and logistics. A dedicated Transfer 

Consultant was on-call for remote support and all cases underwent 

detailed case review. 

Analysis of the 50 critical care transfers 

during the UK COVID-19 s wave 

Between 18 December 2020 and 1 February 2021, AAKSS in 

collaboration with SECAmb performed 50 adult critical care transfers in 

support of the UK COVID-19 response. 

All 50 of these critical care transfers were undertaken to urgently help 

with ICU capacity across the region. These ICUs were all managing 

patient numbers significantly beyond their normal footprint. As a result, 

through a nationally coordinated initiative, other ICUs with capacity were 

identified to provide mutual aid, often in areas a significant distance 

away. 

The complex implications of COVID-19 on the vascular structure and 

haematological dynamics, often with a pro-thrombotic propensity, 

gave these patients a uniquely precarious physiological fragility. The 

interrogation process between the referring ICU consultant and transfer 

team was important, but a further dynamic assessment of the patient 

was essential on transfer team arrival at the referring ICU. Gentle 

bridging on to transfer specific infusion pumps, ventilator, monitoring 

and bed was essential followed by careful handling of the patient’s 

complex pathophysiology. Pre-arrival requests were structured, as 

shown in Fig. 3. 

Of the 50 critical care transfers, 45 (90%) were critically unwell patients 

receiving Level 3 multi-organ support. 5 (10%) patients were receiving 

Level 2 care and all of these were for non-COVID-19 disease processes. 

All missions had data entered in real time into the AAKSS patient record/ 

mission data system (HEMSbase, Medic One Systems Ltd). A specific 

section had already been created to record secondary transfer missions. 

All data were then analysed retrospectively. 

The mean age of these patients was 58 years (range 29–83). 30 (60%) 

were male and 20 (40%) were female. 


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

11

FEATURE 

Transfer team communicationchecklist and“wish list” 

Airway 

ETT/ Tracheostomy well secured 

Sparetracheostomypackwithinner cannula 

In-linesuction catheter 

NewHME filter made ready for transfer 

Blue Soft-tooth blue clamp/metalclamp with gauze 

Breathing 

Stable on ventilator 

CD cylinder 

Circulation 

CentralAccess(ideallyright Internal jugular) 

Twoperipheralcannula (ideally oneright sided) 

Arterial line (ideally rightradial) 

Rationalisenon-essential infusions 

Capoff allunusedlines 

1x 1000ml Crystalloidattachedtodedicated line (orlumen of CVC) 

Disability 

Ensure patientsedation+/- muscle relaxation 

Exposure and NG tube aspirated&capped 

packaging 

Urinarycatheterinsitu&Catheter bagemptied 

2x sheets /blankets 

Drugs&infusion preparation Will need to be Tailored to MissionCycle 

Infusions 

Propofol 1% in 50ml Luer lock syringex2 

Fentanyl 50mcg/ml in 50ml Luer lock syringes x1 

Noradrenaline4mg in 50ml Luer lock syringes x2 

Otheressential drug spareinfusion 

Boluses 

Rocuronium 100mgin10mlx2 

Propofol 1% in 20ml x1 

Fentanyl 500mcg in 10ml x1 

Emergencydrugs Metaraminol10mgin20mlx1 

Adrenaline 1mgin10mlmini-jet 

Documentation&Communication 

Comprehensivedischarge summarycopiesx2 

Allclinicalnotes photocopied/printed 

Family informed 

Fig. 3 Transfer team communication checklist 


The AAKSS aircraft was used for 3 (6%) transfers and 47 (94%) were 

moved by road. To our knowledge, this represented the first civilian air 

transfers of COVID-19 positive patients in the UK. 

All of these patients were invasively ventilated with mandatory or 

pressure support ventilation. 45 (90%) of these patients had an 

endotracheal tube in situ and 5 (10%) had a tracheostomy sited to 

facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation. 

The mean FiO 2 

at referral was 0.45 (0.21–0.8). 17 (34%) patients were 

established on vasopressor support at the point of referral, versus 33 

(66%) on no cardiovascular support. All 17 patients on vasopressor 

support were receiving noradrenaline, with 1 patient also receiving 

dobutamine. 

The mean total mission cycle (time of referral until the time team 

declared free at receiving hospital) was 264 min (range 149–440 min). 

The mean time spent at the referring hospital prior to leaving for the 

receiving unit was 72 min (31–158). The mean transfer transit time 

between referring and receiving units was 72 min (9–182). 

During this period, no significant adverse events occurred and there 

were no instances of transfer team members or pilots contracting 

COVID-19 as a result of a transfer mission. 

Discussion 

AAKSS successfully implemented a fully functional critical care 

transfer service capable of moving critically ill COVID-19 patients by 

air. The majority of these patients were in multi-organ failure due to 

COVID-19 infection. The adherence to a standardised pathway with an 

interrogation process allowed for an efficient service, which focussed on 

patient safety. The investment in the workforce and subsequent crew 

configuration was labour intensive, but ensured a robust and consistent 

service. The training elements and governance were imperative in 

12 


FEATURE 

ensuring responsive practices, especially as our clinical approach to 

COVID-19 evolved. Having a dedicated AAKSS Transfer Consultant and 

the ability to activate “Command Huddles” throughout a critical care 

mission were both useful for patient care but also for supporting crews 

and fostering interpersonal relationships across healthcare providers 

during a very challenging time. The authors of this paper would 

recommend using these interventions, which we believe enhanced 

mission and organisational safety. 

The need for local, regional and national coordination of critical care 

assets and transfer requirements is imperative for future pandemic 

initiatives. To optimise the available time of the critical care transfer 

teams, planning should ideally occur on an ongoing basis, with patients 

identified for transfer the preceding night. This allows transfer teams 

to maximise their impact. This is particularly important for aeromedical 

teams who may be better operated in daylight conditions. The 

number of COVID-19 transfers conducted by air was limited, largely 

by environmental factors. As familiarity and efficiency of the transfer 

systems evolves, we anticipate increased air transfers. 

To our knowledge, AAKSS was the first civilian air ambulance service to 

move COVID-19 patients by air in the UK. This was achieved through 

early engagement with the required authorities to gain approval for the 

safety procedures put in place to protect pilots from the risk of infection. 

The use of an aeromedical transport platform has the potential to 

confer a significant advantage for patients moved over large distances. 

Any concerns regarding the potential physiological insult posed by 

altitude are negligible by helicopter transport in our region, with flights 

undertaken at around 1000 ft above sea level. 

Our teams spent a significant amount of time on arrival at the referring 

hospital when compared to our scene times for primary HEMS work. 

The time was largely due to the physiological complexity of COVID-19 

patients, including, for example, the careful transfer of the patient from an 

ICU to a transport ventilator and the associated interventions required to 

ensure a safe and stable critical care transfer. In this particular example, 

although the assessment of stability and suitability to be moved on a 

transport ventilator could be streamlined by having the referring hospital 

undertake ventilator exchange prior to transfer team arrival. 

presented in this paper will likely be useful to other services. 

Further research is warranted, particularly with regards PPE and how 

best to prevent cross-infection during transfer of COVID-19 patients [9, 

10]. As further waves of COVID-19 patients stretch emergency medical 

services globally, sharing of experience will be invaluable. 

Conclusions 

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressures on 

critical care resources, necessitating the rapid establishment of adult 

critical care transfer services to decompress overwhelmed hospitals, 

to support clinicians and minimise preventable loss of life due to 

resource depletion. Critically ill COVID-19 patients have highly complex 

medical needs during transport. Critical care transfer of COVID-19 

positive patients by civilian HEMS services, including air-transfer, can 

be achieved safely with specific planning, protocols and precautions. 

Regional planning of COVID-19 critical care transfers is required to 

optimise the time available of critical care transfer teams. 

Abbreviations 

AAKSS: Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex; AGP: Aerosol generating 

procedure; EMS: Emergency Medical Service; HEMS: Helicopter 

Emergency Medical Service; ICU: Intensive Care Unit; PHEM: Pre-hospital 

emergency medicine; PIU: Patient isolation unit; PPE: Personal protective 

equipment; SECAmb: South East Coast Ambulance Service Trust. 

Acknowledgements 

At AAKSS we would like to acknowledge and thank South East Coast 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust for its support in setting up of our Critical 

Care Transfer capability. Similarly, thank you to the Independent Ambulance 

Providers, Platinum and Medi-4. We also wish to thank Specialist Aviation 

Services, who supported the aircraft modification process, allowing for air 

transfer of COVID-19 confirmed or suspected patients. 

Authors’ contributions 

All authors were involved in the service provision, data collection, analysis 

and manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 

Other pre-hospital services have published their experience of 

transferring critical COVID-19 patients [1, 7]. Several providers described 

the effective use of patient isolation units (PIU) [1]. AAKSS was 

concerned about the limitations of being able to treat critically unwell 

patients whilst in a PIU and therefore focussed on securing the entire 

rear of the helicopter to prevent infection. Similar to other published 

research, only a minority of transfers were completed by air, highlighting 

the technical challenges of air transport of COVID-19 patients. However, 

for long distance transfer of COVID-19 patients, air is likely to be the 

faster and more effective transport platform [8]. 

We recognise that this is a relatively small descriptive study over a short 

time period. We acknowledge that our experience will not necessarily be 

applicable to all services, particularly outside the UK. However, we have 

demonstrated a method for a HEMS service to rapidly, effectively and 

safely stand up a critical care transfer service capable of moving level 3 

COVID-19 patients by both land, air or a hybrid model. We have shown 

this is possible in the civilian setting and the policies and protocols 

Funding 

No funding was received for this study. 

Availability of data and materials 

All data is presented. 

Declarations 

Ethical approval and consent to participate 

This study met criteria for service evaluation, as defined by the UK National 

Institute of Healthcare Research. Formal ethical approval was therefore 

not required. All data was sourced from the internal AAKSS database. No 

competing interests were declared. No funding was received for this study. 

All authors contributed to data review and manuscript writing. 

Consent for publication 

All authors give consent for publication. Patient consent is not required 

as this paper met UK NIHR criteria as a service evaluation. 



13

FEATURE 

Competing interests 

None to declare. 

Author details 

* 

Correspondence: RichardL@aakss.org.uk 

1 

Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey 

RH1 5YP, UK. 

2 

University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. 

Received: 25 September 2021 Accepted: 4 January 2022 

Published online: 15 January 2022 

References 

1. Hilbert-Carius P, Braun J, Abu-Zidan F, Adler J, Knapp J, 

Dandrifosse D, et al. Pre-hospital care & interfacility transport of 

385 COVID-19 emergency patients: an air ambulance perspective. 

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2020;28(1):94. 

2. Martin-Loeches I, Arabi Y, Citerio G. If not now, when? A clinical 

perspective on the unprecedented challenges facing ICUs during 

the COVID-19 pandemic. Intensive Care Med. 2021;47(5):588–90. 

3. Pett E, Leung HL, Taylor E, Chong MSF, Hla TTW, Sartori G, 

Sathianathan V, Husain T, Suntharalingam G, Rosenberg A, Walsh 

A, Wigmore T. Critical care transfers and COVID-19: managing 

capacity challenges through critical care networks. 2020. 

2020100125. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202010.0125.v1. 

4. El-Boghdadly K, Wong DJN, Owen R, Neuman MD, Pocock S, 

Carlisle JB, et al. Risks to healthcare workers following tracheal 

intubation of patients with COVID-19: a prospective international 

multicentre cohort study. Anaesthesia. 2020;75(11):1437–47. 

5. Intensive Care Society. Clinical Guidance: Assessing 

whether COVID-19 patients will benefi t from critical care, 

and an objective approach to capacity challenges. 2020. 

www.wcctn.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/documents/1210/ 

COVID%5F19%5Fcare%5Fguidance%5F5may%5Fendorsed.pdf. 

Accessed 13 July 2020. 

6. Foex B, Van Zwanenberg G, Handy J et al. Guidance on: the 

transfer of the critically ill adult. The Faculty of Intensive Care 

Medicine. 2019. www.fi cm.ac.uk/sites/default/fi les/transfer_ 

critically_ill_adult_2019.pdf. Accessed 15 June 2020. 

7. Albrecht R, Knapp J, Theiler L, Eder M, Pietsch U. Transport of 

COVID-19 and other highly contagious patients by helicopter and 

fi xed-wing air ambulance: a narrative review and experience of 

the Swiss air rescue Rega. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 

2020;28(1):40. 

8. Reimer AP, Dalton JE. Predictive accuracy of medical transport 

information for in-hospital mortality. J Crit Care. 2018;44:238–42. 

9. COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidance: aerosol 

generating procedures [Internet]. GOV.UK. Cited 8 May 2021. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novelcoronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-infectionprevention-and-control-guidance-aerosol-generating-procedures 

10. Liu Z, Wu Z, Zhao H, Zuo M. Personal protective equipment during 

tracheal intubation in patients with COVID-19 in China: a crosssectional 

survey. Br J Anaesth. 2020;125(5):e420–2. 

Publisher’s Note 

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in 

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15

NEWSLINE 

County Air 

Ambulance HELP 

Appeal makes third 

£250,000 donation to 

British Association 

for Immediate Care 

In addition to new RRVs 

and PPE, the main focus for 

schemes eligible for funding this 

year, will be acquiring lifesaving 

capital equipment such as 

defibrillators and monitors. 

The County Air Ambulance HELP 

Appeal, the only charity in the 

country dedicated to funding 

hospital helipads and to ensuring 

patients with life threatening 

conditions get the fastest 

treatment possible, has given its 

third annual grant of £250,000 

to the British Association for 

Immediate Care. 

Divided into 32 regional schemes, 

the Association is a national 

network of medical, nursing and 

paramedic volunteers, who give 

up their free time to be on call to 

help NHS Ambulance Services, 

ensuring they get support for 

critical incidents 24 / 7. This 

third grant from the County Air 

Ambulance HELP Appeal, brings 

the total amount donated to 

£750,000. 

All schemes across the country 

were invited to apply for a share 

of the latest £250,000 donation. 

Previous grant rounds have funded 

emergency response vehicles in 

different parts of the UK along with 

essential clinical and protective 

equipment. This round of funds 

has been similarly available with the 

focus being on capital equipment 

such as defibrillators and monitors 

- each costing in the region of 

£12,000 to £15,000. 

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive 

of the County Air Ambulance 

HELP Appeal said: “Our donations 

support these wonderful 

volunteers in making huge, 

practical improvements to their 

lifesaving services. New rapid 

response vehicles enable more 

medics to join their schemes, 

which increases the number of 

emergency incidents they can 

respond to. Meanwhile, new 

state-of-the-art technology for 

volunteers’ own vehicles, help 

them to arrive at a critical scene 

quickly and safely – a must during 

the winter months when driving 

conditions can be treacherous. 

I’m delighted that our funding this 

year will support patients directly 

through the purchase of lifesaving 

defibrillators and monitors.” 

Tony Kemp, Chief Officer, British 

Association for Immediate Care 

said: “The work of the British 


has benefited so much from 

the previous two donations 

from the HELP Appeal and I am 

delighted that once again, on the 

back of what has been a very 

difficult 18-months, we are again 

beneficiaries of a further £250,000 

donation. The work of the 

Association’s affiliated schemes 

has continued throughout the 

pandemic and in common with 

so many other areas of life, the 

cost of lifesaving equipment has 

increased. This donation, being 

shared by a number of schemes 

will ensure that their lifesaving 

work continues, we are so grateful 

to the HELP Appeal for their 

ongoing generosity.” 

Paul Gates, Chairman, British 


said: “This year the grant will be 

used for a range of lifesaving 

equipment to be used as our 

volunteers respond to 999 calls for 

their local NHS Ambulance service.” 

The County Air Ambulance 

HELP Appeal’s latest grant has 

been distributed to the following 

schemes, which so far totals 

£134,000: 

• BASICS Dorset 

• BASICS Essex 

• BHECCS (Bedfordshire & 

Hertfordshire) 

• BRAVO Medics (Bristol) 

• CSI BASICS (Cheshire & 

Shropshire) 

• LIVES (Lincolnshire) 

• MARS BASICS (Mercia) 

• SWIFT Medics (Wiltshire) 

• West Yorkshire Medic 

Response Team 

The remaining £116,000 will be 

distributed to schemes early next 

year. 

Joe Blissett from LIVES in 

Lincolnshire said on receiving 

£10,000, which will fund 

dedicated blood transport bags 

for transporting blood to the 

scene of accidents across the 

county, “Fantastic news…this 

project is going to save many lives 

every year.” 


(L-R) Dr Jon Barratt (Trustee), Mr Paul Gates (chair) & Dr Andy Pountney (vice-chair) with a cheque 

from the County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal. 

Junaid Mughal, speaking on 

behalf of the newly formed Beds 

and Herts Emergency Critical 

Care Scheme (BHECCS) said: 

“This is fantastic news, it will help 

a new scheme like BHECCS go a 

long way. It’s an early Christmas 

present for us as this grant will 

definitely be put to good use 

serving the people of Bedfordshire 

and Hertfordshire.” 

16 


NEWSLINE 

Gordon Tollefson, West Yorkshire 

Medic Response Team added: 

“This grant from BASICS, enabled 

by a donation from the HELP 

appeal, allows us to go ahead 

with the purchase of the ventilator 

and this will be a major step for 

us in saving lives when West 

Yorkshire Medic Response Team 

is first on scene.” 

NWAS 

NWAS helps develop 

a new mental health 

support programme 

for male NHS 

frontline workers 

We will be involved in the codevelopment 

of a new research 

project to support male NHS 

frontline workers, particularly 

those who have experienced 

emotional and mental health 

problems due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. 

The programme, called behavioural 

activation for low mood and 

anxiety in male NHS frontline 

workers, know and BALM, is 

funded by Movember and The 

Distinguished Gentleman’s 

Ride. BALM is being led by the 

University of York, delivered in 

partnership with our trust, York 

and Scarborough Teaching 

Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

and Tees Esk & Wear Valleys NHS 

Foundation Trust. 

Research from previous infectious 

disease epidemics shows that 

frontline health workers are at 

increased risk of developing 

both short and long-term mental 

health problems, with up to onethird 

experiencing high levels of 

distress. 

To combat this, the researchers 

will develop, deliver and evaluate 

this early intervention programme 

that aims to improve common 

mental health challenges such as 

low mood, burn-out, anxiety and 

depression faced by male frontline 

NHS workers. Around 45 male 

NHS frontline workers at risk of 

low mood will be recruited for the 

pilot, which starts in 2022. 

They will receive a behavioural 

activation booklet and support 

from specially trained experts on 

how to get the most out of the 

programme. It’s expected to be 

rolled out across the NHS towards 

the end of the project in two 

years’ time. 

Consultant Paramedic, Steve 

Bell, who is a co-investigator 

of this programme and our 

Research Lead said, “It is clear 

that the COVID-19 pandemic has 

placed extreme demands on the 

emergency services provided 

by the NHS, and those frontline 

workers in these services have 

faced unprecedented pressures 

over this time. Ensuring male 

frontline workers, who are often 

disinclined to speak out and seek 

help, are supported is vital and 

this project offers the opportunity 

to study proven behavioural 

activation methods to support 

this potentially vulnerable group of 

NHS staff.” 

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17

NEWSLINE 

YAS 

‘Significant progress’ 

for apprenticeships at 

region’s ambulance 

service 

benefi cial impact on learners. 

Less than 10% of apprenticeship 

providers have achieved 

signifi cant progress across all 

three inspection themes. 

The Trust has been offering 

apprentices developing a wide 

range of substantial new skills and 

knowledge which they successfully 

put into practice in their jobs. 

Dawn Adams, Head of YAS 

Academy, said: 

Earlier last year, the Trust’s 

Ambulance Support Worker role 

won the gold Apprenticeship 

Programme of the Year award, 

ahead of seven other public and 

private sector fi nalists, at the 

national 2021 Learning Awards. 

Following an Ofsted (Office 

for Standards in Education, 

Children’s Services and Skills) 

inspection which took place 

in October 2021, Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust 

(YAS) has formally achieved 

significant progress in the three 

themes assessed. 

apprenticeships since October 

2018 and there are currently 

298 apprentices enrolled on 

level 3 and level 4 standardsbased 

apprenticeships including 

Ambulance Support Worker and 

Associate Ambulance Practitioner. 

The Ofsted inspection lasted two 

days and the areas which were 

“We are delighted with the 

outcome of the Ofsted inspection, 

and I am very proud of our 

Academy team. The Trust is 

highly committed to the provision 

of learning and apprenticeships, 

and the excellent support we 

have from stakeholders, learners 

and clinicians has helped us 

In addition, Morrisons has 

agreed to transfer £2.1m of its 

Apprenticeship Levy fund to 

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS 

Trust to help train the county’s 

future paramedics. The two-year 

programme is helping to pay for 

200 apprentices to be trained and 

means that the Trust will not have 

The Trust was commended for 

having a clear vision, an ambitious 

curriculum for apprenticeship 

provision which goes beyond 

the requirements of the 

qualifi cation, and experienced 

and knowledgeable educators 

delivering high quality training. 

assessed were quality of education, 

leadership and management and 

effectiveness of safeguarding 

arrangements in place. 

The inspection report highlighted 

many positives, including 

helpful careers guidance with 

a clear progression pathway to 

to develop and deliver the 

programmes. 

“We started the journey three 

years ago and, after a lot of 

hard work, being recognised 

by Ofsted with this rating is a 

huge achievement for everyone 

involved. We welcome the 

to access additional Government 

Apprenticeship Levy funding; the 

cost of this to the Trust would 

have been £100,000 (5%) and this 

is now being re-invested in patient 

care in the region. 

Mike Long, ESFA (Education and 

Skills Funding Agency) Senior 

Progress is deemed signifi cant 

paramedic, rigorous governance 

very positive feedback and look 

Skills Development Manager, said: 

when it has been rapid and is 

arrangements, exceptionally 

forward to building future success 

“It is great to see a new employer 

already having considerable 

well-planned curriculum with 

on this fi rm foundation.” 

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making signifi cant progress 

with the implementation of 

an ambitious and high-quality 

apprenticeship programme which 

shows how apprenticeships can 

help tackle skills shortages in 

critical roles in the community. 

The programme has been 

well planned and excellently 

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times and the Academy team fully 

deserves this recognition and I 

look forward to continuing to work 

with the team as the programme 

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Information on both clinical and 

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The Inspection report can be 

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provider/30/2539228 

WAST 

New technology 

to better support 

victims of domestic 

violence 

The Welsh Ambulance Service 

has introduced new technology 

to better support victims of 

domestic violence. 

Ambulance crews have been 

supporting patients to access 

Live Fear Free for help and advice 

on domestic violence since 

its creation using a bespoke 

telephone number. 

Now crews now have the ability to 

assist patients via an app on their 

Trust-issue iPad to speed up and 

streamline the process. 

Live Fear Free is a 24/7 helpline 

for women, children and men 

experiencing domestic abuse, 

sexual violence or other forms of 

violence against women. 

It is a main point of contact 

in Wales to access support, 

information, safety-planning, 

advocacy, refuge and counselling 

services. 

Nikki Harvey, the Welsh 

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Safeguarding, said: “The Live Fear 

Free helpline is a free, confi dential 

24/7 specialist resource that 

anyone can access, at any time. 

“Welsh Ambulance Service crews 

have been using it for some 

years to signpost patients to help 

and support, using the good old 

fashioned telephone – until now. 

“Having the technology to refer 

patients digitally using iPads is not 

only more effi cient for crews, but 

it means that vulnerable patients 

get the support they need more 

quickly. 

“We all deserve to live without fear 

and in an environment which is 

safe, and modernising this referral 

pathway brings us a step closer 

to that.” 

Live Fear Free helpline manager, 

Ann Williams, said: “We are 

delighted to be working alongside 

the Welsh Ambulance Service, 

making our joint support of those 

most in need across Wales even 

more effi cient. 

“For staff at the helpline and the 

ambulance service alike, time is 

critical. 

“Using updated technology means 

that we can strengthen vital, timesaving 

communication methods, 

which will directly benefi t the 

women, men and children getting 

in touch, for whom support can 

often be life changing or even 

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19

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Stroke Association 

warns number of 

untreated strokes 

likely to increase 

during winter, due to 

rise in Omicron cases 

The UK’s largest stroke charity 

is warning people not to delay 

seeking treatment for stroke 

due to fear of Omicron. 

The Stroke Association is 

concerned that public fear of 

increasing COVID-19 rates, due to 

the Omicron variant, is likely to see 

a similar drop in stroke admissions 

seen at the start of the pandemic. 

During the first wave of the 

pandemic there was a significant 

decrease in admissions to stroke 

wards, when the COVID-19 

infection rate rose rapidly. The 

Stroke Association’s Recoveries 

at Risk report found this was due 

to patient worries over catching 

COVID-19 or being a burden on 

the NHS. Nearly a third (32%) 

of people who survived a stroke 

between March and June 2020 

said they delayed seeking medical 

attention due to COVID-19 (i) . 

With the added impact of reported 

ambulance delays, this is likely to 

intensify feelings of being a burden 

on the NHS, causing people to 

delay seeking medical treatment. 

To add to this potential crisis, 

new data shows that more 

people are living with unmanaged 

hypertension (high blood pressure) 

and other major stroke risk 

factors due to fewer regular 

in-person appointments where 

cardiovascular conditions (like 

high blood pressure) are spotted. 

Hypertension is the biggest risk 

factor for stroke, contributing to 

55.4% of stroke cases (ii) . This 

means that the stroke rate could 

rise as more people live with 

unmanaged hypertension than in 

previous years. 

In the UK there are over 100,000 

strokes per year and 1.3 million 

stroke survivors. A stroke is a 

medical emergency which is 

caused by a blockage or bleed 

in the brain cutting off blood 

supply. For every minute a stroke 

is untreated, 1.9 million brain cells 

die (iii) . Stroke is fatal in over one in 

eight (13.1%) patients (iv) . The main 

treatments for stroke, thrombolysis 

and thrombectomy, must be 

delivered as soon as possible 

within four and a half hours of 

symptoms starting, which is why 

is it vital to call 999 as soon as any 

sign of stroke appears. Stroke is 

the UK’s fourth biggest killer and 

the leading cause of adult disability. 

Key stats: 

• Acute stroke admissions fell by 

10.3% in England, Wales and 

Northern Ireland in the period 

23rd March to the end of May 

2020 (iv) , meaning a drop of over 

2,000 admissions in just over 

two months 

• This may have caused the 

54% rise in at home deaths for 

stroke in England and Wales (v) . 

• Of those who delayed seeking 

emergency medical attention, 

42% hadn’t wanted to burden 

emergency services (i) 

• And 34% of those who delayed 

seeking emergency medical 

attention were afraid of catching 

COVID-19 in hospital. (i) 

• 43% reduction in the rate of 

diagnosis of cardiovascular 

conditions (including high 

blood pressure) and a 29-52% 

reduction in first prescriptions 

of medications in March – May 

2020 (vi) 

• In 2015, it was reported that 

high blood pressure affected 

more than 1 in 4 adults in 

England (31% of men; 26% of 

women), which is around 13.5 

million people (vii) 

Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive of 

the Stroke Association said: “When 

COVID cases rise as quickly as 

they are doing now, that sets 

off alarm bells at our charity and 

everyone involved in the treatment 

of stroke. More Omicron cases is 

likely to mean more preventable 

deaths and disability due to 

stroke, as people delay seeking 

emergency medical attention. 

“We know that people get scared to 

go to hospital when cases rise but 

stroke is a life-threatening condition. 

Fear of catching COVID and feeling 

like a burden on the NHS stopped 

people calling 999 in the past. This 

is likely to be even worse due to 

the news about ambulance delays. 

Stroke is an emergency medical 

condition and should be treated as 

an emergency from the moment 

you ring 999. 

“You have to remember that stroke 

is a brain attack and when you see 

any of the FAST signs of stroke in 

someone, this means that their brain 

is dying. You must raise the alarm; 

you must call 999 immediately. 

“After nearly two years in the 

pandemic we know that many 

people haven’t had their high blood 

pressure diagnosed because there 

haven’t been as many regular, inperson 

appointments with medical 

professionals such as GPs. That 

means more people are living with 

undetected high blood pressure 

and are at high risk of stroke. As 

a result, we could see even more 

people having a stroke than in 

previous years.” 

“Stroke clinicians and nurses as 

well as paramedics and therapists 

have worked tirelessly throughout 

the pandemic to maintain stroke 

services. Everyone at our charity 

is thankful for their hard work and 

support.” 

Gerald McMullen, Cardiff: “I had 

my stroke during lockdown and 

I’m so glad that my wife called 

999. It was a lifesaver. If you’re 

with someone who might be 

showing the symptoms of stroke, 

please make that 999 call. It’s vital 

that you do. 

“I got up in the morning and 

felt OK. I was sitting in my chair 

having a cup of tea when my wife, 

Linda, suddenly asked if I was OK. 

I said ‘yes’. However, she noticed 

that something was amiss. My 

outstretched arm, holding my cup, 

seemed rigid to her.” 

McMullen’s speech became “a little 

slurry”, and despite his insistence 

he was fine, his wife ignored him 

and called an ambulance. “Thank 

goodness,” he says. 

“She was on the phone to 999 

and was asked if my face had 

dropped – it hadn’t – and whether 

I could lift my arms, which by then 

I couldn’t. My speech did not 

make sense by this time either.” 

About 15 minutes later, two 

paramedics arrived and examined 

McMullen in his chair. “One of the 

paramedics got on the phone to 

hurry the ambulance along. The 

ambulance arrived and I managed 

to walk to it with support from a 

paramedic and my wife,” 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 

Linda could not accompany 

McMullen to the hospital, adding 

to an already scary situation. In 

the ambulance, his symptoms 

worsened. 

On arrival, he was taken for a 

scan, then taken to another 

department where his head 

was taped to a table and the 

thrombectomy carried out. 

“The stroke has left me with a 

legacy of a weak right arm,” 

McMullen says, “but I’m getting 

that back now too.” A minor 

inconvenience, he notes, which is 

much better than the alternative. 

“My foot is slightly swollen but 

that’s nothing, nothing at all. 

Without the thrombectomy I 

would have been in a much 

worse state. The doctors said I 

would have been catastrophically 

damaged. I could have died. I 

came through and I’m here now. 

“I thought ‘my God, I’ve had a 

stroke’. I’m so grateful that I was 

able to be up and about so quickly. 

Friends couldn’t believe it.” 

20 


NEWSLINE 

London’s Air 

Ambulance launches 

extra team to reach 

more critically-injured 

patients during winter 

months 

• New advanced trauma team 

on call for London during peak 

hours, bringing the hospital to 

the roadside 

• Additional team, ‘Medic 3’, will 

help London’s Air Ambulance 

reach hundreds more trauma 

patients 

For the first time in its 32-year 

history, London’s Air Ambulance 

is now operating with two duty 

teams on call for London this 

winter. Beginning in December, 

an additional medical team will 

support the service, responding 

to the most critically injured 

trauma patients in the capital 

by rapid response car. 

The extra team, known as 

‘Medic 3’, will operate Monday 

to Saturday from 14:00 to 24:00 

helping the advanced trauma 

teams of London’s Air Ambulance 

be more resilient and ultimately 

reach more critically injured 

patients and respond more quickly 

during the winter rush hour. The 

team will consist of one senior 

doctor and one paramedic and 

the arrangement will be trialled 

for twelve months to analyse its 

impact. 

London’s Air Ambulance currently 

provides one advanced trauma 

team 24 hours per day, 365 days 

per year and attends around 

1,700 patients each year. The 

service uses a helicopter from 

08:00 to sunset switching to 

rapid response cars at night or 

in adverse weather conditions. 

London’s Air Ambulance expert 

teams can deliver complex lifesaving 

interventions at the scene 

of an incident such as pre-hospital 

emergency anaesthesia; blood 

transfusion; thoracotomy (a 

surgical procedure which opens 

up the rib cage cavity to manually 

massage the heart) and REBOA 

(where a balloon is fed into the 

major blood vessels through an 

injection into the leg), all of which 

are known to have increased 

patient survival rates after 

traumatic injury. 

London’s Air Ambulance forms 

part of the blue light community 

alongside its partners Barts NHS 

Health Trust and the London 

Ambulance Service (LAS), working 

collaboratively to deliver the best 

possible care to all major trauma 

patients, and this additional 

resource will operate as part of 

this wider team. 

As winter evenings draw in 

the aircraft goes offline earlier, 

currently around 16:00, meaning 

the team moves to deliver 

the service by rapid response 

vehicle at this time, significantly 

before rush hour and leaving the 

service reliant on only one team 

operating by road for the whole of 

London. Analysis of response time 

data, based on a single team, 

demonstrates that patients more 

distant from central London are 

not always reached as quickly 

during this window. Alongside 

this, the team may already be 

on scene with a patient when 

required elsewhere which results 

in cancelled missions for the 

service. 

This has meant that London’s Air 

Ambulance has been unable to 

attend all the patients who could 

have benefited from their expertise 

and on-scene interventions. The 

service estimates that in 2019, 

there were 195 additional patients 

to whom London’s Air Ambulance 

would have gone to, which 

equates to around 60 additional 

emergency anaesthetics, 5 

thoracotomies and 18 code 

red patients (when a patient is 

bleeding to death and needs 

immediate intervention). The extra 

team will be able to respond to 

these sorts of emergencies as 

well as providing greater resilience 

for the service in the event of a 

major incident. Currently in these 

instances the London Ambulance 

Service (LAS) will work alongside 

London’s Air Ambulance to ensure 

patients are treated as quickly as 

possible. 

Medical Director of London’s Air 

Ambulance, Dr Tom Hurst, said: 

“Time is precious when a life is on 

the line and we know that during 

the winter when the hours of dark 

overlap with peak travel times we 

are constrained in our response, 

particularly when our one team is 

already on scene with a patient. 

This additional team will help 

us reach more critically injured 

patients quickly when time is of 

the essence. 

“London’s Air Ambulance does 

not stand still and is constantly 

striving to better the service we 

provide to the people of London. 

Thanks to our partners at Barts 

NHS Health Trust and the London 

Ambulance Service and of course 

to our incredible supporters 

we’ve been able to get this extra 

team up and running, providing 

much-needed clinical support 

and helping ensure that, should 

the worst happen, London’s Air 

Ambulance will be there.” 

London Ambulance Service 

Deputy Chief Executive and Chief 

Medical Officer, Dr Fenella Wrigley 

said: 

“The introduction of an additional 

advanced trauma team this winter 

will be an incredibly valuable 

resource for the people of 

London. 

“The team, operated by a London 

Ambulance paramedic and 

Barts Health senior doctor, is an 

excellent example of collaborative 

working to help achieve the best 

possible care for trauma patients 

in the capital. The timing of 

this new expansion is also very 

welcome as the reduction in day 

light hours reduces the time the 

aircraft can operate. As we head 

into a challenging winter it will 

help us continue to bring clinical 

expertise to trauma scenes to 

help our most seriously injured 

patients.” 

Alistair Chesser, Group Chief 

Medical Officer at Barts Health 

NHS Trust, said: 

“The extra London Air Ambulance 

team is well timed coming into 

winter and will be a great help 

in ensuring the most seriously 

injured patients get the specialist, 

life-saving care they need as 

soon as possible, both on the 

scene and in hospital. 

“We’re very happy to be working 

in collaboration with the London 

Ambulance Service and London 

Air Ambulance to allow us to 

reach hundreds more trauma 

patients.” 

London’s Air Ambulance is a 

charity, operating in partnership 

with Barts NHS Health Trust 

and London Ambulance Service 

(LAS) NHS Trust. Barts Health 

NHS Trust employs and pays 

the doctors who will form part 

of the Medic 3 team and LAS 

provide the paramedics who will 

also form part of the duty team, 

as well as the flight paramedic 

situated in the control room who 

is responsible for dispatching 

London’s Air Ambulance to the 

most critically injured people in 

London, 24 hours a day. 

Since its inception London’s 

Air Ambulance has developed 

cutting-edge medical care 

normally only found in the 

hospital Emergency Department 

for use at the roadside. The 

innovations and procedures it has 

developed have been adopted 

across the world. 


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

21

NEWSLINE 


HELP Appeal funds 

new rapid response 

vehicle for BASICS 

Devon 

Thanks to the HELP Appeal 

- BASICS Devon, a network 

of volunteer doctors, 

who support the South 

Western Ambulance Service 

NHS Foundation Trust at 

emergency incidents, have 

launched their very own rapid 

response vehicle to support 

their emergency responders 

across Devon. 

BASICS Devon is one of a 

national network of 32 regional 

schemes across the UK, which 

operates under the umbrella 

of the British Association for 

Immediate Care. The new 

vehicle has been made possible 

after the group successfully 

bid for a total of £44,000 from 

a grant of £250,000, which 

is given to the Association 

every year by the County Air 

Ambulance HELP Appeal - the 

only charity in the country 

dedicated to funding NHS 

hospital helipads. 

The vehicle has hi-visibility and 

reflective markings; fitted with 

communication and navigation 

equipment; blue lights, sirens, 

and a dash cam, to ensure its 

volunteer doctors can drive 

safely to an emergency incident. 

The 4 x 4 Skoda Kodiaq, is now 

active across Devon, carrying 

volunteer doctors, to the 

scene of critically ill or injured 

patients in the community or 

at the roadside. This vehicle 

also provides the opportunity 

for education in pre-hospital 

medicine to other healthcare 

professionals. 

This will be the first scheme 

response vehicle for BASICS 

Devon. Having their own 

emergency response vehicle 

to access critical, isolated, 

sick, and injured patients will 

help to ease pain and suffering 

and save lives across one of 

the most rural counties in the 

country. It will enable their 

volunteers to reach remote 

communities with ease, safely 

and quickly, in all weather 

conditions and in most cases 

arrive before the ambulance. 

Since January the volunteer 

doctors have responded to 415 

call outs, 144 of which were at 

night, arriving first on the scene 

at 31% of them. 

BASICS Devon volunteer 

Immediate Care Doctor and 

Chair, Dr Simon Scott Hayward 

said: ‘The doctors are all so 

pleased with the vehicle. It has 

already been put to good use 

with 31 shifts, responding to 

callouts across the county. With 

winter setting in, we are pleased 

to have a vehicle fit for purpose 

both practical and safe. It is 

also a platform for clinicians 

interested in pre-hospital care 

to attend as observers. The 

recent branding of the car we 

hope, reflects the community 

that we serve. We would like to 

thank our funders and everyone 

that helped to get the car on 

the road.’ 

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive 

of the County Air Ambulance 

HELP Appeal added: “These 

volunteers are the unsung 

heroes of emergency care 

– giving up their free time to 

support their local ambulance 

service. This donation ensures 

they have the highest standard 

of transport at their disposal to 

ensure they can treat patients 

quickly and safely, giving them 

the best possible chance of 

survival and recovery.” 

Last year, BASICS Devon 

also secured £39,000 from 

the County Air Ambulance 

HELP Appeal’s annual grant of 

£250,000 given to the British 

Association of Immediate 

Care. It was used to equip 

members’ existing vehicles for 

an emergency role, such as the 

installation of CCTV technology 

and winter tyres. The funding 

also enabled one new doctor 

to join the scheme after their 

vehicles were equipped to 

reach emergency incidents. This 

has helped with callouts in the 

North Devon area enabling the 

scheme to reach more people in 

the community to save lives. 

The HELP Appeal was created 

12 years ago by the County 

Air Ambulance Trust. It is the 

only charity in the country 

dedicated to funding NHS 

hospital helipads. To date it 

has funded over 40 helipads, 

which have received almost 

20,000 landings, including at 

Derriford Hospital, Plymouth 

and the Royal Devon and Exeter 

Hospital. The HELP Appeal 

relies solely on charitable 

donations and does not receive 

any government funding or 

money from the National 

Lottery. 

SAS 

SAS’s Mobile Testing 

Units deliver 2 million 

tests 

The Scottish Ambulance 

Service’s Mobile Testing 

Units (MTUs) have reached 

the monumental milestone 

of delivering 2 million tests 

across Scotland, since the 

service was launched at the 

end of August 2020. 

As the country faces further 

challenges with the Omicron 

variant of the Covid-19 virus, 

the MTUs have been delivering 

15,000 tests a day, helping the 

country to tackle the newest 

threat in the ongoing pandemic. 

The MTUs have been one of 

biggest projects ever carried 

out at the Scottish Ambulance 

Service (SAS) and is one of 

the key measures in place to 

support the UK’s action plan 

against COVID-19. There are 

now 39 SAS-run MTU teams 

across the country and more 

than 1100 people employed 

by the Scottish Ambulance 

Service, providing a vital service 

to Scotland. 

The MTUS can be dispatched 

quickly across the country 

so people in urban, rural and 

remote areas have easy access 

to a coronavirus test. The 

location of the units, which are 

22 


NEWSLINE 

requested by National Services 

Scotland through the Scottish 

Government, local authorities 

and health Boards, changes 

regularly to reflect demand. 

John Alexander, General 

Manager for the 

Mobile Testing Units 

(MTUs), said: “Our 

dedicated MTU staff 

have been working 

tirelessly across 

Scotland to deliver 

tests, particularly 

over the last month 

as the programme 

has been ramped 

up to combat the 

Omicron virus. 

“All of our MTU 

staff have done 

a fantastic job in 

providing tests 

to the people of 

Scotland over the 

past year and I’m 

extremely proud 

they’ve delivered 

two million tests 

since August 2020. 

We reached the 

1 million mark on 

1st September 

2021, one year and 

one day from the 

date of the MTUs 

going live, so to 

carry out another 

million tests in just 

over four months 

is a considerable 

achievement, and 

it’s testament to 

their dedication and 

hard work.” 

Cabinet Secretary 

for Health and 

Social Care Humza 

Yousaf said: 

“Our COVID-19 

Mobile Testing 

units continue 

to play a crucial 

role in bringing 

testing capacity 

to communities who need it 

most. And reaching two million 

tests is incredible work. This is 

a reflection of the hard work, 

dedication and professionalism 

of Scottish Ambulance 

Service staff who are doing 

a challenging job in difficult 

circumstances. 

“Through the work they are 

doing they are helping to 

identify and isolate cases and 

breaking chains of transmission. 

My thanks goes to every 

member of SAS staff for all 

that they are doing to care and 

support people across Scotland 

– and for working throughout 

the festive break to ensure that 

testing continued.” 

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23

NEWSLINE 

SWAST 

Patient helps buy 

defibrillator after 

community first 

responder and 

paramedic save her 

life 

A grateful patient inspired by 

the South Western Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust 

(SWASFT) team who saved her 

life, has helped raised funds to 

buy a defibrillator. 

Dulcie, from Penzance, Cornwall, 

suffered a cardiac arrest and 

collapsed, falling off her fixed 

exercise bike at home. She was 

treated with a defibrillator by a 

community first responder and a 

paramedic, convincing her that 

a community defibrillator was 

needed at her gym. 

Luckily for her, expert help 

was only seconds away when 

SWASFT volunteer community 

first responder Jack Bushell 

responded to a 999 call on his 

way from helping another casualty. 

He took over from Dulcie’s partner 

who was giving effective CPR and 

immediately applied defibrillator 

pads and gave CPR himself to try 

and restart her heart and breathing. 

the ambulance service is, but 

when there is a life-threatening 

emergency they are still able to 

respond magnificently. 

“I can’t really put into words 

how grateful I am to my partner, 

to Jack, and to the ambulance 

service for their quick response, 

skill, professionalism and kindness 

that they showed. I clearly would 

not be here today was it not for all 

of them.’’ 

Jack said: “I was just heading 

back from another incident when 

I received the top priority category 

1 response call to Dulcie. At the 

time the only details I had was that 

it was a person who’d fallen off a 

bike and was in cardiac arrest. 

“I’ve been to a number of arrests 

so felt calm and collected enroute 

and on arrival, this meant I 

could think about what I’d need 

to do and whether this may be a 

traumatic or medical arrest.’’ 

He said Dulcie was fighting to 

recover as she was being treated 

and he was confident at the time 

that emergency treatment would 

get results. His patient had also 

been given the best chance of 

recovery due to the prompt and 

effective CPR care by her partner. 

“It was an incredibly surreal 

and rare moment to go from a 

resuscitation attempt to talking 

to that patient. It was a fantastic 

outcome and I’m proud to be part 

of the team which treated Dulcie. 

WMAS 

Top award for going 

above and beyond 

during the pandemic 

A University of Wolverhampton 

Paramedic Science graduate 

has scooped a top award 

recently for going above and 

beyond during the pandemic. 

Will Matthews, 22 from Gloucester, 

graduated from the Paramedic 

Science degree course which was 

delivered at the University’s Walsall 

Campus earlier last year and was 

named Outstanding Direct Entry 

Student Paramedic of the Year by 

West Midlands Ambulance Service 

(WMAS). 

He picked up his award from 

Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive 

Officer at WMAS. 

Will was nominated by his 

lecturer, Richard Howarth, for his 

commitment and dedication to 

learning and his excellent grades 

and he was chosen as the winner 

out of hundreds of nominations from 

five universities across the region. 

Will said: “When I heard that I’d 

won the award I just sat smiling 

and couldn’t believe it - especially 

considering how competitive 

these awards are locally. 

biomedical science, and I’m so 

glad I didn’t. 

“I really loved Paramedic the 

course, it was the most difficult 

thing I’ve ever done, but I put 

myself forward for all kinds of 

things, helping out in lecturers and 

mentoring other students. 

“I love my job. There’s something 

different happening every 

day, the team bonding and 

spirit is amazing and you build 

relationships really quickly. 

“I’m hoping to continue to expand 

on my knowledge, gain more 

experience, and then hopefully move 

fields to specialise in minor injuries.” 

Richard Howarth, Lecturer in 

Paramedic Science at the University, 

said: “I was Will’s personal tutor 

throughout the majority of his course 

and he is an exemplary student who 

always strives for the best in both 

his academic work and practice 

placement. 

“The feedback received from Will’s 

mentors has been amazing and 

despite the pandemic causing 

Will to miss a period of placement 

he has never lost his drive and 

determination to succeed. He is 

always a highly reflective student 

who is always looking at ways 

to improve himself in an effort to 

improve the patient care he delivers. 


When his colleague, paramedic 

Jess Leah arrived, they delivered a 

further defibrillator shock and Dulcie 

started breathing herself shortly 

before regaining consciousness 

and soon began talking to the 

paramedics. Further help arrived 

with a second ambulance crew and 

the air ambulance with a doctor on 

board to help stabilise Dulcie and 

take over her care. 

Dulcie, a public health doctor 

working for Cornwall Council, 

thanked the SWASFT team 

and stressed how important 

defibrillators and trained 

community volunteer paramedics 

were to saving her life. She said: 

“We all know how under pressure 

“Having since spoken to Dulcie 

and found out she’s fully recovered 

and raised money to fund a 

defibrillator, I think it’s amazing and 

an important reminder of good 

“bystander” CPR. These outcomes 

are very rare and it reminded me of 

why I do this job.’’ 

The public defibrillator, outside 

Crossfit Penzance, was paid 

through a community effort 

including a sponsored gym 

competition and prize raffle 

donated to by local businesses. 

“I had kind of fallen into the career 

as no one in my immediate family is 

medically trained. I just went for it. 

“I studied chemistry and biology 

at A Level but didn’t get into my 

first-choice university to study 

“Will is always willing to go above 

and beyond in the support of 

his peers, he is a peer mentor 

for both First and Second year 

students and is always happy 

to share his knowledge and 

experiences with them. I have 

24 


NEWSLINE 

no doubt that Will is going to be 

an exemplary paramedic and an 

asset to the profession.” 

West Midlands Ambulance Service 

Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, 

said: “I wanted to demonstrate 

my personal appreciation for 

everything the winners of these 

awards, like Will, have done and 

continue to do. The NHS is under 

more pressure now than it has 

been before, and I know that 

each of our staff, students and 

volunteers, feel that every day. 

“The last 18 months or so have not 

been easy for external students, 

with tough decisions having to be 

made around their placements in 

order to best protect the patients 

we serve. However, people like 

Will are an absolute testament to 

the NHS, always striving to do 

their utmost regardless of any 

adversities that come their way. 

“The winners of last year’s awards 

have demonstrated a dedication 

to their role and the patients of 

the West Midlands, whether that 

be out on the road or behind the 

scenes. A huge congratulations 

once again to all the winners.” 

Anyone looking to study at the 

University of Wolverhampton 

should register for one of our 

forthcoming Open Days. 

For more information contact the 

Corporate Communications Team 

comms@wlv.ac.uk. 

Guernsey’s 

Emergency 

Ambulance Service 

takes delivery of two 

new ambulances 

Guernsey’s Emergency 

Ambulance Service has taken 

delivery of two new ambulances 

in a ceremony that recreated 

the scenes of 84 years ago, 

when the St John Ambulance 

Brigade received its new Morris 

ambulance. 

As the reprint of a Guernsey 

Press article from June 1937 

illustrates, a dedication ceremony 

was held on the Albert Pier, St 

Peter Port where the Morris 

ambulance was handed over, by 

the island government (the States 

of Guernsey) to St John which 

had taken on the responsibility of 

running the ambulance service for 

the island just a year before. 

The two modern day, state-ofthe-art 

WAS 500 Mercedes Benz 

Sprinter emergency ambulances 

were officially presented to St John 

Emergency Ambulance Service by 

the States of Guernsey and were 

blessed by the Chaplain of St John 

Guernsey, in a similar event at 

virtually the same spot in St Peter 

Port. The ceremony was attended 

by local dignitaries, representatives 

of the States of Guernsey and 

frontline staff from the Emergency 

Ambulance Service. 

Mark Mapp, Guernsey’s Chief 

Ambulance Officer, took official 

delivery of two new vehicles for St 

John. “I am delighted and grateful 

to take delivery of two new 

emergency ambulances funded 

by the States of Guernsey. These 

two new ambulances replace two 

of our existing fleet which are now 

over 12 years old and which have 

now exceeded the practical lives 

as frontline ambulances with high 

demands we place on them.” 

He added, “My colleagues and 

I at St John thank the States for 

their responsive procurement 

efforts, which have enabled 

this to happen more promptly 

than we had initially feared. 

These are specialist vehicles, 

somewhat narrower than standard 

international vehicles in order to 

better operate on Guernsey’s 

narrow roads. Delivery timescales 

can sometimes be prolonged, 

because these specialist versions 

are produced in Germany, 

generally in change-over gaps 

between longer production runs. 

However, with the assistance of 

the States, we have managed to 

secure delivery more promptly 

than usual.” 

The new ambulances are fitted 

with state-of-the-art diagnostic 

and treatment equipment which 

allows clinicians to administer 

urgent and emergency prehospital 

care on scene at a 

patient’s home or by the roadside. 

The vehicles are designed to give 

maximum comfort for patients and 

a practical working environment 

for medical crews. 

Guernsey is not part of the NHS 

so under current arrangements, 

users of an Emergency 

Ambulance in Guernsey are 

charged a government-subsidised 

cost for call-outs and treatment by 

paramedics, and for conveyance 

to hospital. However, St John 

offers an annual subscription 

scheme which covers individuals 

for up to 50 emergency 

ambulance call outs in that year. 

The States of Guernsey provides 

an annual grant to fund the 

balance of the costs of St 

John providing the Emergency 

Ambulance Service, subject to 

various operational performance 

indicators being met. 

Deputy Al Brouard, President of 

Health & Social Care (HSC) was 

the senior politician present at 

the new ambulance handover 

ceremony. “As we are seeing in 

many jurisdictions, the funding of 

health and social care services 

is one of the most challenging 

issues for governments in our 

time. Difficult priorities have to be 

set as we aim to provide the full 

range of services needed by the 

community in the most costeffective 

manner. St John is a key 

partner and I am pleased that 

we are able to invest to keep our 

services properly equipped for the 

demands they face.” 

Mark de Garis, interim CEO of the 

States of Guernsey and former 

Chief Secretary for HSC said: 

“During 2018, HSC worked with a 

range of service providers to offer 

better coordination for the care 

islanders receive on a daily basis. 

Our joint aim was to provide new 

ways of working and solutions 

which address the core pressures 

of an ageing demographic, fewer 

working age tax payers, and the 

long-term inherent trend of above 

inflation healthcare cost increases 

which lead to real term impacts 

upon public expenditure unless 

positively addressed. Later that 

year, HSC and St John defined and 

agreed a future operating model 

for ‘Patient-intense Emergency 

Response’ and ambulance services 

over the following years and we 

continue to implement that model 

in a phased manner. As with many 

things, the arrival of Covid-19 

delayed some initiatives, but we are 

grateful for the responsiveness of 

all parts of the St John operation 

during the pandemic. 

During the Covid pandemic 

frontline ambulance crews were 

supported by St John volunteers 

who took on tasks including the 

deep cleaning of ambulance 

vehicles. 

Thanks to the Guernsey Press for giving permission for the use 

of this 1937 photograph 


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

25

IN PERSON 


SAS News 

Scottish Ambulance Service 

staff member awarded 

Queen’s Ambulance Medal in 

2022 New Year Honours list 

A Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) staff 

member who has been instrumental in 

dealing with some of Scotland’s biggest 

incidents has today been awarded the 

Queen’s Ambulance Medal (QAM). 

The prestigious honour - which acknowledges 

ambulance personnel who have shown 

exceptional devotion to duty, merit and 

conduct - has been awarded to Patrick (Pat) 

O’Meara, General Manager of Events. 

Pat, 57, joined SAS in 1998, after 17 years at 

the London Ambulance Service. 

Throughout the past four decades, he has 

been involved in some of the UK’s most 

significant incidents, including the Clutha Bar 

crash where he was incident commander, 

the George Square bin lorry tragedy, and the 

Stockline Plastics Factory explosion. 

Most recently, he has led the Service’s 

planning and response to COP26 and in 

the early stages of the pandemic, led on 

the development and implementation of the 

Service’s Mobile Testing Units. 

Speaking of the award, Pat, who lives in East 

Kilbride, said: “I am very humbled and grateful 

and it’s a great honour to receive the award. 

In saying that, you never work on your own 

and any success is always down to being a 

member of a team.” 

Pat started with the Scottish Ambulance 

Service as an Operations Room Officer, 

where he was responsible for control room 

emergency operations across Glasgow. Over 

the years at SAS, he has worked as a General 

Manager for Ambulance Control Centres, 

Community Resilience, and South East 

Scotland, which included the responsibility 

for the visit of Pope Benedict. Pat is also 

the Chief Medical Support Officer of the 

Army Cadet Force and is a Trustee of the 

Poppyscotland charity. 

The dad-of-one joined the London Ambulance 

Service in 1981. Growing up wanting to be 

a policeman, he said: “I learnt first aid as an 

Army Cadet and had to use those skills with a 

serious leg wound on a fellow pupil who was 

pushed from a second floor window and later 

on another pupil having a fit. I then felt that 

the ambulance service was a career I should 

look at. 

“The ambulance service was very different 

to today. The skills were not as advanced as 

they are now, we did not have defibrillators 

and there was no such role as a paramedic, 

only advanced trained ambulance men.” 

Speaking on some of his memorable jobs 

throughout his career - in addition to Clutha 

and the Glasgow Bin Lorry incident - he said: 

“A young man aged 15 had been stabbed 

with a machete and despite my efforts and 

those of others, he sadly died. I remember 

him pleading with me not to let him die. I have 

also attended a bombing, an aircraft crash at 

Heathrow Airport, I’ve been held hostage and 

attended an incident where I was chased with 

a knife!” 

SAS Chief Operating Officer Paul Bassett 

said: “Pat has been an amazing ambassador 

for the Scottish Ambulance Service over the 

past 23 years and this award is testament 

to Pat’s dedication and professionalism. He 

has been heavily involved in several major 

incidents, leading as incident commander, and 

most recently, he successfully led the Service 

provision to COP26. We are truly grateful for 

everything he has done for the Service.” 

LAS News 

LAS appoints new Director of 

Strategy & Transformation 

London Ambulance Service has appointed 

Roger Davidson as its new Director of 

Strategy and Transformation. 

Roger will join the Service on Monday 31 

January from NHS England, where he is 

currently Director of System Partnerships, 

working to join up health and care and 

improve population health through 

development of integrated care systems 

(ICSs) across England. 

In his new leadership role at LAS, he will 

focus on developing a strategic vision for 

London Ambulance Service to build beyond 

the existing organisational strategy which 

comes to an end in 2023. 

In his most recent position at NHS England, 

Roger has played a national leadership role in 

the development of the 42 ICSs, which now 

cover the whole of England and are set to be 

put on a statutory footing next year. 

Since the start of 2016, he has worked with 

health and care leaders across the country 

on system transformation strategy and policy, 

system leadership development, clinical and 

professional leadership, local government 

and voluntary sector partnerships, 

public involvement, communications and 

stakeholder relationships. 

Prior to this, Roger was Director of 

Communications and Head of Media and 

Public Affairs at NHS England. 

In 2013, he helped to establish the newlyindependent 

organisation and then to set a 

new strategic direction for the NHS focussed 

on integrated care through the NHS Five Year 

Forward View. 

26 


IN PERSON 

Earlier in his career, Roger also held 

senior communications and public affairs 

roles at organisations including the 

NHS Confederation, the Care Quality 

Commission and the Confederation of 

British Industry. 

He is also a Trustee at the English Football 

League (EFL) Trust, the charity overseeing 

the community organisations of the 72 EFL 

football clubs in England which run health 

and wellbeing initiatives across the country. 

Speaking about his new appointment at 

LAS, Roger said: 

“As a Londoner, I am excited to be joining 

one of the most visible healthcare providers 

in the capital and making a positive 

difference to the lives of patients. 

“It’s a challenging time to be joining and 

I am looking forward to working with 

dedicated colleagues to help build the 

ambulance service London needs in the 

years ahead.” 

London Ambulance Service chief executive 

Daniel Elkeles said: 

“While we continue to manage the 

unprecedented pressure created by the 

coronavirus pandemic, it’s essential we do 

not lose sight of the vital change needed 

to drive forward our vision for London 

Ambulance Service. 

“Roger brings a wealth of experience of 

strategy, public affairs and transformational 

change and I’m delighted to welcome him 

to the team.” 

WAS News 

Long-serving paramedic 

recognised in Queen’s New 

Year Honours List 

A long-serving paramedic at the Welsh 

Ambulance Service has been recognised in 

the Queen’s New Year Honours List. 

Paramedic and Duty Operations Manager 

Jenny Lewis has been awarded the Queen’s 

Ambulance Service Medal for distinguished 

service, which was announced on Friday 31 

January 2021. 

The mother-of-two, who is based in Dobshill, 

Flintshire, has more than 30 years of service 

having joined Clwyd Ambulance Service as an 

Emergency Medical Technician in 1991. 

Jenny played an instrumental role in the move 

to the purpose-built Area Ambulance Centre in 

Dobshill in 2012, home to the Trust’s flagship 

Make Ready Depot. 

In November, Jenny and her Operations 

Manager colleagues in North East Wales won a 

WAST Award for delivering outstanding patient 

care and supporting frontline colleagues. 

Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “We’re 

beyond thrilled that Jenny has been 

recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours 

List. 

“It is testament not just to her contribution 

through the Covid-19 pandemic but to her 

broader commitment to the NHS in Wales over 

her 30-year career. 

“We’re incredibly proud of all colleagues who 

go that extra mile for patients and contribute 

to the development and progression of the 

ambulance service, at all levels. 

and management skills, and has led the 

Flintshire team through adversity in recent 

years following the unexpected death of two 

colleagues. 

“We are delighted that Jenny is being 

celebrated for her enduring and positive 

contribution to the Trust and its people.” 

The Queen’s New Year Honours List has 

recognised 1,278 people for their exceptional 

contributions to business, charity, culture, 

development, education, foreign policy, health, 

security and sport. 

Among the other Welsh emergency service 

colleagues recognised is South Wales Police 

Constable Anne Overton, who has been 

awarded the Queen’s Police Medal, and 

Jennifer Griffiths, Group Manager at South 

Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who is the 

recipient of a Queen’s Fire Service Medal. 

Meanwhile, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer Dr 

Frank Atherton has been given a knighthood 

for services to public health. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “These 

recipients have inspired and entertained us and 

given so much to their communities in the UK 

or in many cases around the world. 

“The honours are an opportunity for us to 

thank them, as a country, for their dedication 

and outstanding contribution.” 

SCAS News 

SCAS Board of Directors – 

Appointment of new Chair 

and Non-Executive Director 

“These awards recognise the hard work and 

dedication of some of our very best ambulance 

professionals, and I’d like to extend a huge 

congratulations to Jenny.” 

Jonathan Sweet, Head of Service for the 

Trust’s Operational Delivery Unit, who 

nominated Jenny, added: “Jenny is a 

respected leader and a trusted peer among 

colleagues in North Wales, not to mention a 

compassionate paramedic. 

“She has worked relentlessly throughout her 

career to sharpen her clinical knowledge 

South Central Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust’s Council of Governors has 

approved the appointment of Professor Sir 

Keith Willett CBE as the new Chair of SCAS 

with effect from 1 April. 


>>> 


27

IN PERSON 

He will replace current Chair Lena Samuels 

who will be leaving SCAS at the end of March 

to take up the role of Chair of the Hampshire 

and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS). 

Professor Sir Keith is a highly experienced 

and respected clinician having worked in 

the NHS for over 40 years. As Professor of 

Trauma Surgery at the University of Oxford, 

he has extensive experience of trauma and 

emergency care, healthcare management 

and has been instrumental in driving service 

transformation, working collaboratively with 

partners in the NHS and beyond. 

He will join SCAS from his role as the National 

Director for Emergency Planning and Incident 

Response at NHSE/I. In January 2020, he was 

appointed as the Strategic Incident Director, 

responsible for the operational response to the 

coronavirus pandemic across the whole NHS 

in England. He also led the Covid Vaccination 

Deployment programme from July to October 

2021. 

Professor Sir Keith, who resides in Oxfordshire 

and has been appointed initially for three years, 

said: “I am delighted and privileged to be 

appointed the new Chair of SCAS and build 

on the outstanding work of Lena Samuels, the 

Board and everyone in SCAS. I am acutely 

aware of the enormous contributions and 

sacrifices made in recent times. SCAS, like all 

the NHS, is made up of people treating people, 

so I look forward to working with all of you 

as we collectively restore ourselves and our 

services for an exciting future.” 

In addition, Dr Henrietta Hughes has been 

appointed by the Council of Governors as 

a new Non-Executive Director for SCAS to 

replace Priya Singh who left at the end of 

December to take up the role of Chair of 

Frimley Integrated Care System. Dr Hughes will 

join SCAS on 1 February. 

In 2016, Dr Hughes was appointed as the 

National Guardian for the NHS and set up 

Freedom to Speak Up across England into 

more than 400 NHS and Independent sector 

organisations. Guardians have handled over 

50,000 cases relating to patient safety and 

worker wellbeing with a view to making 

speaking up business as usual. 

Previously a Medical Director at NHS 

England, she continues her clinical role as a 

GP in central London. She has an excellent 

understanding of the health care landscape 

and the challenges affecting the NHS. 

She said: “I am deeply honoured to be joining 

SCAS at this important time and would like 

to send my heartfelt thanks to everyone for 

the amazing work that you have been doing 

throughout the Pandemic. I look forward to 

seeing you soon, learning more about your 

work and contributing to keeping patients, and 

those who care for them, safe and well.” 

Dr Hughes resides in London and has also 

been appointed for an initial three-year term. 

Ms Samuels said: “It has been an enormous 

privilege to work for the last five years 

with CEO Will Hancock, the SCAS Board, 

Governors and a truly amazing body of 

professionals who are so passionate about 

supporting and delivering the best possible 

care for our patients and their families. 

“Our vision and values have always placed 

the best interests of patients at the very 

centre of everything we do and for that reason 

we couldn’t be more delighted with these 

appointments.” 

Mr Hancock said: “I am delighted to welcome 

both Keith and Henrietta to the SCAS Board. 

These are outstanding appointments for the 

Trust and both individuals bring a fabulous 

breadth of experience and skills which will 

support SCAS with the delivery of its future 

strategy and ambitions.” 

has been awarded the Queen’s Ambulance 

Medal for Distinguished Service (QAM) in 

the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. 

Julian qualified in Medicine from Leeds 

University in 1994 (BSc Hons, MB ChB) 

and has been a senior leader at the region’s 

ambulance service for 14 years. He has been 

the Trust’s Executive Medical Director since 

October 2013. 

During the last two years he has been at 

the forefront of the UK ambulance sector’s 

response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading 

national work, as well as the clinical response 

in Yorkshire. He has supported colleagues 

through the challenging clinical environment of 

COVID-19, rising to the challenge of being at 

the helm of the national ambulance response 

as Chair of the National Ambulance Service 

Medical Directors (NASMeD) group, a subgroup 

of the Association of Ambulance Chief 

Executives (AACE). 

Julian has been Chair of NASMeD since 

March 2015 and was unanimously re-elected 

for a further three-year term in 2018. His 

numerous achievements include developing 

national clinical best practice including airway 

management, care of children, standardising 

equipment for paediatric and maternity care, 

leading the establishment of learning from 

deaths processes and complex coroners’ 

inquests. 

He is passionate about ensuring patient 

safety and reducing harm. In his quest for 

safe, evidence-based, high-quality patient 

care, Julian engages and liaises with many 


YAS News 

Queen’s Ambulance Medal 

for Distinguished Service 

awarded to Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service Doctor 

Dr Julian Mark, Executive Medical Director 

at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, 

28 


IN PERSON 

organisations and partners at local and 

national levels, including the Healthcare Safety 

Investigation Branch (HSIB), NHS England/ 

Improvement and the Department of Health 

and Social Care. Julian also sits on the UK 

Council of Caldicott Guardians and co-chairs 

the National Advisory Board for The Circuit 

(British Heart Foundation). 

Rod Barnes, Chief Executive of Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “This 

is a huge honour which recognises Julian’s 

tremendous contribution to the ambulance 

sector’s response to the pandemic. It also 

makes Julian one of a very small number 

of ambulance service staff who have been 

recognised for exceptional dedication to duty, 

outstanding ability, merit and conduct in their 

roles. 

“Julian is a consummate professional and his 

dedication to improving patient care has been 

outstanding. He is held in the highest esteem 

by his colleagues both within and outside the 

ambulance sector. His work with AACE and 

NASMeD, as well as other national groups, has 

undoubtedly improved the standards of care 

delivered to patients by the ambulance sector 

nationally and has been pivotal in helping 

ambulance services navigate the enormous 

clinical challenges of the pandemic. 

“On behalf of Yorkshire Ambulance Service 

and all ambulance services across the UK, I 

would like to thank Julian for all he has done 

for the benefit of patients over many years. He 

thoroughly deserves this honour and should be 

rightly proud of this fantastic achievement.” 

Dr Julian Mark said: “I am proud to play my 

part in the development of the ambulance 

sector response to the public in their time of 

greatest need. The past two years have been 

particularly challenging and I would like to 

pay tribute to all ambulance service staff for 

their continued dedication to patient care in 

these difficult times. I am humbled for being 

recognised for my contribution, which would 

have been impossible without the unwavering 

support from my colleagues in YAS, NASMeD, 

AACE and NHS England.” 

Julian also holds the Diploma in Immediate 

Medical Care (DIMC) from the Faculty of 

Pre-Hospital Care of the Royal College of 

Surgeons of Edinburgh (2010) and a Post 

Graduate Certificate in Medical Law from 

Northumbria University (2012). In 2017 he 

was awarded Founding Senior Fellowship 

of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and 

Management (SFFMLM). His base clinical 

speciality was in Anaesthesia and held the 

post of honorary Senior Staff Anaesthetist 

at Harrogate and District Hospital NHS 

Foundation Trust until April 2014, subsequently 

continuing to practise clinically in immediate 

medical care as a member of his local British 

Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) 

scheme. He is a former member of the Clinical 

Advisory Board for the Faculty of Pre-Hospital 

Care (RCSEd), the Clinical Advisory Forum 

for NHS Improvement, the Department of 

Health Clinical Advisory Group for Major 

Trauma in England, and contributed to the 

development of the national Hazardous Area 

Response Team capability and NHS England’s 

Ambulance Response Programme. He is 

currently a member of the Out of Hospital 

Cardiac Arrest steering group and the Adult 

Critical Care Transport oversight group. 

Julian will be presented with his medal at 

Buckingham Palace in due course. 

LAS News 

Chief Executive of London 

Ambulance Service 

appointed permanently 

The Chair of the London Ambulance 

Service (LAS), Heather Lawrence OBE, has 

announced the permanent appointment of 

Daniel Elkeles as the Trust’s Chief Executive. 

Daniel joined the Service in August 2021 on 

secondment, and following a competitive 

recruitment process that concluded on 

Thursday 27 January, has now been appointed 

substantively. 

Heather Lawrence OBE, Trust Chair, said: “I 

am delighted to announce Daniel’s permanent 

appointment as Chief Executive following a 

rigorous interview process. 

“Daniel joined the Service at a very challenging 

time and has led us through the latest wave 

of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw 

demand for our services increase dramatically, 

combined with significant levels of staff and 

volunteer sickness and isolations. Working 

with teams from across the Service, he has 

supported our staff and volunteers to rise to 

the challenge and, despite the pressure, deliver 

the best possible care for our patients. 

“Not only that but in the six months since he 

joined us, Daniel has proved a genuine drive to 

protect the health and wellbeing of our teams, 

kick-starting a dedicated programme of work 

with all of our staff that is designed to improve 

working lives and make LAS an even better 

place to work. 

“Daniel has already made a positive impact on 

our staff and Service, and as he takes up the 

mantle of the permanent position, we can be 

confident that is set to continue.” 

Daniel Elkeles said: “London Ambulance 

Service plays a vital role in providing care for 

nearly nine million people across the capital, 

and it as an absolute honour to serve as the 

Chief Executive of this incredible organisation. 

“I am very passionate about the future strategy 

for LAS, including ensuring staff and volunteers 

receive the best possible support after what 

has been the most challenging couple of years 

in the NHS’s history.” 

The interview panel included representatives 

from within the organisation, as well as from 

NHS England (London) and the Association 

of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE). 

Prior to being interviewed, Daniel addressed 

and answered questions from a 30 strong 

stakeholder panel including our staff unions 

and patient representatives. 

Heather added: “Daniel’s 25 years’ experience 

in the NHS and his hard work, commitment 

and enthusiasm since joining us at the London 

Ambulance Service made him the perfect 

candidate for the permanent position. The 

decision of the interview panel was unanimous.” 


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

29

IN PERSON 

GWAAC News 

Air Ambulance Advanced 

Practitioner in Critical Care, 

Vicki Brown, breaks barriers 

Vicki Brown, Advanced Practitioner 

in Critical Care at Great Western Air 

Ambulance Charity, has become the first 

person in the country to get on the Faculty 

of Pre Hospital Care (FPHC) Register 

of Consultant (Level 8) Practitioners 

by qualifying from a purely, paramedic 

background. She is also the first female 

paramedic on the list. 

This is an amazing achievement for Vicki and is 

a wonderful recognition of years of hard work 

and expertise. This is also a big achievement 

for the paramedic profession and is great 

for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity 

(GWAAC). Its crew’s capabilities and combined 

experience as a team are constantly growing 

and evolving, meaning the best possible care 

can be delivered to patients. 

Vicki joins GWAAC Drs Matt Campbell, Matt 

Thomas, and Cosmo Scurr on the very short 

list of people qualified. Other doctors, who 

completed their training with GWAAC, are also 

on the register. 

Since the first registration in 2015, there 

are only 70 individuals on the list. Just 20% 

of these are female, which makes Vicki’s 

achievement even more unique. 

paramedic background, and being the first 

female paramedic on the register, means she 

will be an inspiration to other paramedics up 

and down the country. 

After achieving the Diploma in Immediate Care, 

Vicki spent a few years going through the 

process of providing evidence to the Faculty 

of Pre-Hospital Care of her experience and 

knowledge. This culminated in submitting 

portfolios of clinical and operational 

experience, and attending an interview. 

She found out she’d made it on the Register 

after an interview (on Friday 17th December 

2021) with the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, 

which is associated with the Royal College of 

Surgeons of Edinburgh. 

Vicki said: “I’m feeling very proud to have 

achieved this level and hope other paramedics 

will follow as pre-hospital medicine is very 

much multi-professional. I hope this shows that 

paramedics can achieve this level of practice. 

I intend to continue pushing the boundaries 

of paramedic practice and hope there is more 

success to come.” 

Getting on the FPHC Register of Consultant 

(Level 8) Practitioners, after just 18 months of 

being appointed the first Advanced Practitioner 

in Critical Care (APCC) in the South West, is 

even more remarkable. 

Vicki’s quest to keep on reaching new heights 

is why she’s an inspiration to all of us at 

GWAAC, as well as aspiring paramedics. 

EEAST News 

EEAST Paramedic awarded 

Station Commander’s 

Commendation 

EEAST Paramedic, Paul Chittock, has 

been awarded a Station Commander’s 

Commendation, marking 15 years of 

voluntary support for RAF colleagues 

based at Marham air force base in Norfolk. 

Paul’s volunteering has seen him working on 

everything from events and first aid training to 

critical incident scenarios, this is all alongside 

his day job with EEAST as a Paramedic, based 

at Kings Lynn. 

Over the years Paul has provided medical cover 

and education for Family and Friends Days at the 

base, regularly facilitates the use of fully equipped 

ambulances and is passionate about passing on 

life-saving skills for Marham staff who frequently 

come across road traffic incidents on Norfolk’s 

roads. He also encourages colleagues from 

EEAST to offer their support as well. 

In addition, Paul is actively involved with the 

Co-Response Team, who offer support at major 

incidents, spending hundreds of hours mentoring 

and developing them, with members benefitting 

from his training and experience as a paramedic. 

In 2015, Paul oversaw the training of 30+ RAF 

personnel in a large and complex road collision 

scene management exercise. His expertise 

ensured that the Fire Section, Medical Centre 

and Co-Response Team were fully prepared for 

challenging winter conditions going forward. 


Vicki’s ambitions and desire to be the best she 

can be in her profession, is helping GWAAC 

meet two strategic objectives: 

• To act Locally to provide an excellent and 

innovative Pre-Hospital Emergency Care 

service that supplements and supports NHS 

services 

• To impact Nationally and Influence Globally 

by improving Pre-Hospital Emergency Care 

for the benefit of all patients, identifying 

effective interventions, promoting good 

practice, and developing innovative new 

approaches 

On a local level, Vicki is delivering first-class 

pre-hospital care to patients wherever they are 

and whenever they need it. And on a national 

level, her ground-breaking achievement 

of being the first to qualify with a purely 

Paul received the award from Air Commodore 

Townsend. The award citation read: 

‘Mr Chittock is the linchpin of the team, keeping 

the Station highly trained in first aid response, 

and his support to Station major events has 

been first class. At no cost to the Station, 

advanced life-saving medical care has always 

been seconds away. What a great friend and 

ally for the Station to have, and what a fantastic 

contribution he has made over many years.’ 

30 


COMPANY NEWS 

First electric 

ambulance for 

Homerton University 

Hospital 

ERS Medical, the UK’s 

leading health and social 

care transport provider, has 

rolled out its first electric 

ambulance for Homerton 

University Hospital and its 

community services. 

transport. The vehicle’s charging 

time means that this is a practical 

and long-term solution for 

greener patient transport.” 

Back to life Defibs 

Welcoming the first patient on 

board on Friday 19 November, 

this is another step in supporting 

the NHS’s net zero goals. 

To mark the occasion, ERS 

Medical welcomed Mr Rodrigues 

as the very first patient to be 

transported on their electric 

ambulance. He said: “It’s very 

nice and I’ve enjoyed going on it.” 

The electric ambulance has a 

range of 219/185 miles (city/ 

combined) and saves over 

4000kg of CO 2 

emissions per 

year when compared to a diesel 

vehicle equivalent driving 10,000 

miles per annum. This saving of 

CO 2 

per annum is equivalent to 

424 gallons of diesel consumed 

or 4769 pounds of coal burned. 

Graham Snowling, Environmental 

Sustainability Manager at 

Homerton, said: “This is another 

stage in our journey to net zero. 

This new electric ambulance is 

dedicated to our patients being 

transported to and from the 

hospital for their appointments 

and also to clinics at our 

community sites. It not only 

reflects our commitment to net 

zero, but it is also a pledge to the 

residents of Hackney to improve 

the air quality in the area.” 

ERS Medical’s electric ambulance 

boasts a charging time of 45 

minutes to reach 80% battery 

with a DC charge – making it 

convenient and practical for 

continuous use on patient 

transport journeys. 

Andrew Pooley, Chief Executive 

at ERS Medical, added: “As the 

leading non-emergency patient 

transport provider for the UK, 

our electric ambulance paves 

the path for greener patient 

Horsham based business 

Trimbio felt it was time to 

stop disposing of Medical 

Devices just because they 

were deemd to be old, after 

seeing many older devices 

such as defibrillators 

and suction units being 

disposed of in landfill 

after coming out of the 

manufacturer’s warranty. 

They decided that this really 

was not acceptable and that 

they should be recycled. With 

a history of over 30 years of 

working with Medical Devices 

across many sectors, Simon 

Francis, the business owner, 

invested in additional test 

equipment, internal tracking 

systems and training for staff 

to ensure they conformed to 

the insurance requirements for 

recycling these devices. The 

business now supplies a wide 

range of Automated External 

Defibrillators and Ambulance 

based Defibrillators / Monitors. 

During the process, the devices 

will have new batteries and 

accessories fitted, be fully tested 

ready to be deployed back into 

the public and medical sectors. 

These recycled devices can 

deliver many years of continued 

service at a fraction of the cost 

of new. Price for an AED starts 

from around £375+vat for a unit 

with new battery & pads. Trimbio - 

www.trimbio.co.uk 

Tel: 01403 597597. 



31

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For more information, visit us at www.zoll.com 

zoll.emsfire @zollemsfire www.zoll.com/zvent 0808-168-9000 

© 2020 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. Smart Help, Ventilation Simplified, Z Vent, and ZOLL are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation in the 

United States and/or other countries. 

MCN EP 1811 0246

Ambulance UK February 2022

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