Ambulance UK August 2023

Volume 38 No. 4 

August 2023 

DEDICATED TO THE AMBULANCE SERVICE AND ITS SUPPLIERS 

Penthrox: First-Line emergency analgesic 

Simple to use 

Fast acting 

Effective 

JRCALC recommended 1 

Is your service using Penthrox? 

Penthrox is indicated for the emergency relief of moderate to severe pain in 

conscious adult patients with trauma and associated pain. 2 

Prescribing Information & details on adverse event reporting appear overleaf.

QUESTIONS? 

PENTHROX 99.9%, 3 ml inhalation vapour, liquid (methoxyflurane): Please refer to the Summary 

of Product Characteristics (SmPC) before prescribing. Abbreviated Prescribing Information. 

Presentation: Each bottle of PENTHROX contains 3 ml of methoxyflurane 99.9%, a clear, almost 

colourless, volatile liquid, with a characteristic fruity odour. Each PENTHROX combination pack 

consists of one bottle of 3 ml PENTHROX, one PENTHROX Inhaler and one Activated Carbon (AC) 

chamber. Indications: Emergency relief of moderate to severe pain in conscious adult patients with 

trauma and associated pain. Dosage and administration: PENTHROX should be self-administered 

under supervision of a person trained in its administration, using the hand held PENTHROX Inhaler. It 

is inhaled through the custom-built PENTHROX inhaler. Adults: One bottle of 3 ml PENTHROX as a 

single dose, administered using the device provided. A second bottle should only be used where 

needed. The frequency at which PENTHROX can be safely used is not established. The following 

administration schedule is recommended: no more than 6 ml in a single day, administration on 

consecutive days is not recommended and the total dose to a patient in a week should not exceed 15 

ml. Onset of pain relief is rapid and occurs after 6-10 inhalations. Patients are able to titrate the amount 

of PENTHROX inhaled and should be instructed to inhale intermittently to achieve adequate analgesia. 

Continuous inhalation of a bottle containing 3 ml provides analgesic relief for up to 25-30 minutes; 

intermittent inhalation may provide longer analgesic relief. Patients should be advised to use the 

lowest possible dose to achieve pain relief. Renal impairment: Methoxyflurane may cause renal failure 

if the recommended dose is exceeded. Caution should be exercised for patients diagnosed with 

clinical conditions that would pre-dispose to renal injury. Hepatic impairment: Cautious clinical 

judgement should be exercised when PENTHROX is to be used more frequently than on one occasion 

every 3 months. Paediatric population: PENTHROX should not be used in children and adolescents 

under 18 years. For detailed information on the method of administration refer to the SmPC. 

Contraindications: Use as an anaesthetic agent. Hypersensitivity to methoxyflurane, any fluorinated 

anaesthetic or to any of the excipients. Patients who are known to be or genetically susceptible to 

malignant hyperthermia. Patients or patients with a known family history of severe adverse reactions 

after being administered with inhaled anaesthetics. Patients who have a history of showing signs of 

liver damage after previous methoxyflurane use or halogenated hydrocarbon anaesthesia. Clinically 

significant renal impairment. Altered level of consciousness due to any cause including head injury, 

drugs or alcohol. Clinically evident cardiovascular instability. Clinically evident respiratory depression. 

Warnings and Precautions: To ensure the safe use of PENTHROX as an analgesic the lowest effective 

dose to control pain should be used and it should be used with caution in the elderly or other patients 

with known risk factors for renal disease, and in patients diagnosed with clinical conditions which may 

pre-dispose to renal injury. Methoxyflurane causes significant nephrotoxicity at high doses. 

Nephrotoxicity is thought to be associated with inorganic fluoride ions, a metabolic breakdown 

product. When administered as instructed for the analgesic indication, a single dose of 3 ml 

methoxyflurane produces serum levels of inorganic fluoride ions below 10 micromol/l. In the past 

when used as an anaesthetic agent, methoxyflurane at high doses caused significant nephrotoxicity, 

which was determined to occur at serum levels of inorganic fluoride ions greater than 40 micromol/l. 

Nephrotoxicity is also related to the rate of metabolism. Factors that increase the rate of metabolism 

such as drugs that induce hepatic enzymes can increase the risk of toxicity with methoxyflurane as well 

as sub-groups of people with genetic variations that may result in fast metaboliser status. 

Methoxyflurane is metabolised in the liver, therefore increased exposures in patients with hepatic 

impairment can cause toxicity. PENTHROX should be used with care in patients with underlying 

hepatic conditions or with risks for hepatic dysfunction. Previous exposure to halogenated hydrocarbon 

anaesthetics (including methoxyflurane when used as an anaesthetic agent), especially if the interval 

is less than 3 months, may increase the potential for hepatic injury. Potential effects on blood pressure 

and heart rate are known class-effects of high-dose methoxyflurane used in anaesthesia and other 

anaesthetics. Caution is required with use in the elderly due to possible reduction in blood pressure. 

Potential CNS effects such as sedation, euphoria, amnesia, ability to concentrate, altered sensorimotor 

co-ordination and change in mood are known class-effects. The possibility of CNS effects may be 

seen as a risk factor for potential abuse, however reports are very rare in post-marketing use. 

Respiratory depression has also been reported with analgesic doses. Respiration should be monitored 

due to the risk of respiratory depression and hypoxia. PENTHROX is not appropriate for providing 

relief of break-through pain/exacerbations in chronic pain conditions or for the relief of trauma related 

pain in closely repeated episodes for the same patient. PENTHROX contains the excipient, butylated 

Adverse events should be reported. Reporting forms and information can be found at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. Adverse events should also be reported to Galen Limited on 

028 3833 4974 and select the customer services option, or e-mail customer.services@galen-pharma.com. Medical information enquiries should also be directed to Galen Limited. 

Before administering PENTHROX, make sure you have read and fully understood the SmPC and educational materials, which provide important information about how to safely use 

the device to minimise risk of serious side effects. PENTHROX educational materials and training on its administration are available from Galen on request. 

References: 1. JRCALC Guidelines. Available at: https://www.jrcalc.org.uk/guidelines/ 2. Penthrox UK Summary of Product Characteristics. March 2023 

MAT-PEN-UK-000719 Date of preparation: July 2023 

www.penthrox.co.uk/ 

healthcare/contact 

or scan the QR code above. 

hydroxytoluene (E321) which may cause local skin reactions (e.g. contact dermatitis), or irritation to the 

eyes and mucous membranes. To reduce occupational exposure to methoxyflurane, the PENTHROX 

Inhaler should always be used with the AC Chamber which adsorbs exhaled methoxyflurane. Multiple 

use of PENTHROX Inhaler without the AC Chamber creates additional risk. Elevation of liver enzymes, 

blood urea nitrogen and serum uric acid have been reported in exposed maternity ward staff when 

methoxyflurane was used in the past at the time of labour and delivery. There have been reports of 

non-serious and transient reactions such as dizziness, headache, nausea or malaise, and reports of 

hypersensitivity reactions to methoxyflurane or other ingredients in healthcare professionals exposed 

to PENTHROX. Measurements of exposure levels to methoxyflurane in hospital staff showed levels 

significantly lower than those associated with nephrotoxicity. Interactions: Methoxyflurane is 

metabolised by the CYP 450 enzymes, particularly CYP 2E1, CYP 2B6 and to some extent CYP 2A6. It 

is possible that enzyme inducers (such as alcohol or isoniazid for CYP 2E1 and phenobarbital or 

rifampicin for CYP 2A6 and carbamazepine, efavirenz, rifampicin or nevirapine for CYP 2B6) which 

increase the rate of methoxyflurane metabolism might increase its potential toxicity and they should 

be avoided concomitantly with methoxyflurane. Concomitant use of methoxyflurane with medicines 

(e.g. contrast agents and some antibiotics) which are known to have a nephrotoxic effect should be 

avoided as there may be an additive effect on nephrotoxicity; tetracycline, gentamicin, colistin, 

polymyxin B and amphotericin B have known nephrotoxic potential. Sevoflurane anaesthesia should 

be avoided following methoxyflurane analgesia, as sevoflurane increases serum fluoride levels and 

methoxyflurane nephrotoxicity is associated with raised serum fluoride. Concomitant use of 

PENTHROX with CNS depressants, such as opioids, sedatives or hypnotics, general anaesthetics, 

phenothiazines, tranquillisers, skeletal muscle relaxants, sedating antihistamines and alcohol may 

produce additive depressant effects. If opioids are given concomitantly with PENTHROX, the patient 

should be observed closely. When methoxyflurane was used for anaesthesia at the higher doses of 

40–60 ml, there were reports of drug interaction with hepatic enzyme inducers (e.g. barbiturates) 

increasing metabolism of methoxyflurane and resulting in a few reported cases of nephrotoxicity; 

reduction of renal blood flow and hence anticipated enhanced renal effect when used in combination 

with drugs (e.g. barbiturates) reducing cardiac output; and class effect on cardiac depression, which 

may be enhanced by other cardiac depressant drugs, e.g. intravenous practolol during cardiac 

surgery. Fertility, pregnancy and lactation: No clinical data on effects of methoxyflurane on fertility 

are available. Studies in animals have shown reproduction toxicity. As with all medicines care should 

be exercised when administered during pregnancy especially the first trimester. There is insufficient 

information on the excretion of methoxyflurane in human milk. Caution should be exercised when 

methoxyflurane is administered to a nursing mother. Effects on ability to drive and use machines: 

Methoxyflurane may have a minor influence on the ability to drive and use machines. Patients should 

be advised not to drive or operate machinery if they are feeling drowsy or dizzy. Undesirable effects: 

The common non-serious reactions are CNS type reactions such as dizziness and somnolence and are 

generally easily reversible. Serious dose-related nephrotoxicity has only been associated with 

methoxyflurane when used in large doses over prolonged periods during general anaesthesia. The 

following adverse drug reactions have either been observed in PENTHROX clinical trials in analgesia, 

with analgesic use of methoxyflurane following post-marketing experience or are linked to 

methoxyflurane use in analgesia found in post-marketing experience and in scientific literature (refer 

to the SmPC for further details): Very common (≥1/10): dizziness; common (≥1/100 to

CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Ambulance UK 

4 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

6 FEATURE 

6 NINE GOLDEN CODES: IMPROVING THE ACCURACY 

OF HELICOPTER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 

(HEMS) DISPATCH—A RETROSPECTIVE, 

MULTI‐ORGANISATIONAL STUDY IN THE EAST 

OF ENGLAND 

14 NEWSLINE 

42 IN PERSON 

46 COMPANY NEWS 

This issue edited by: 

Matt House 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks, Lockhill 

Upper Sapey, Worcester, WR6 6XR 

ADVERTISING: 

Terry Gardner, Samantha Marsh 

CIRCULATION: 

Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks, Lockhill 


Tel: 01886 853715 

E: info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

www.ambulanceukonline.com 

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY: 

February, April, June, August, 

October, December 

COPYRIGHT: 

Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks 

Lockhill 


COVER STORY 

VCS Invest in UK’s largest dedicated ambulance and police vehicle factory 

VCS, the UK’s leading manufacturer of emergency services vehicles, have invested more 

than £5 million in a new manufacturing facility for ambulances, police, and specialist 

vehicle conversions in Bradford. The new factory ensures the UK’s supply of world-class 

emergency vehicles by creating the country’s largest dedicated manufacturing facility and 

trebling VCS’s previous production capacity to nearly 1500 vehicles annually. 

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 October 2023 

Designed in the UK by TGDH 

The Bradford-based company, which started with fi ve staff members in 2009, will have 

the capacity to grow its workforce to more than 150 owing to the new facility. Meanwhile, 

a dedicated training academy within the new site means that the company can recruit 

more local people without emergency services sector experience, providing a further 

boost to the local community. 

The new facility helps future-proof the UK’s emergency services fl eet, with a new 

dedicated R&D facility that doubles its engineering capability. This builds upon the 

company’s reputation for creating the lightest vehicle conversions available – in turn 

aiding fuel effi ciency and reducing emissions – without compromising on vehicle quality 

and reliability. 

This investment follows a period of exceptional growth for VCS, which posted a 30% 

increase in turnover over two years. The company currently sits in fi rst place on the 

NHS framework for ambulance convertors, while it also plans to target new international 

markets in the coming years. 

Do you have For anything further recruitment you would vacancies like to add visit: or include? www.ambulanceukonline.com 

Please contact us and let us know. 

AMBULANCE UK – AUGUST 

3

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Welcome to this issue of AUK. 

One of my sons is twenty six. We call him The Boy. He’s had a few jobs in his time, and a few interests have 

come and gone, as they do. However, since a very young age, the one constant in his life has been football. 

From his early years, he has had a passion for it. Whether that is gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of the 

game; playing football consantly on the console, or playing it himself for school and then a local team; it has 

been a huge part of his life. 

“As time 

goes on, and 

I become 

reflective 

on what is 

important in life, 

I find myself 

coming back to 

the philosophy 

that “you only 

get one life to 

play football”. 

Try it, you may 

just find that it 

helps you make 

one or two 

decisions.” 

I was discussing some new potential jobs with The Boy recently. The change would have meant better 

money and prospects. However, it would also have interferred with his football training and practice nights. 

During the conversation he said “Dad, you only get one life to play football”. 

I relayed this to some friends last weekend. We were trying to persuade one of them to attend a course 

he has been hoping to start for some years. The trouble is, the course is three weeks long, and he was 

concerned about taking time off work. There are all the important meetings; the emails that need attention; 

and various projects he has a hand in. All of this, he felt, meant he couldn’t take three weeks off work. I told 

him about The Boy’s philosophy to football, and said that while not a football course, the same rationale 

could be applied. 

The work will always be there to prevent you doing things if you let it. It is important to recognise and 

understand that. After all, it is that work that inevitably pays the bills and allows you the freedom to do the 

other things that you need to do in life. In some ways, ambulance people often see their work as a vocation, 

so work does take up a lot of their time and interest even when not actually working. However, we all have 

something outside of work that is important to us. That might be family, or some other interest. It’s the thing, 

or things, that help make us who we are. 

As time goes on, and I become reflective on what is important in life, I find myself coming back to the 

philosophy that “you only get one life to play football”. Try it, you may just find that it helps you make one 

or two decisions. 

Matt House, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 

Publishers Statement 


For nearly 40 years, thanks to trade support, we have been able to provide Ambulance UK FREE 

OF CHARGE in the knowledge that those receiving our dedicated bi monthly publication enjoy having 

something to read during their free time however, return on investment seems to be the buzz word 

amongst Ambulance Service Suppliers these days, therefore if you enquire about a product advertised, 

please mention Ambulance UK as it help us confirrm to the trade that we are reaching the right 

people and providing advertisers with value for money. In respect of our current edition we would like 

to thank the following companies for their support as without their contribution towards our print and 

postal costs this issue would not have been published - Bluelight UK, DS Medical, Durabook, 

Eberspaecher, EVS, Ferno, Galen, IPRS, Medacx, Mer Fleet Services, Ortus, St John W.A., 

Stryker, VCS, Vimpex, Webasto. 

Terry Gardner 

Publisher 

4 

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FEATURE 

NINE GOLDEN CODES: IMPROVING 

THE ACCURACY OF HELICOPTER 

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 

(HEMS) DISPATCH—A RETROSPECTIVE, 

MULTI‐ORGANISATIONAL STUDY IN 

THE EAST OF ENGLAND 

Christopher T. Edmunds 1,4 *, Kate Lachowycz 1,4 , Sarah McLachlan 2,3 , Andrew Downes 1 , Andrew Smith 5 , 

Rob Major 1,4 and Edward B. G. Barnard 1,6,7 

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2023) 31:27 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-023-01094-w 


ORIGINAL RESEARCH 

Abstract 

Background: Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) are a 

limited and expensive resource, and should be intelligently tasked. HEMS 

dispatch was identified as a key research priority in 2011, with a call to 

identify a ‘general set of criteria with the highest discriminating potential’. 

However, there have been no published data analyses in the past decade 

that specifically address this priority, and this priority has been reaffirmed 

in 2023. The objective of this study was to define the dispatch criteria 

available at the time of the initial emergency call with the greatest HEMS 

utility using a large, regional, multi-organizational dataset in the UK. 

Methods: This retrospective observational study utilized dispatch 

data from a regional emergency medical service (EMS) and three 

HEMS organisations in the East of England, 2016–2019. In a logistic 

regression model, Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System 

(AMPDS) codes with ≥ 50 HEMS dispatches in the study period were 

compared with the remainder to identify codes with high-levels of 

HEMS patient contact and HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic 

(HLIDD). The primary outcome was to identify AMPDS codes with a > 

10% HEMS dispatch rate of all EMS taskings that would result in 10–20 

high-utility HEMS dispatches per 24-h period in the East of England. 

Data were analysed in R, and are reported as number (percentage); 

significance was p < 0.05. 

Results: There were n = 25,491 HEMS dispatches (6400 per year), of 

which n = 23,030 (90.3%) had an associated AMPDS code. n = 13,778 

(59.8%) of HEMS dispatches resulted in patient contact, and n = 8437 

(36.6%) had an HLIDD. 43 AMPDS codes had significantly greater 

rates of patient contact and/or HLIDD compared to the reference 

group. In an exploratory analysis, a cut-off of ≥ 70% patient contact 

rate and/or ≥ 70% HLIDD (with a > 10% HEMS dispatch of all EMS 

taskings) resulted in 17 taskings per 24-h period. This definition derived 

nine AMPDS codes with high HEMS utility. 

Conclusion: We have identified nine ‘golden’ AMPDS codes, available at 

the time of initial emergency call, that are associated with high-levels of 

whole-system and HEMS utility in the East of England. We propose that 

UK EMS should consider immediate HEMS dispatch to these codes. 

Keywords: Air ambulances, Emergency medical dispatch, Emergency 

medical services, Prehospital emergency care. 

Background 

Physician-staffed prehospital teams have existed for over 50 years. 

In 1967, there were 20,000 motor vehicle collision deaths in Germany, 

leading to emergency doctors demanding earlier and better treatment 

of injured patients. In response, the first Helicopter Emergency Medical 

Service (HEMS) ‘Christoph 1’ became operational in Munich in 1970 

[1]. Since then, over 2.2 million HEMS missions have taken place in 

Germany, and similar physician-staffed HEMS have been developed, 

predominantly in Europe and Australasia. 

The primary rationale for HEMS is the rapid deployment of a specialist 

team over a large geographic area, with the assumption that physicians 

working alongside paramedics infer better patient outcomes compared 

to paramedics alone. The latter point is multi-factorial, and includes 

higher-level decision-making [2, 3], and interventions that are either 

physician-level specific or require drugs that legally require their 

presence [3–5]; an example in the UK is prehospital emergency 

anaesthesia (PHEA) [6, 7]. There is contradictory evidence that 

physician-staffed teams are associated with better patient outcomes 

following trauma [8–14], and out-ofhospital cardiac arrest [15–18]. 

However, the heterogeneity of systems makes conclusive synthesis of 

these data inappropriate, and physician-staffed HEMS remain a key 

component of many emergency medical systems (EMS). 

HEMS are a limited and expensive resource [19–21]. It is therefore 

important to ensure that these teams are intelligently dispatched [22], 

which may in time also lead to a better understanding of which patients 

6 


FEATURE 

have the greatest likelihood of benefit—these concepts are somewhat 

inter-dependent. HEMS dispatch was identified as a key research 

priority in 2011, with a call to identify a ‘general set of criteria with the 

highest discriminating potential’ [23]. It has again been identified as a key 

research priority in 2023 suggesting limited progress in this area over the 

last decade [24]. Since 2011, London’s Air Ambulance has reported that 

call-interrogation and crew request dispatch models were more accurate 

for HEMS utilization compared to an immediate dispatch model based 

on mechanism of injury. However, this was at the expense of delaying 

dispatch [25], which is likely to dilute HEMS benefit. There is also UK 

data that suggests non-clinical dispatchers may improve HEMS dispatch 

accuracy when using a bespoke algorithm [21]. However, clinicians in 

dispatch systems often undertake additional roles; for example, remote 

clinical advice to EMS. Overall, there is a paucity of data that could 

be used to increase the accuracy of HEMS dispatch [26, 27], possibly 

owing to the intrinsic complexity of these systems. 

Therefore, the challenge lies in increasing the accuracy of HEMSappropriate 

taskings using information available from the initial 

emergency call. The positives of which may include: better patient 

outcomes (by reducing under-triage), greater availability of HEMS 

for those with the highest chance of benefit (by reducing over-triage) 

[28], reducing costs associated with helicopter dispatch [29], and 

reducing unnecessary emergency aviation risk to medical teams [30]. 

The objective of this study was to define the dispatch criteria available 

at the time of the initial emergency call with the greatest HEMS utility 

using a large, regional, multi-organisational dataset in the UK. 

Methods 

Emergency medical system 

The East of England is a 20,000 km2 geographic area, containing a 

population of 6.3 million people (June 2021) [31]. The statutory regional 

EMS is the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), 

which receives approximately 4000 calls per day, and has been 

previously described [18]. EEAST is supported by three HEMS charities 

operating from five operational bases: East Anglian Air Ambulance 

(EAAA) [32], Magpas Air Ambulance (Magpas) [33], and Essex & Herts 

Air Ambulance (EHAAT) [34]. The core of each team consists of a 

prehospital-trained physician and a critical care paramedic (CCP) with 

a minimum of three years’ postgraduate experience and role-specific 

training [6]. Occasionally, HEMS resources may be staffed by one or 

two CCPs without a physician. During the study period, HEMS teams 

typically responded by helicopter during the day and rapid response 

vehicle (RRV) at night, during periods of aircraft unavailability, and 

when an RRV dispatch was thought to be advantageous. 

Dispatch system 

EEAST uses the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS, 

Priority Dispatch Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, version 

13.3). AMPDS provides a scripted caller interrogation protocol to 

prioritise calls and allocate EMS resources to incidents via the linked 

ProQA (Priority Dispatch Corp., ProQAv 5.1.1.44) software system. 

The data end-point is a ‘number-letternumber’ sequence (AMPDS 

code) that describes the category, severity (in reference to the speed 

and configuration of EMS response required, A to E), and sub-type 

of the incident. For example, a cardiac or respiratory arrest (patient 

not breathing) would be coded as ‘09-E-01’; ‘09’ is the AMPDS 

code category of ‘cardiac or respiratory arrest’, ‘E’ is a capability of 

‘Advanced Life Support and special units’ with a response of ‘hot 

(multiple units) plus other first responders’, and the ‘01’ sub-type of 

this code refers to ‘not breathing at all’. 

AMPDS codes are available either during or directly after the 

initial emergency call, and therefore present an appropriate target 

in modelling HEMS dispatch utility using immediately available 

information. These codes are typically set within the initial call handling 

process, but they can be manually changed if more information 

becomes available during the triage process. 

HEMS are dispatched at the discretion of the EEAST Critical Care Desk 

(CCD), which is routinely staffed by a HEMS-dispatcher and a clinicallyactive 

CCP. However, at times CCD may be staffed by a dispatcher 

without a CCP. CCD personnel continuously review EEAST emergency 

calls 24 h per day, with the aim of identifying incidents believed to 

be most appropriate for HEMS, either as an ‘immediate’ dispatch 

based on AMDPS codes and other information in the Computer Aided 

Dispatch (CAD) system, or as an ‘interrogate’ (additional information 

from the caller), as well as responding to EMS requests for a HEMS 

co-response (crew request). 

Data inclusion criteria 

All HEMS dispatches by EEAST (EAAA, Magpas, EHAAT) during a fouryear 

period (2016–2019) where an AMPDS code was available. In order to 

ensure that AMPDS codes with the highest system utility were identified, 

EEAST provided complete system (EMS and HEMS) AMPDS code 

dispatches for a 12-month period (2021)—the ‘EMS reference group’. 

Data collection 

All services use HEMSbase (MedicOne Systems Ltd, UK) electronic 

medical record software. The following data were extracted from 

HEMSbase. HEMS taskings: incident type, call result (stand down, 

or patient attended), callsign (helicopter, or RRV), job timings (day— 

0700– 1900, or night—1900–0700), CCD team composition (CCP 

team, or dispatcher alone), and the EEAST unique case identification 

number (CAD date/number). The following data were additionally 

collected for all patients attended by HEMS: patient age and gender, 

all drugs given, all interventions performed, and attendance result 

(air conveyance, ground escort, scene assist (HEMS team did not 

accompany patient to hospital), and stood down (before mobile, en 

route or at scene). The CAD number/ dates were shared with EEAST 

in order to obtain the AMPDS codes. Combined data from the three 

HEMS were collated into Excel data sheets and stored on a secure 

server protected by double-authenticator security and only accessible 

to the team working on the project; all data were anonymised. 

Definitions 

HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic (HLIDD)—all HEMS-delivered 

actions were compared against Schedule 17 of the UK Human 

Medicines Regulations 2012 (exemption for registered paramedics 

from the restrictions on administration of prescription-only medicines) 

[35, 36], and the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee 

(JRCALC) clinical guidelines October 2022 [37], to identify a list of 

HLIDD; additionally, we included helicopter conveyance to hospital. 

A list of HLIDDs is in Additional file 1. Not all HLIDDs are routinely 

delivered by every HEMS in this region. 


For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com 

7

FEATURE 


Patient contact was defined as clinical contact with the patient by a 

member of the HEMS team. Stand-down was defined as no clinical 

contact (either stood-down before mobile, en route, or at scene). 

AMPDS codes were defined as the complete three-part data (09-E- 

01). AMPDS categories were defined as the first data descriptor of the 

AMPDS code (09). High system utility was predefined as AMPDS codes 

that had > 10% HEMS dispatch rate of all EMS taskings in the EMS 

reference group (2021), in order to ensure that codes identified in the 

primary outcome had significant whole-system frequency; for example, 

code 09E01 was found to comprise of 13.7% of all HEMS tasking by 

EEAST. 

Owing to the lack of previously published data in the area of HEMS 

dispatch we planned to undertake an exploratory analysis for 

the primary outcome of paired ‘patient contact rate’ and ‘HLIDD’ 

proportions (60%, 70%, 80%, 90%) to identify codes that would 

result in an optimal number of high-utility HEMS dispatches in a 24-h 

period. This was pre-defined as 10–20 HEMS dispatches (two to four 

dispatches on average for each of the five HEMS teams in the East 

of England). The authors derived optimal dispatch frequency through 

consensus based on operational experience, which also takes into 

account the potential limitations to activity (weather, fuel, equipment 

and drug restocking during a duty period). 

Primary outcome 

The primary outcome was to identify AMPDS codes with a > 10% 

HEMS dispatch rate of all EMS taskings that would result in 10–20 

high-utility HEMS dispatches per 24-h period in the East of England. 

Secondary outcomes 

The secondary outcomes were to identify plausible associations with 

the chance of patient contact and the chance of an HLIDD using 

individual logistic regression models for the ten most frequently HEMSdispatched 

AMPDS categories. The pre-specified variables of interest 

were: age, sex, time of day (day, night), HEMS transport platform 

(helicopter, RRV), and CCD team composition (dispatcher and CCP, 

lone dispatcher). 

Data analysis 

For the primary outcome, the EMS reference group data were 

interrogated to identify AMPDS codes with a > 10% HEMS dispatch 

rate in 2021. In the HEMS dispatch data (2016–2019), codes were 

identified that resulted in ≥ 50 HEMS dispatches in the four-year 

period. Codes with < 50 HEMS dispatches were used as the reference 

group in two logistic regression models. The first model identified 

codes with a significantly high rate of patient contact compared with 

the reference group (using a binary outcome of 1 = patient seen, 0 = 

stand down). A second logistic regression analysis identified codes 

with a significantly high rates of HLIDD compared with the reference 

group (using a binary outcome of 1 = HLIDD, 0 = no HLIDD) for jobs 

where a patient was seen. We then undertook an exploratory analysis 

to determine the optimal patient contact and/or HLIDD proportions 

(with a > 10% HEMS dispatch rate of all EMS taskings) that would 

result in 10–20 high-utility HEMS dispatches in 24 h. 

For the secondary outcomes, all variables in the HEMS dispatch data 

(2016–2019) were included in further individual logistic regression 

models for each of the ten most prevalent AMPDS categories with 

two outcomes— patient contact and HLIDD. Age was separated into 

bins (< 16, 16–55, > 55 years old) based on clinically pragmatic ranges 

(all other variables were binary). Taskings that resulted in more than 

one patient being treated were excluded from the analysis of age and 

sex. A logistic regression model was built for each of the ten AMPDS 

categories, starting with all variables followed by sequential elimination, 

to retain only those with significance for the outcome (patient contact 

and/or HLIDD). For all models, the assumptions of logistic regression 

were tested, checking for linear relationships in the logit of the 

outcomes, unduly influential values and multicollinearity. Plausible 

interactions were tested with likelihood ratio tests to determine the 

final best model. Missing data were handled as ‘missing at random’. 

Significance was predefined as p < 0.05 throughout. 

Data have been reported as number (percentage), and median 

[interquartile-range] as appropriate. Results of logistic regression have 

been reported as an adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence 

intervals (95%CI), both derived from coefficients in the logistic 

regression model. Data manipulation and statistical analyses were 

performed using the R statistical programming language (R Core Team 

[2018]; R: A language and environment for statistical computing [R 

Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria]). 

Results 

During the four-year study period there were n = 25,491 HEMS 

dispatches (6400 per year), of which n = 20,030 (90.3%) had an 

associated AMPDS code, Fig. 1. 

HEMS dispatches 

Approximately half of all HEMS dispatches were immediate, and the 

majority occurred when the dispatch team included a CCP. More 

dispatches occurred during the day shift (0700–1900) compared to 

the night shift, and the HEMS transport platform was a helicopter in 

more than half of cases. The 23,030 HEMS dispatches included n = 

678 unique AMPDS codes, and the most prevalent AMPDS categories 

were cardiac/respiratory, road traffic collisions (RTC), and falls, Table 1. 

HEMS dispatches with patient contact 

N = 13,778 (59.8%) of HEMS dispatches resulted in patient contact, 

and therefore the stand-down rate was approximately 40%. The 

median age was 49 [29–65] years and included n = 1060 (7.7%) 

patients under 16 years old (n = 63 missing age data). There were 

n = 9109 (66.1%) male patients and five (0.04%) were recorded 

as transgender (n = 86 missing gender data). n = 8437 (61.2%) of 

missions with patient contact resulted in use of HLIDD for at least 

one patient, and a total of n = 8967 patients received an HLIDD—this 

number is greater than the ‘missions with patient contact that resulted 

in an HLIDD’ number as some missions included treatment of more 

than one patient, Table 2. 

Primary outcome 

A small proportion, n = 84 (12.4%), of AMPDS codes resulted in ≥ 50 

HEMS dispatches per code, but represented more than three-quarters 

of all HEMS dispatches (n = 18,240, 79.2%) as total number. 

43 AMPDS codes were identified that had significantly greater rates of 

patient contact and/or HLIDD compared to the reference group. These 

codes were associated with 11,640 (50.5%) HEMS dispatches in the 

8 


FEATURE 

study period. In the exploratory analysis, a cut-off of ≥ 70% patient 

contact rate and/or ≥ 70% HLIDD (with a > 10% HEMS dispatch of all 

EMS taskings) resulted in 17 taskings per 24-h period. Additional file 2 

includes the sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of thresholds on 

estimated tasking numbers per 24-h period. This definition derived nine 

‘golden’ AMPDS codes with a high whole-system and HEMS utility, 

and an optimal frequency of HEMS dispatches, Table 3. 

A complete description of the 43 AMPDS codes with significantly 

high rates of patient contact or HLIDD is in Additional file 3. 

Secondary outcomes 

The ten most prevalent AMPDS categories of HEMS dispatch were 

analysed, n = 19,384 (84.2%) of taskings. Only variables that had 

significance in the univariate models for each AMPDS category (not 

presented) were included in the multivariate analyses. 

HEMS at night (compared to day) and dispatch by RRV (compared to 

helicopter) both had a significantly lower chance of patient contact and 

HLIDD for several AMPDS categories. The exception to this was road 

traffic collisions, which had significantly higher rates of patient contact 

at night compared day. 

The presence of a CCP in the CCD team had no effect on the chance 

of patient contact or HLIDD, other than for penetrating injury codes 

(stab/gunshot, 27-X-XX) for which a CCP on the desk was associated 

with an increased chance of patient contact but had no effect on the 

chance of HLIDD. 

Age < 16 years old (compared to 16–55 years old) was associated with 

a lower chance of HLIDD for the majority of categories, and age > 55 

years old had a greater chance of HLIDD for cardiac/respiratory and 

traumatic injury categories, and lower for burns. Male sex (compared 

Figure 1. HEMS dispatches in the East of England (2016–2019) 

with complete AMPDS code data. HEMS patient contact, and 

HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic (HLIDD). HEMS 

Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. AMPDS Advanced 

Medical Priority Dispatch System. Stand-down—the HEMS team 

were not required and were cancelled before patient contact 

Table 1. A description of HEMS dispatches in the East of England 

2016–2019, n = 23,030 

n (%) 

Dispatch type 

Immediate 12,463 (54.1) 

Interrogate 5428 (23.6) 

Crew request 4918 (21.4) 

Dispatch characteristics 

CCP in dispatch team 20,912 (90.8) 

Day shift (0700-1900) 16,552 (71.7) 

Helicopter 14,750 (64.1) 

RRV 8280 (36.0) 

AMPDS category (category number) 

Cardiac/respiratory (09) 5299 (23.0) 

RTC (29) 4951 (21.5) 

Falls (17) 2491 (10.8) 

Stab/gunshot (27) 1532 (6.7) 

Unconscious/fainting (31) 1204 (5.2) 

Convulsions/fitting (12) 1183 (5.1) 

Traumatic injuries (30) 1114 (4.8) 

Breathing problems (06) 902 (3.9) 

Burns (07) 361 (1.6) 

Chest pain (10) 347 (1.5) 

Other (>10 in rank order) 3646 (15.8) 

CCP Critical Care Paramedic, RRV rapid response vehicle (car), AMPDS 

Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, RTC road traffic collision 

Table 2 Patients attended by HEMS in the East of 

England (2016–2019) who received a HEMS-level 

intervention/drug/diagnostic (HLIDD), n = 8967. Only including 

HLIDD received by > 400 patients 

HLIDD N % 

Endotracheal tube 3883 43.3 

Advanced analgesia 2576 28.7 

Conveyed by helicopter 2463 27.5 

PHEA 2194 24.5 

POCUS (Cardiac) 1070 11.9 

Gastric Tube 1047 11.7 

Procedural sedation 867 9.7 

Oesophageal Temperature Probe 842 9.4 

Intravenous antimicrobial 771 8.6 

Thoracostomy 651 7.3 

Intravenous electrolyte 643 7.2 

Splintage 558 6.2 

POCUS (FAST) 513 5.7 

POCUS (Lung) 492 5.5 

Radial arterial line 471 5.3 

HLIDD HLIDD HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic (complete list at 

Additional file 1); advanced analgesia includes intravenous fentanyl and 

inhaled methoxyflurane (Penthrox); PHEA prehospital emergency 

anaesthesia (drug-assisted intubation); POCUS point-of-care ultrasound; 

gastric tube includes oro and nasogastric decompression tubes; 

intravenous electrolyte includes magnesium, calcium chloride, and 

sodium bicarbonate; intravenous antimicrobial includes coamoxiclav, 

ceftriaxone, and acyclovir 



9

FEATURE 


with female sex) was associated with a greater chance of HLIDD 

for cardiac/respiratory, road traffic collisions and convulsions/fitting 

categories, Tables 4 and 5. 

Discussion 

We have used large, multi-organisational, data to identify nine ‘golden’ 

AMPDS codes with significant utility in improving the accuracy of 

HEMS dispatch with respect to patient contact rates and HEMS-level 

intervention/ drug/diagnostic rates. In addition, we have demonstrated 

some important associations with these outcomes for age, sex, time of 

day, HEMS transport type, AMPDS categories, and the presence of a 

clinician (a critical care paramedic) in the dispatch team. 

There is a distinct paucity of published data in the area of HEMS 

dispatch despite this being an expensive and limited resource where 

research has been identified as a priority for the last decade. It is likely 

that this is due to a combination of factors, which includes the volume, 

complexity, and availability of data in these systems. We have therefore 

had to make pragmatic consensus decisions on appropriate data 

definitions, together with an exploratory analysis of HEMS dispatches 

per 24-h time period to determine the optimal cut-off for specificity 

of the primary outcome, which has a ≤ 30% over-triage rate. By 

happenstance, this over-triage rate is compliant with the American 

College of Surgeon’s Committee on Trauma (ACS CoT) guideline for the 

triage of prehospital major trauma (25–35% over-triage) [38]. However, 

as we were only able to determine the patient contact and HLIDD rates 

for patients that HEMS were dispatched to we are unable to determine 

the under-triage rate (i.e. what proportion of EMS dispatches should 

have had a HEMS patient contact and/or HLIDD, but did not). Arguably, 

this is a more important metric when considering the performance of a 

triage system, and the ACS CoT recommends an under-triage rate of < 

5% [38]. It is very likely that under-triage in UK EMS for HEMS patient 

contact and HLIDD is much higher than 5%, but there are no data 

that verify this assumption. However, we have been able to identify 

an easily applied method to reduce the over-triage rate from > 40% 

(HEMS stand-down rate in our complete data) to ≤ 30%, whilst also 

assisting the very early identification of emergency calls with a greater 

chance of leading to HEMS-level actions. We believe that these data 

are unique in addressing the paucity of HEMS dispatch data [26], and 

the associated 2011 and 2023 prehospital research priority [23]. 

The main controversy in this area of research is whether there 

is patient-centered benefit from HEMS compared to EMS-only 

attendance. Whilst the existing evidence is perhaps equivocal [8–18], 

a key factor in robustly answering this question (and in providing 

optimal patient care across a system) is ensuring that HEMS are 

dispatched to the right patients (i.e., those who are most likely to 

benefit), which may be aetiology-dependent [12, 15]. Exact aetiology 

is often not available at the time of the initial emergency call, which 

therefore necessitates using a time-sensitive surrogate, which in the 

case of this study was AMPDS codes. Overall, there is a low level of 

evidence supporting the accuracy of dispatch systems in identifying 

acuity [27]. However, we have been able to rely on the pragmatic 

judgement of prehospital clinicians in the need for HEMS patient 

contact and HEMS interventions, the frequency of which we have been 

able to use to identify an optimal number (for operational delivery) 

of AMPDS codes associated with the highest levels of HEMS utility. 

We cannot control for the major constraint of not knowing the undertriage 

rate for these codes, and they should be prospectively tested 

in multiple settings to confirm their utility. The expectation is that 

identification of high-utility AMPDS codes is a step towards a better 

understanding of the benefit of HEMS. 

We observed that night and RRV taskings, compared to day and 

helicopter respectively, are both associated with lower patient contact 

and HLIDD rates overall. This effect has been previously described 

in the UK and Norway [19, 39], in contrast to The Netherlands where 

no day-night effect has been reported [28]. The lower rates for RRV 

taskings, even after adjusting for time-of-day remain unexplained, but 

it may be that standing-down a road vehicle response is perceived 

to be more acceptable that re-routing a helicopter. Our data also 

suggests that the absence of a clinician in dispatch has no effect on 

the chance of HEMS patient contact for most taskings, with the notable 

exception of the stab/gunshot call category. Furthermore, there was 

no signal across any of the ten most prevalent AMPDS categories that 

this variable had any effect on the chance of a HLIDD (including stab/ 

gunshot). This somewhat agrees with previous UK HEMS data [21], but 

as there was a CCP in dispatch for > 90% of HEMS taskings, this may 

represent a type-2 error (small numbers), and we are also unable to 

control for the likelihood that non-clinical dispatchers have learned from 

co-dispatching with a CCP for the vast majority of duties. Therefore, we 

do not believe that our data support nonclinician HEMS dispatch. 

We observed significantly higher rates of HLIDD in patients > 55 years 

old in two AMPDS categories: cardiac/ respiratory, traumatic injuries. 

The first of these is likely to represent a higher acuity of age-related 

aetiology in these categories, and the latter is likely to reflect the Silver 

Trauma phenomenon [40]. Older age has previously been identified 

in UK HEMS as a potentially useful dispatch criteria [41], and our data 

provide support for this in a more specific and actionable way. In the 

East of England, we have used the nine ‘golden’ codes to better inform 

clinicians on the Critical Care Desk in their decisions around HEMS 

dispatch. It is anticipated that this will reduce the over-triage rate by 

approximately 10% (as per our retrospective findings). It may also 

be useful to utilize these codes as a framework for key performance 

indicators in HEMS dispatch. 

The major limitation of this study is that we were only able to 

interrogate data for taskings that HEMS had been dispatched on. 

Table 3 AMPDS codes with a significantly greater chance of HEMS 

patient contact and/or HEMS-level intervention/drug/ diagnostic 

(HLIDD) compared to the reference group (2016– 2019). Nine 

‘golden’ codes had a ≥ 70% rate of patient contact and/or HLIDD 

(2016–2019) and were > 10% of EEAST incidents 

AMPDS code category 

Burns 

Cardiac/respiratory 

Convulsions/fitting 

Falls 

RTC 

AMPDS code 

07-C-03 

09-E-01 

12-D-01 

17-D-02P, 17-D-06, 17-D-06P 

29-D-06, 29-D-06 V, 29-D-07 

AMPDS Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, HEMS helicopter 

emergency medical service, EEAST East of England Ambulance Service NHS 

Trust, RTC road traffic collision 

10 


FEATURE 

Table 4 Variables associated with significant high or low rates of HEMS patient contact (multivariate model) 

AMPDS category/n 

Night (ref: day) 

RRV (ref: helicopter) 

Adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 

Dispatch desk 

CCP (ref: no 

CCP) 

06–Breathing problems 

n = 902 

07—Burns 

n = 361 

09—Cardiac/respiratory 

n = 5299 

10–Chest pain 

n = 347 

12—Convulsions/fitting 

n = 1183 

17—Falls 

n = 2491 

27—Stab/gunshot 

n = 1532 

29—RTC 

n = 4951 

30—Traumatic injuries 

n = 1114 

31—Unconscious/fainting 

n = 1204 

0.6 (0.4–0.8) ns ns 

0.5 (0.3–0.9) 0.5 (0.3–0.8) ns 

0.8 (0.7–0.9) 0.8 (0.7–0.9) ns 

0.3 (0.1–0.4) ns ns 

ns ns ns 

0.5 (0.4–0.7) 0.8 (0.6–0.9) ns 

0.7 (0.6–0.9) ns 1.6 (1.1–2.5) 

0.8 (0.7–0.9) 0.8 (0.7–0.9) ns 

ns 0.5 (0.4–0.7) ns 

0.6 (0.5–0.8) ns ns 

HEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, AMPDS Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, RRV rapid response vehicle, CCP critical 

care paramedic, ns not significant (p-value ≥ 0.05). An odds ratio < 1 is a reduced chance of the outcome (not highlighted bold); an odds 

ratio > 1 is an increased chance of the outcome (highlighted bold) 

Table 5 Variables associated with significant high or low rates of HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic (multivariate model) 

AMPDS category / n 

Night (ref: day) 

Night 

(ref: day) 

RRV (ref: 

helicopter) 

Dispatch desk 

CCP (ref: no 

CCP) 

Male 

(ref: female) 

Age < 16 years 

(ref: 

16–55 years) 

Age > 55 years 

(ref: 

16–55 years) 

06—Breathing problems 

n = 493 

07—Burns 

n = 200 

09—Cardiac/respiratory 

n = 3128 

10—Chest pain 

n = 277 

12—Convulsions/fitting 

n = 760 

17—Falls 

n = 1785 

27—Stab/gunshot 

n = 549 

29—RTC 

n = 3018 

30—Traumatic injuries 

n = 786 

31—Unconscious/fainting 

n = 682 

ns 0.4 (0.3–0.6) ns ns 0.1 (0.1–0.3) ns 

0.3 (0.1–0.6) ns ns ns 0.5 (0.2–0.9) 0.4 (0.2–0.9) 

ns 0.7 (0.6–0.8) ns 1.2 (1.1–1.4) 0.6 (0.5–0.9) 1.3 (1.1–1.5) 

ns 0.3 (0.2–0.6) ns ns ns ns 

ns ns ns 1.4 (1.1–1.9) 0.5 (0.3–0.7) ns 

0.7 (0.6–0.9) 0.6 (0.5–0.8) ns ns 0.4 (0.3–0.6) ns 

ns 0.3 (0.2–0.4) ns ns ns ns 

1.3 (1.0–1.5) 0.5 (0.4–0.6) ns 1.5 (1.2–1.8) ns ns 

0.5 (0.3–0.9) 0.6 (0.3–0.9) ns ns 0.6 (0.4–0.9) 1.4 (1.1–2.1) 

ns 0.7 (0.5–0.9) ns ns 0.1 (0.1–0.3) ns 

HEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, AMPDS Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System, RRV rapid response vehicle, CCP critical 

care paramedic, ns not significant (p-value ≥ 0.05). An odds ratio < 1 is a reduced chance of the outcome (not highlighted bold); an odds 

ratio > 1 is an increased chance of the outcome (highlighted bold) 



11

FEATURE 


Therefore, it is possible that patients not attended by HEMS in the 

study period would have had AMPDS codes assigned that would 

meet the utility criteria. However, the large data capture over four 

years for three HEMS organsiations operating five teams somewhat 

mitigates this. Some AMPDS codes that are used very infrequently, 

and were therefore excluded from this analysis, are likely to be 

important when considering HEMS dispatch. Examples include 

codes relating to major or mass casualty incidents, and there are 

others (for example: ‘34—automatic crash notification’) that may 

become more important in the future as technology develops [42]. 

Our data are likely to have generalizability to HEMS systems that 

operate a physician-paramedic model in mixed urban and rural 

geographies that use AMPDS for dispatch. However, these data 

have less utility in non-AMPDS dispatch systems (for example, those 

using NHS Pathways in some regions of the UK) without robust 

mapping of AMPDS and non-AMPDS codes. In addition, whilst the 

East of England includes a broad mix of urban and rural populations, 

it is very flat. Therefore, our data may have reduced generalizability 

in more mountainous geographies where the limitations of patient 

accessibility, weather, and potentially a different epidemiology 

of disease and trauma may have a different impact on important 

dispatch codes. 

We have identified nine ‘golden’ AMPDS codes, available at the time 

of initial emergency call, that are associated with high-levels of wholesystem 

and HEMS utility in the East of England. We propose that UK 

EMS should consider immediate HEMS dispatch to these codes, or 

automated notification to HEMS dispatchers when these codes are 

generated from emergency calls within a robust governance framework. 

Abbreviations 

HEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical Services 

EMS Emergency medical service 

AMPDS Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System 

HLIDD HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic 

PHEA Prehospital emergency anaesthesia 

EEAST East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 

EAAA East Anglian Air Ambulance 

Magpas Magpas Air Ambulance 

EHAAT Essex & Herts Air Ambulance 

CCP Critical Care Paramedic 

RRV Rapid Response Vehicle 

RTC Road traffic collisions 

POCUS Point of Care Ultrasound 

ACS CoT American College of Surgeon’s Committee on Trauma 

Supplementary Information 

The online version contains supplementary material available at https:// 

sjtrem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13049-023-01094-w. 

Additional file 1. HEMS-level intervention/drug/diagnostic. A list of all 

HLIDDs used within this study. 

Additional file 2. Sensitivity analysis to explore impact of thresholds 

on estimated tasking numbers/24 h. Demonstration of the impact of 

specific thresholds for intervention and/or patient contact on code 

availability. 

Additional file 3. AMPDS codes with significantly high rates of patient 

contact and/or HLIDD. A table listing the p value for both HLIDD and 

patient contact for specific codes. 

Acknowledgements 

We acknowledge the assistance of EEAST in aiding with providing core 

data to allow the analysis in the paper to be undertaken. 

Author contributions 

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study 

conception and design: CTE, KL, RM, EBGB; data collection: CTE, 

KL, AS, AD, SM; analysis and interpretation of results: CTE, KL, EBGB; 

manuscript preparation: CTE, KL, RM, EBGB. KL is the data guarantor. 

All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. 

Funding 

No funding was provided for this work. 

Availability of data and materials 

Data are available on reasonable request. 

Declarations 

Ethics approval and consent to participate 

This study met the Health Research Authority criteria for a service 

evaluation. The protocol was approved by the Anglian Ruskin 

University School Research Ethics Panel for Allied Health, Nursing 

& Midwifery & Medicine (ref no. AHSREP- 21-032), and registered 

with the EAAA Department of Research, Audit, Innovation, and 

Development (RAID), Reference Number: EAAA 2021/028. 

Consent for publication 

Patients and the public were not involved in the design, analysis, 

or reporting of this research. 

Competing interests 

We have no competing interests to declare. 

Author details 

1 Department of Research, Audit, Innovation, and Development, East 

Anglian Air Ambulance, Gambling Close, Norwich Airport, Norwich 

NR6 6EG, UK. 2 Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust, Colchester, 

Essex, UK. 3 Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. 4 University of 

East Anglia, Norwich, UK. 5 Magpas Air Ambulance, Huntingdon, UK. 

6 Academic Department of Military Emergency Medicine, Royal Centre 

for Defence Medicine (Research & Clinical Innovation), Birmingham, 

UK. 7 Emergency Department, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS 

Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK. 

Received: 24 February 2023 Accepted: 7 June 2023 

Published online: 12 June 2023 

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28. Berkeveld E, Sierkstra TCN, Schober P, Schwarte LA, Terra M, 

de Leeuw MA, et al. Characteristics of helicopter emergency 

medical services (HEMS) dispatch cancellations during a sixyear 

period in a Dutch HEMS region. Bmc Emerg Medicine. 

2021;21:50. 

29. Röper J, Krohn M, Fleßa S, Thies K-C. Costing of helicopter 

emergency services—a strategic simulation based on the 

example of a German rural region. Heal Econ Rev. 2020;10:34. 

30. Baker SP, Grabowski JG, Dodd RS, Shanahan DF, Lamb MW, 

Li GH. EMS helicopter crashes: What influences fatal outcome? 

Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:351–6. 

31. Statistics O for N. Population and household estimates, England 

and Wales: Census 2021. 2022. 

32. Price J, Sandbach DD, Ercole A, Wilson A, Barnard EBG. Endtidal 

and arterial carbon dioxide gradient in serious traumatic 

brain injury after prehospital emergency anaesthesia: a 

retrospective observational study. Emerg Med J. 2020;37:674–9. 

33. Steel A, Haldane C, Cody D. Impact of videolaryngoscopy 

introduction into prehospital emergency medicine practice: a 

quality improvement project. Emerg Med J. 2021;38:549–55. 

34. McLachlan S, Bungay H, Wallman S, Christian MD, Ley E, Fenton 

R. Scoping the demand for night operation of essex & herts 

air ambulance: a prospective observational study. Air Medical 

J. 2021;40:28–35. 

35. England E. Paramedics and medicines: legal considerations. 

J Paramedic Pract. 2016;8:408–15. 

36. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 [Internet]. [cited 

2023 Jan 6]. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ 

uksi/2012/1916/schedule/17/made 

37. (AACE) A of ACE, Committee JRCAL. JRCALC Clinical Guidelines 

2022. 2022. 

38. Surgeons AC of, Trauma C on. Resources for the optimal care 

of the injured patient. Chicago: American College of Surgeons; 

2014. 

39. Østerås Ø, Brattebø G, Heltne J-K. Helicopter-based emergency 

medical services for a sparsely populated region: a study of 

42,500 dispatches. Acta Anaesth Scand. 2016;60:659–67. 

40. Alshibani A, Alharbi M, Conroy S. Under-triage of older trauma 

patients in prehospital care: a systematic review. Eur Geriatr Med. 

2021;12:903–19. 

41. Griggs JE, Barrett JW, Avest ET, de Coverly R, Nelson M, 

Williams J, et al. Helicopter emergency medical service dispatch 

in older trauma: Time to reconsider the trigger? Scand J Trauma 

Resusc Emerg Medicine. 2021;29:62. 

42. Ponte G, Ryan GA, Anderson RWG. An estimate of the 

effectiveness of an in-vehicle automatic collision notification 

system in reducing road crash fatalities in South Australia. Traffic 

Inj Prev. 2016;17:258–63. 

Publisher’s Note 

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in 

published maps and institutional affiliations. 



13

NEWSLINE 

‘Phenomenal results’ 

achieved by first 

paramedic degree 

apprenticeship group 

The first cohort of East of 

England Ambulance Service 

(EEAST) staff to qualify 

as paramedics through 

a new apprenticeship 

degree programme with the 

University of Cumbria have 

been celebrated at a special 

ceremony after achieving 

‘phenomenal results’. 

The group of 20, who graduated 

at the University of Cumbria 

in June, were presented with 

a certificate to mark their 

achievements on completing the 

Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship 

Paramedic Programme at a 

ceremony at The Athenaeum in 

Bury St Edmunds. 

Over 80 per cent on the 

programme achieved an upperclass 

honours degree with five of 

the group achieving a first and 11 

achieving a 2:1. 

EEAST was one of seven 

ambulance services to sign 

up to the new BSc (Hons) 

apprenticeship paramedic degree 

course in 2021. The course 

was devised by the University 

of Cumbria for existing patientfacing 

staff, such as emergency 

care assistants, ambulance 

technicians and associate 

ambulance practitioners. 

The course takes two years to 

complete, compared to three for 

a traditional degree in paramedic 

science, and allows staff to 

continue to work in frontline roles 

at EEAST while studying. 

This opens an important career 

progression pathway for staff who 

want to become a paramedic but 

feel that university is not the right 

option for their circumstances. 

Katie Burst, Head of Education 

& Learner Experience at EEAST, 

said the success will mean more 

future paramedics qualifying 

through this partnership with the 

University of Cumbria. 

Katie said: 

“We are all delighted and proud 

of the success achieved by the 

first group on this new apprentice 

paramedic degree programme 

with the University of Cumbria. 

“The feedback on the course 

has been excellent and the 

partnership with the University of 

Cumbria has worked so well. 

“The Trust sees this programme 

as an important pathway 

for developing our staff to 

becoming paramedics and we 

are fully committed to expanding 

availability.” 

Hanna Stevens, principal 

lecturer in paramedic 

apprenticeships at the 

University of Cumbria, said: 

“The first group of students all 

worked exceptionally hard and 

they have produced phenomenal 

results, with 80 per cent 

achieving an upper class degree 

honours. 

“That is testament to the 

partnership working from all 

involved who have helped make 

this course such a success. 

“We look forward to working 

with EEAST on this exciting 

educational pathway for many 

years to come.” 

Lee Sweetlove, 36, a student 

on the course, said: 

“I found the course really 

challenging but also very 

rewarding. I describe it as 

hiking up a steep mountain but 

at the top the views are worth the 

effort. 

“We are now registered 

healthcare professionals, and it 

has opened up so many career 

pathways, so it is a really exciting 

time to be a paramedic. 

“I always wanted to progress my 

career and become a paramedic, 

expanding my skillset to be able 

to help more patients. I worked 

for the Trust as a technician 

initially and, if I had decided to 

take the traditional route, I would 

have had to spend three years at 

university and pay for that course. 

“By gaining this qualification 

through the Trust and the 

apprenticeship pathway, you 

are still able to earn a salary. I 

was able to get married and we 

were able to buy our first house 

together while I was on the 

course. 

“For me, this was definitely the 

better route. I have built lots of 

confidence and experience as I 

have been mainly working on the 

ambulance with a mentor and 

putting my university learning into 

practice.’’ 

The Trust is currently running 

three courses on this apprentice 

paramedic degree each year 

and the pathway is expected to 

provide the Trust with 500 newly 

qualified paramedics over the 

next seven years. 

Nine new electric 

vehicles introduced 

to boost community 

response 


We are pleased to announce 

the introduction of nine new 

electric vehicles into our fleet 

which will be provided to nine 

of our Community Response 

schemes across the East 

Midlands. 

This exciting development follows 

funding secured from charity 

grants in 2022 to help support 

several different projects at East 

Midlands Ambulance Service as 

14 


part of its Community Response 

Volunteer Strategy. 

Midlands Ambulance Service 

said: 

With the help of the NHS 

Charities Together grant, we 

have been able to purchase nine 

of the new vehicles to support 

the vital work carried out by 

our Community Responder 

schemes, so they can continue 

providing lifesaving care to our 

communities. 

All the electric vehicles have 

sat-nav fitted as standard and 

our Community First Responders 

(CFR) will be able to re-charge the 

vehicles at numerous charging 

points across the region. In 

addition to the normal kit carried 

by our CFRs these vehicles are 

equipped with a Raizor lifting 

chair enabling our volunteers to 

assist patients following a fall. 

By investing in our fleet and 

replacing older vehicles with 

electric ones, it also supports 

EMAS’ goal to deliver greener, 

sustainable healthcare and is 

part of our ongoing commitment 

to becoming a net zero trust by 

2040. 

James Hornby, Service Delivery 

Manager for Community 

Response at East Midlands 

Ambulance Service said: 

“Thanks to the funding secured, 

we have been able to provide 

these state-of-the-art vehicles 

to our Community Response 

schemes across the region. 

“These nine vehicles join the 

other eight electric vehicles which 

our schemes have and will help 

ensure our volunteers, who make 

a huge and valued contribution 

at EMAS can continue to make a 

difference to the lives of people 

within our communities across 

the region.” 

Cara Turton-Chambers, 

Sustainability, Energy and 

Compliance Manager at East 

“It’s great to see that our EV CFR 

fleet is expanding. The NHS has a 

big challenge ahead to reach net 

zero by 2040. However, at EMAS 

we know this transition is not only 

best for the planet, but best for 

our patients and service users. 

“Climate change is a health 

emergency and action to slow 

climate change, helps create a 

healthy future. As well as lower 

carbon emissions, these vehicles 

will have no tail pipe emissions 

and so as we respond we aren’t 

worsening air pollution, further 

helping keep people healthy. 

“Projects like this support the 

implementation of our Green Plan 

and the wider NHS’ journey to 

deliver greener, more sustainable 

healthcare.” 

This investment will see every 

division in the East Midlands 

region (Derbyshire, Leicester, 

Leicestershire and Rutland, 

Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire 

and Nottinghamshire) receive one 

of the electric vehicles. 

In May 2023 EMAS launched its 

new five-year strategy (2023- 

2028) and five new strategic 

ambitions to help the organisation 

achieve its overall vision. This 

investment supports ambition 

5 – ‘We will work in partnership 

to reduce health inequalities 

and improve the health of 

our population, and ensure 

sustainability’. 

We began the introduction of 

electric vehicles into our fleet 

as early as 2017. 

In 2022, we replaced all Non- 

Emergency Patient Transport 

Service (NEPTS) cars in 

Derbyshire with fully-electric 

cars; reducing our emissions 

by 96 tonnes of carbon dioxide 

equivalent (tCO2e) per year. 



15

NEWLINE 


EEAST represented 

at Westminster 

Abbey service to 

mark NHS 75th 

Birthday 

Staff at the East of England 

Ambulance Service NHS Trust 

(EEAST) joined colleagues from 

across the NHS at a service at 

Westminster Abbey to mark the 

NHS’s 75th Birthday. 

Terry Hicks, head of operations 

for Cambridgeshire and 

Peterborough, Zoe Martindale, 

Philip Bygrave, and Chaplain 

Tony Mills all made the journey to 

attend the service on Wednesday, 

July 5. 

The event, which was attended 

by Their Royal Highnesses The 

Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh 

and senior political leaders, 

started with a procession of 

the George Cross, which was 

presented to the NHS in 2022 by 

Her Majesty The Queen. 

The Cross was carried by nurse 

May Parsons, who administered 

the world’s first COVID vaccine. 

May was joined by Kyle Dean- 

Curtis, 17, St John Ambulance 

cadet of the year, and Enid 

Richmond, 91, who worked for 

the NHS at the time it launched. 

Zoe Martindale is an 

improvement manager for the 

Emergency Operations Centre 

which handles incoming 999 

emergency calls. She said: 

“I felt extremely honoured and 

privileged to be invited to attend 

the service to celebrate the 

75th anniversary of the NHS at 

Westminster Abbey. It was a 

really moving experience and I felt 

lucky and honoured to have been 

picked to attend”, 

“Attending the service gave 

me an opportunity to reflect on 

the past 15 years that I have 

spent working for the Trust, 

and although it’s not always 

been easy, I’m still so incredibly 

proud and grateful to wear my 

uniform and I look forward to 

what the future holds for all of us 

here within the EOC and across 

EEAST.” 

Philip Bygrave is a Make Ready 

Group lead for King’s Lynn and 

Peterborough, which prepares 

ambulances and other vehicles 

ready for deployment. He said: 

“Attending the service on behalf 

of EEAST was a great honour 

and it was humbling to be with so 

many people who have dedicated 

so much to the NHS. I have 

worked in the ambulance service 

for 23 years and was in patientfacing 

roles before joining the 

Make Ready Service at EEAST 

in 2020. Knowing that you are 

making a difference to patients’ 

lives is extremely rewarding and 

makes you feel proud to work in 

the NHS.” 

Welsh Ambulance 

Service awarded 

prestigious 

environmental 

management 

standard 

THE Welsh Ambulance Service 

has been recognised for its 

commitment to reduce its 

environmental footprint and 

improve its performance. 

The Trust has been awarded 

the prestigious ISO 14001 

Environmental Management 

Systems Standard by British 

Standards Institution after a 

rigorous five-day inspection of its 

environmental governance system. 

ISO 14001 is an internationally 

recognised standard for 

environmental management 

systems, which supports 

organisations in identifying, 

managing, monitoring and 

controlling environmental 

processes. 

The Welsh Ambulance Service 

is currently the only ambulance 

service in the UK to hold this 

standard. 

Richard Davies, the Trust’s 

Assistant Director of Capital 

and Estates, said: “To retain 

accreditation is a massive 

achievement. 

“It’s a validation of the great work 

headed by the Estates team 

and especially Environment and 

Sustainability Manager Nicci 

Stephens and Environment and 

Sustainability Support Officer 

Sharon Jones. 

“A massive thanks are owed to 

the team who have supported 

and delivered on this, we are all 

extremely proud.” 

The Trust introduced a 

catalogue of new initiatives in 

its bid to secure ISO 14001, 

which includes new plug-in 

hybrid rapid response cars to 

replace the older diesel-powered 

vehicles, 270 speed-limited 

non-emergency patient transport 

vehicles installed with solar 

panels to minimise the need for 

mains charging, continued the 

use of video conferencing to 

reduce travel time, emissions and 

cost, installed new renewable 

energy systems and reduced 

its reliance on fossil fuels by 

installing low carbon heating. 

Leading the work has been 

Environment and Sustainability 

Manager Nicci Stephens, who 

said: “I am so pleased to say that 

after five days of auditing, the 

Welsh Ambulance Service has 

kept the ISO 14001 accreditation 

for 2023. 

“The accreditation provides 

assurance to the Trust’s 

management and employees, as 

well as external stakeholders that 

the environmental impacts of the 

Trust are being measured and 

improved. 

“The assessor noted that during 

their visit, the Trust demonstrated 

that the environmental 

management systems in place 

continue to support the strategic 

direction of the organisation 

and achieve objectives relating 

to improving environmental 

performance, which we are very 

proud of. 

“In order to support the Welsh 

Government’s ambition of a 

net zero carbon public sector 

by 2030, we have developed a 

decarbonisation plan and are 

working towards the NHS Wales 

decarbonisation target reduction 

of 34%.” 

The Trust was accredited following 

an audit which took place at a 

sample of stations and office 

buildings across Wales during May. 

16 


Seamless Synchronisation 

Hands Free Resuscitation with the 

corpuls3 and corpulscpr. 

In the Ambulance 

Emergency transport carries risk 

for the patient and the responding 

team. With synchronised therapy, 

the emergency team can remain 

seated whilst in transit. Rhythm 

control and shock delivery can be 

performed on the corpuls 3 while 

the medic is seated. 

In tight spaces 

Whether in a lift, a stairwell, or 

on tricky terrain, synchronised 

resuscitation means that therapy 

can continue where it wouldn’t 

have been possible before. Once 

in place, a medic can control the 

corpuls 3 monitor, defibrillator and 

CPR parameters of the corpuls cpr. 

In the air 

Patient access is extremely limited 

in air rescue. Thanks to the perfect 

interaction of the corpuls 3 with 

the corpuls cpr, movement within 

the cabin is reduced. Synchronised 

mechanical chest compressions 

can be given, without having to 

accept long hands-off times. 

• Shorter hands-off time. 

• Automated pre-shock compressions. 

• Can be used in manual and AED mode. 

• Increased safety & minimised interruptions. 

• Less resources required. 

• Easier operation. 

• Data transmission. 

• Post mission analysis. 

Learn more: 

Scan the QR code 

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camera and click 

the link. 

Or visit: 

uqr.to/sync-cpr 

Attending the Emergency Services Show? 

Visit us at stand K150 to learn more. 

www.corpuls.co.uk 

Official UK supplier of corpuls and Weinmann 

medical devices and software.

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE 

Brand new 

ambulance service, 

IPRS MTS launched 

A brand-new specialist 

patient transport service IPRS 

MTS has recently launched 

operations in Gatwick, West 

Sussex, offering a wide-range 

of specialised ambulance 

transportation services across 

the United Kingdom and to 

and from Europe with plans 

for rapid expansion. 

IPRS MTS is the latest member of 

the IPRS Group, an organisation 

with over 27 years’ experience 

delivering a wide-range of awardwinning 

clinical products and 

services to both the public and 

private sectors. 


A strong emphasis on clinical 

excellence, compliance, and an 

exceptional patient experience 

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Group services with IPRS MTS 

embracing this to provide a firstclass 

service to all clients and 

patients in their care. 

Martyn Jackson, CEO of the IPRS 

Group, is excited by the launch of 

IPRS MTS and is confident that 

the new start-up will be another 

successful member of the group. 

He said, “It’s very exciting to 

finally launch IPRS MTS as it’s 

been something we’ve been 

working on for a long time now 

in the background and it’s great 

that the news is out, and we have 

began delivering our services. 

We firmly believe that our 

experience in repatriation 

positions us favourably to build 

upon it through our new venture. 

We have already assembled a 

team with extensive expertise 

in this field, and I am greatly 

enthused about the growth 

prospects of this organisation.” 

IPRS MTS has developed 

four distinct medical transport 

services consisting of transfers of 

high-dependency patients from 

the ICU, secure transportation 

services for individuals suffering 

mental health issues, bariatric 

transfers for patients requiring 

medical assistance during and 

non-emergency repatriation 

services to and from Europe. 

IPRS MTS collaborate directly 

with NHS trusts, commissioning 

bodies, private ambulance 

services, and the general public 

to fulfil the unique transportation 

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The success of IPRS MTS will be 

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services will be delivered upon. 

Exceptional clinical quality, utilising 

technology and delivering services 

in a manner that is sustainable. 

Providing the highest standard of 

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Each member of their paramedic 

team is registered with the Health 

Practice Associates Council 

with all colleagues undergoing 

extensive training upon joining 

to ensure that all patients under 

their care receive an optimal 

level of care and compassion in 

every journey. 

Technology and innovation 

lie at the core of IPRS MTS’s 

operations. To facilitate a safe 

and comfortable service, they 

possess a fleet of ambulances 

equipped with state-of-the-art 

medical equipment utilised by 

their paramedics to provide 

exemplary care. For the secure 

transportation of patients with 

mental health conditions, they 

employ vehicles fitted with 

Home Office Category B cells 

and seating arrangements that 

allow for assessments and 

conversation throughout the 

journey. All services undergo 

rigorous auditing to preserve 

the highest quality standards 

possible and maintain patient 

satisfaction. 

Delivering services is a 

sustainable manner is important 

to IPRS MTS, the organisation 

will be constantly looking for 

more sustainable ways to deliver 

their services and have aligned 

themselves to the Greener NHS 

Programme. Sustainability is 

extremely important across the 

IPRS Group who have planted 

over 3,000 trees, capturing more 

than 1,200 tonnes of CO2. 

Phil Bayliss, the Director of 

IPRS MTS, is excited by the 

launch saying, “I am thrilled to 

announce the launch of IPRS 

MTS. We are enthusiastic about 

delivering our services to the 

market and truly believe that our 

offerings are unparalleled. We 

align ourselves with the Greener 

NHS program, embrace cuttingedge 

technology, and maintain a 

strong focus on clinical expertise. 

Being a part of IPRS MTS is truly 

exciting, and I eagerly anticipate 

the growth of the organisation in 

the months and years ahead.” 

IPRS MTS is currently recruiting 

for a variety of clinical roles 

at varying levels of expertise. 

Despite IPRS MTS being a new 

company, they are part of IPRS 

Group who have won numerous 

employer awards including 

winning Best Employer in the 

Healthcare Industry at the 2021 

Best Employers Eastern Region 

along with being named a 

Platinum Employer. 

18 


NEWLINE 

Chief Paramedic 

awarded top 

ambulance medal in 

the King’s Birthday 

Honours 

The Chief Paramedic at 

London Ambulance Service 

has been awarded His Majesty 

the King’s Ambulance Service 

Medal for distinguished service 

as part of the monarch’s 

Birthday Honours. 

A paramedic since 2002, Dr John 

Martin has had a phenomenal 

career at the forefront of the field, 

dedicating his life to improving 

patient care and developing the 

expertise of clinicians within the 

profession. 

Dr Martin joined the London 

Ambulance Service in March 

2021 in a newly-created Chief 

Paramedic role which brought 

together responsibility for both 

clinical quality at the Trust and 

for ensuring paramedics and 

ambulance clinicians have access 

to world-class training, education 

and professional development. 

With over 650 apprentices at 

the Service, John has helped 

LAS become the biggest 

apprentice provider in the NHS 

and spearheaded work to 

protect our staff from violence 

and aggression, including the 

installation of crew safety systems 

and body worn cameras. 

LAS Chief Executive Daniel 

Elkeles said: “John epitomises 

what it is to be a highly 

compassionate, respected and 

inclusive NHS leader. He also 

exemplifies what it is to be a 

professional paramedic, using 

every opportunity to develop the 

profession for the benefit of staff 

and the patients they care for. 

“His leadership and foresight has 

turbocharged the development 

of the country’s paramedic 

workforce, improving the quality 

of care received by thousands 

of patients across the country. 

These achievements will deliver 

lasting improvements for the 

paramedic profession.” 

Dr Martin has also been President 

of the College of Paramedics 

since 2017, and has been active 

in developing the College of 

Paramedics for many years, all of 

which he has volunteered to do in 

his own time. 

In May 2023, he finished his 

second term as the College’s 

president. Under his tenure, 

membership has grown by 

2,000% and the College is close 

to achieving a Royal Charter 

and continuous professional 

development is now a mandatory 

part of paramedic practice. 

Dr John Martin said: “I am hugely 

honoured and humbled to receive 

this medal on behalf of London 

Ambulance Service and the 

paramedic profession. 

“I’m proud to have been a 

paramedic for over 20 years 

and work with such dedicated 

and talented clinicians at LAS, 

ambulance services and the 

wider NHS to ensure that our 

patients get the best possible 

care in their time of need.” 

In 2006 Dr Martin led the 

curriculum guidance development 

for paramedics, paving the way 



19

Specialist 

Patient Transport 

Services 

Our Services: 

High Dependency Transfers 

Secure Mental Health Transfers 

Repatriation 

Bariatric Transfers 

www.IPRSMTS.com

COMPANY NEWS 

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94 


21

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NEWLINE 

The scenarios are filmed using 

actors and will help clinicians 

when they make safeguarding 

referrals and ultimately help 

protect patients. 

LAS is hoping bespoke scenarios 

could also be developed for call 

handlers as they can also help 

identify patients at risk when 

taking 999 calls. 

The Service is also considering 

using VR technology for 

clinical education. It already 

has immersive training suites 

at its education centres where 

simulated scenarios play out. 

Two EEAST clinicians 

have talked about 

how being a reservist 

in the armed forces 

has enhanced both 

their clinical skills 

and developed their 

confidence and 

professional abilities. 

Gavin Smith, a paramedic and 

former Leading Operations 

Manager for EEAST has also 

enjoyed a career in both the 

Army and the Royal Air Force 

as a regular and reservist 

which has spanned 33 years. 

Since joining the Trust in 2015, he 

has maintained a position within 

the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 

initially in a Chemical, Biological, 

Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) 

specialist role, and more latterly, 

as a field gunner in an Immediate 

Operational Response (IOR) role. 

“These are just a few of the skills 

that my service career has given 

me,” said Gavin, “Others include 

linguistics, cultural awareness, 

intelligence, communications, 

investigatory, report generation 

as well as a myriad of others 

- nearly all have been directly 

transferable or have found some 

use during my time within the 

Ambulance Service 

“Personally, my journey through 

the Ambulance Service has been 

as a direct result of my time within 

the armed forces, and I have 

found that EEAST have been 

truly supportive in allowing me to 

continue both roles side-by-side. 

Sadly, Gavin who now works in 

an investigation role for EEAST, 

said he will be stepping down 

as a reservist shortly, but he 

would recommend it to others 

considering becoming a reservist: 

“Given the choice, I would 

continue forever, however, there 

of course comes a point where 

the mind is willing but the body 

less so! 

“Sometimes the journey to 

become a reservist may be 

arduous, other times it may be 

fun, but at all times, you will 

become part of a camaraderie 

and a team that is like no other - 

and when you return to your dayto 

day role, the skills you learn will 

be as valued as those that you 

already possess and will bring to 

your reservist role - whatever that 

may be!” 

Mia Gill has been working for 

EEAST since 2016. As a reservist 

with the Royal Army Medical 

Corps she is a recognised 

paramedic and a combat medical 

technician (CMT (P)). 

She said: 

“I am incredibly proud to be a 

part of both organisations which 

have had a positive impact on 

my life and as a professional. I 

feel both roles really complement 

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NEWLINE 

each other and EEAST are so 

supportive in allowing me time to 

conduct my military exercises. 

“The military has helped me 

gain confidence and grow into 

an individual with integrity and 

discipline. This has helped me in 

my civilian role as a paramedic 

as I have the confidence to air 

my opinions, and act as a better 

advocate for my patients. I have 

also developed my trauma skills 

greatly, which I have utilised when 

attending patients and mentoring 

students and colleagues. I have 

evolved from a timid young 

individual to a confident and 

knowledgeable clinician.” 

Pioneering mental 

health joint response 

unit shortlisted 

for prestigious 

NHS Parliamentary 

Awards 

A ground-breaking scheme at 


(LAS) which pairs a mental 

health professional with a 

paramedic to treat people 

experiencing a mental health 

crisis has been shortlisted 

for the prestigious NHS 

Parliamentary Awards. 

The Service’s mental health joint 

response unit allows a more 

tailored response to a patient’s 

mental and physical needs, 

ensuring vulnerable patients get 

the treatment they need at home 

or through local community 

services, and wherever 

possible avoids unnecessary 

visits to hospital emergency 

departments. 

More than 17,000 people have 

been helped by this specialised 

team since January 2020 when 

the service expanded across 

the capital. Ensuring equity of 

access to care is a key focus at 

LAS and, thanks to the expertise 

of this joint team, just 16% of 

patients experiencing a mental 

health crisis have needed to 

be taken to an emergency 

department. 

Alison Blakely, Director of 

Clinical Pathways and Clinical 

Transformation at London 

Ambulance Service, said: 

“I’m delighted that the team 

have been nominated for their 

incredible work. Thanks to their 

expertise, we can ensure that 

we can provide a response that 

meets each patients’ individual 

needs and sees their mental 

health treated with the same 

level of importance as their 

physical wellbeing. 

“This importantly helps patients 

receive the best possible care 

away from busy emergency 

departments that may not be 

conductive to their recovery.” 

The unit, which was launched as 

a single car in south east London 

in November 2018 before 

expanding to six response cars, 

was nominated for the honour by 

eight London MPs. 

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, 

Shadow Minister for Mental 

Health and Labour MP for 

Tooting, who nominated the 

team for the award, said: 

“I am thrilled to see the London 

Ambulance Service’s mental 

health joint response unit has 

been shortlisted for an award. 

Every patient deserves the 

very best standard of care, 

and through this team, patients 

experiencing a mental health 

crisis are being directed to the 

services that work best for 

them. This is a well-deserved 

recognition of the brilliant 

efforts that these mental health 

professionals put in every day.” 

Members of the mental health 

team also work in our 999 

control rooms, supporting 

colleagues answering calls 

from members of the public 

who are experiencing a mental 

health crisis, guiding teams 

who are dispatching LAS crews 

to patients, and providing 

patients with direct telephone 

assessments. 

The team works closely with 

local mental health trusts to 

ensure the patients they support 

receive the care they need from 

community services in the most 

efficient way possible. The 

scheme has benefited from close 

collaboration between LAS and 

mental health trusts to ensure 

the patient gets the right care in 

the right place, first time. 

The NHS Parliamentary Awards 

launched in 2018 to celebrate 

the NHS’ 70 birthday and 

recognise the outstanding 

contribution of staff, volunteers 

and others working in the health 

and care sector. Now in its sixth 

year, the awards have been an 

overwhelming success with 

more than 700 nominations 

being submitted by over half of 

MPs representing constituencies 

in England last year alone. 

The MPs who nominated the 

mental health response team 

are: Ellie Reeves (Labour, 

Lewisham West and Penge), Lyn 

Brown (Labour, West Ham), Sir 

Keir Starmer (Labour, Holborn 

and St Pancras), Catherine 

West (Labour, Hornsey and 

Wood Green), Feryal Clark 

(Labour, Enfield North), Stephen 

Hammond (Conservative, 

Wimbledon), Rosena Allin-Khan 

(Labour, Tooting) and Marsha De 

Cordova (Labour, Battersea). 

The winners will be announced 

at an Awards Ceremony on the 

health service’s 75th anniversary 

on Wednesday 5 July 2023, to 

which all nominees, their relevant 

MPs and other key figures will 

be invited. The ceremony will be 

held at the Queen Elizabeth II 

Centre in Westminster. 

SECAmb thanks 

colleagues and their 

families this Armed 

Forces Day 

South East Coast Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation 

Trust (SECAmb) would like 

to pay tribute and thank all 

colleagues and their families 

with links to the armed forces. 

The Trust is proud to have close 

links with the armed forces with 

of its staff and volunteers either 

having served in a previous 

career or continuing to serve 

as a reservist alongside their 

ambulance service role. 

SECAmb signed up to the 

Armed Forces Covenant 

in 2018. The covenant is a 

commitment to member of 

the reserves, armed forces, 

veterans, or family members 

and outlines how the Trust will 

support them, officially, as 

a military-friendly employer. 

Further details on the 

covenant can be found on the 

Trust’s website here: Armed 

Forces Covenant - NHS South 

East Coast Ambulance Service 

(secamb.nhs.uk) 

In 2022, SECAmb was proud 

to achieve an Armed Forces 

Silver Award. The award is a 

progression on the Bronze 

Award it was granted in 2018/19 

and is evidence of the Trust’s 

commitment to employing and 

supporting those with a current 

or previous role in the armed 

forces. 

SECAmb Chief Executive, 

Simon Weldon, said: “I would 

like to thank each and every 

colleague who has a previous 

link to the armed forces or who 

is a reservist. We are proud 

of our strong links with the 



25

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NEWLINE 

armed forces and I am keen to 

ensure this continues and that 

our associations are further 

strengthened in the years ahead. 

“I would also like to thank the 

families of our colleagues who have 

links to the armed forces. They play 

a vital and difficult role in supporting 

their loved ones in managing the 

dual challenge of managing a career 

in both sectors.” 

AMBULANCE 

WORKERS SUFFER 

AT LEAST 9,500 

VIOLENT ATTACKS 

IN RECENT YEARS, 

GMB INVESTIGATION 

SHOWS 

Almost 1,250 recorded sexual 

assaults and true number likely 

to be far higher, says GMB Union 

South East Coast Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust, 

(SECAmb), is to trial three fullyelectric 

vehicles as part of its plans 

to reduce carbon emissions and 

introduce zeroemission vehicles 

on to its fleet. 

Ambulance workers been subject 

to at least 9,500 violent attacks 

in the line of duty over the last 

five years, a GMB investigation 

has revealed. 

Attacks, which saw blue light 

crews bitten, head-butted, spat 

at and struck with weapons, took 

place more than 9,565 times 

from the financial year 2017/18 

to 21/22. [1] 

A total of 1,248 of these were 

sexual assaults. 

The true numbers of assaults 

are likely to be far higher as only 

eight out of 13 ambulance trusts 

across England, Scotland, Wales 

and Northern Ireland responded 

to GMB’s Freedom of Information 

Act request. 

Ambulance workers took to 

the stage at GMB’s annual 

congress in Brighton on Sunday 

4 June to discuss the attacks 

they face daily, as well as the 

national NHS strikes they took 

part in and much needed 

reform to ambulance worker 

retirement age. 

GMB’s ambulance members 

successfully changed the law in 

2018 when the Assaults Against 

Emergency Workers (Offences) 

Act made assaults on ambulance 

workers an aggravating factor for 

sentencing. [2] 

Rachel Harrison, GMB National 

Secretary, said: 

“Ambulance workers go to work 

every day to save lives. 

“Despite this, thousands of them 

are bitten, attacked, spat at and 

even sexually assaulted. 

“No one should have to put up 

with that, least of all those who 

are there to protect us. 

“GMB members helped change 

the law but more needs to be 

done. 

“We demand full enforcement 

of the Protect the Protectors 

legislation, investment in better 

systems to flag offenders, and 

much better support for the 

victims of violence.” 

[1] Ambulance service 

2018/2019 1,597 

2019/20201,924 

2020/2021 1,871 

2021/2022 2,141 

2022/2023 2,032 

Total9,565 

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NEWLINE 


*SWAST provided figures per 

calendar year, rather than 

financial year 

[2] MPs back tougher measures 

in Protect the Protectors Bill 

| GMB 

Heroic acts, heartwarming 

tales and 

long service were 

celebrated at West 

Midlands Ambulance 

Service’s annual 

awards ceremonies 

on Thursday June 15. 

The Staff Long Service & 

Excellence Awards and 

Excellence in the Community 

Awards were held at The 

Copthorne Hotel in Brierley 

Hill with almost 700 guests 

attending across the two 

events. Guests included the 

Deputy-Lieutenant of the West 

Midlands, Ian Sargeant, and 

the High Sheriff of the County 

of West Midlands, Wade Lyn. 

This year, 56 members of staff 

were recognised for having given 

20 years of service to WMAS, 

15 staff were commended for 

25 years’ service, 14 received 

certificates for 30 years’ service, 

three members of staff were 

honoured for 35 years in the 

Trust whilst two celebrated 

the incredible landmark of 40 

years of service. Other awards 

to be handed out included 

Chief Officer Commendations, 

Student Paramedic of the Year, 

Mentor Awards, Apprenticeship 

Awards, Community Initiative 

and Partnership Awards; St John 

Ambulance Awards; CFR Long 

Service Awards and the CFR of 

the Year. 

Trust Chief Executive, Anthony 

Marsh, said: “In the aftermath 

of the pandemic, the continuing 

cost of living crisis and everything 

else that is presenting us all with 

CFR Volunteer of the Year, Jean Morgan 

(Credit: West Midlands Ambulance Service ). 

challenges at the moment, it is 

fantastic to have the opportunity 

to celebrate some of the 

incredible achievements of our 

staff, volunteers and members of 

the public. 

“We are extremely lucky to have 

such a professional workforce 

and team of volunteers who have 

a desire to always do their very 

best for the patient. 

“There were so many stories of 

people going above and beyond, 

in all sorts of situations, and to 

everyone who was recognised 

at these fantastic events, I would 

like to say a big well done, and 

thank you.” 

Deputy-Lieutenant of the West 

Midlands, Ian Sargeant, said: 

“Being at the awards made me 

extremely happy. There are lots 

of others words I could use here, 

but ‘happy’ is the right one. 

“That is because an organisation 

such as West Midlands 

Ambulance Service only works if 

everybody comes together, from 

those on the frontline to those 

behind the scenes, and everyone 

in between. 

“We’ve heard about tales of 

commitment to care, loyalty, 

bravery and dedication and it was 

an honour to be present to see 

some outstanding members of 

staff recognised.” 

High Sheriff of the County of 

West Midlands, Wade Lyn, said: 

“It is so important people are 

recognised for the excellence 

they show, and we have seen 

people from across the region 

celebrated, which is fantastic. 

“There are so many selfless 

people recognised at these 

events, all of whom are a real 

inspiration to their communities. 

By celebrating heroes we 

recognise the positive impact they 

make and encourage others to 

follow in their footsteps, which is 

so important. Well done to you all.” 

Prof Ian Cumming, WMAS 

Chairman, said: “It is important 

we recognise our staff, volunteers 

and members of the community 

because they all do remarkable 

things, day in, day out, despite the 

NHS facing some of the toughest 

challenges every seen. I send a 

huge and heartfelt thank you to 

them all for everything they do.” 

The Trust’s awards were 

sponsored by Coventry 

University, University of 

Wolverhampton, University of 

Worcester, Mills and Reeve, 

Medskills Academy, Birmingham 

City University, Jays Sourcing, 

Staffordshire University, VCS Ltd, 

DS Medical, G4S, Advantage 

Storing and Handling Ltd and 

Defibshop. 

SCAS re-signs Armed 

Forces Covenant 

South Central Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation 

Trust (SCAS) has reiterated 

its commitment to support 

members of the armed 

forces community, including 

reservists and veterans, by 

signing up once again to the 

Armed Forces Covenant. 

SCAS was the first ambulance 

trust in the country to sign up to 

the covenant in 2014 and a formal 

re-signing took place at the 

Trust’s North Harbour Resource 

Centre in Portsmouth on 

Wednesday, 5 July. Signatories 

to this latest commitment 

were Dr John Black, medical 

director for SCAS and retired 

lieutenant colonel, and Surgeon 

Commodore Stuart Collett 

CBE KHP. 

By signing the covenant, 

organisations give a formal 

commitment to ensure that 

members of the armed 

forces community are never 

disadvantaged through service life. 

Serving personnel, veterans and 

their families can sometimes be 

affected by the frequent house 

moves, separation from loved 

ones and support networks, 

and unfamiliarity with civilian life 

meaning they can find themselves 

on the back foot when accessing 

public goods and services, such 

as healthcare. 

Dr Black said: “It was a privilege 

to once again sign the Armed 

Forces Covenant on behalf of 

SCAS as a demonstration of our 

support to serving personnel, 

veterans, reservists and their 

families. 

“As well as taking into account 

the needs of the armed forces 

community in the development 

of our services and policies, 

I am also delighted that we 

continue to offer veterans and 

reservists a range of employment 

opportunities within SCAS.” 

28 


NEWLINE 

The covenant was signed at the 

end of a recruitment event hosted 

at the North Harbour Resource 

Centre by SCAS and the Career 

Transition Partnership (CTP). 

The CTP has been the official 

provider of resettlement support 

for leavers from the Armed 

Forces for over 20 years. 

At the event, SCAS opened its 

doors to serving members of 

the armed forces community as 

well as recent leavers, who were 

able to hear about the career 

opportunities in the emergency, 

NHS 111, patient transport and 

support services that SCAS 

provides. They were also able 

to speak to a number of military 

veterans who had already made 

the transition into SCAS and 

were enjoying successful and 

rewarding second careers. 

Laura Farrow, recruitment 

manager and military champion 

at SCAS, said: “Thank you to 

everyone who took the time to 

visit and from the conversations 

I had with attendees, people left 

with a deeper understanding 

about the services we provide 

and were excited about the 

opportunities we can offer them 

after they have finished their 

military service. 

“SCAS has over 150 veterans, 

reservists and military champions 

working in the organisation, 

some of whom enjoyed spending 

time showing visitors around our 

vehicles and equipment, and 

talking to them about their own 

real life experiences. 

“I am sure that today’s event, 

along with others we have 

planned, and the formal re-signing 



29

NEWLINE 


of the Armed Forces Covenant will 

continue to keep SCAS at the front 

of many people’s minds when 

considering a career after leaving 

the armed forces.” 


Service colleagues 

praised for long 

service 

THE Welsh Ambulance Service 

celebrated its long-serving 

staff and volunteers at an 

awards ceremony in North 

Wales yesterday. 

Colleagues with 20, 30, 40 

and 50 years of service were 

presented with medals at 

Deganwy’s Quay Hotel in an 

event to recognise length of 

service. 

Colleagues with 20 years 

in the Emergency Medical 

Service were also presented 

with a Long Service and Good 

Conduct Medal by the King’s 

representative in Clwyd, High 

Sheriff Kate Hill-Trevor. 

Among the recipients at 

yesterday’s event was urgent care 

assistant Trefor Lloyd Jones from 

Caernarfon, who was recognised 

for a half-century of service. 

Trefor joined the NHS in 1972 aged 

17, starting his career as a filing 

clerk at the Caernarfonshire and 

Anglesey (C&A) Hospital in Bangor. 

He worked his way up to clerical 

officer before joining Gwynedd 

Ambulance Service in 1977. 

Trefor said: “There was no such 

thing as a paramedic back then 

– I joined as an ‘ambulance man’ 

and that’s what we all were. 

“I did two weeks of training at 

the ambulance headquarters in 

Bodfan at Eryri Hospital, then six 

weeks at Wrenbury Hall in Crewe, 

and then I was qualified. 

“Back then, we did both 

emergencies and nonemergencies, 

so taking people to 

clinic appointments. 

“There was also a standby shift, 

which meant the duty ambulance 

driver would take the vehicle home 

and he’d get a call on his landline 

telephone from control if there was 

an emergency in the night.” 

Later qualifying as an Emergency 

Medical Technician, Trefor says 

a lot has changed in the last 

50 years. 

“In the 1970s, we were essentially 

just providing basic life support, 

and not a lot else,” he said. 

“We didn’t have the skills or 

equipment back then – in fact, 

the only equipment we had was 

a stretcher, splints, blankets 

and a ‘minuteman’ to help with 

resuscitation. 

“Our ‘ambulance’ was a Ford 

Transit with two stretchers in the 

back and a small blue light on 

the roof. 

“The standard of care has 

improved fantastically, but we’ve 

had no choice but to evolve 

because demand on the service 

has also increased drastically. 

“There’d be some nights where 

you wouldn’t turn the wheel of the 

ambulance, but these days, it can 

be job after job after job.” 

Trefor’s wife Julie recalls: “In the 

80s, I remember getting calls at 

home from the control room to say 

‘Trefor’s had a dirty job – please 

could you have a bath ready?’ 

“I’d have to run a hot bath and 

make sure the washer was empty 

so his dirty clothes could go 

straight in. 

“I’d also have a bowl of hot water 

and Savlon antiseptic by the back 

door for his stethoscope to go in 

and any loose change from his 

pocket. 

30 


NEWLINE 

“This was at the time of the 

meningitis outbreak, but there 

was no such thing then as PPE. 

“The ambulance service also 

gave us six vouchers a year 

for Johnson Cleaners, so we 

could take Trefor’s uniform to be 

laundered and dry cleaned.” 

Trefor added: “If we had a 

‘dirty’ job, we’d have to mix two 

chemicals together in a bowl 

and leave it in the back of the 

ambulance with the doors locked 

for it to have a reaction and 

disinfect everything.” 

Trefor, 68, whose nickname 

locally is ‘Trefor Ambulance’, is 

these days working part-time as 

an Urgent Care Assistant. 

He said: “Caernarfon is such a 

small community that everyone 

knows everyone. 

“Often, you’ll have people coming 

up to you to say ‘You helped my 

mam’ or ‘You helped my auntie.’ 

“One time, a woman came up to 

me and said ‘You see that boy 

there – you helped to deliver him.’ 

“He must have been about 

11-years-old but I did remember 

it – it’s a nice feeling.” 

Trefor, a father-of-four and a 

grandfather-of-five, has even 

inspired his two sons to follow in 

his footsteps. 

His eldest son Gareth, 44, 

works for the Royal Air Force in 

Bedford and is also a Community 

First Responder for the East of 

England Ambulance Service. 

His youngest son Dewi, 33, 

is a paramedic at the Welsh 

Ambulance Service in Bargoed, 

who next week takes up a new 

role as a Cymru High Acuity 

Response Unit Paramedic. 

Trefor added: “Of the 27 

colleagues who did their training 

back in 1977, I’m the last one 

standing, but I enjoy it as much 

now as I did on day one.” 

Almost 200 colleagues across the 

Trust have been invited to receive 

a Long Service Award this year. 

Patient-facing colleagues at 

yesterday’s event included 

paramedics, emergency medical 

technicians, call handlers, 

allocators and operations 

managers, while a practice 

educator, project support officer 

and a safeguarding specialist were 

among the corporate colleagues. 

Recipients came from all four 

corners of North Wales, including 

Holyhead, Bangor, Llanfairfechan, 

Rhyl, St Asaph, Wrexham, Ruthin, 

Dolgellau and Dobshill, Flintshire. 

Chief Executive Jason Killens 

said: “Working for the ambulance 

service is not just any job – it’s a 

job that makes a real difference. 

“Often when people are at their 

lowest ebb, our staff are the 

people to whom they turn, and 

it takes remarkable people to do 

the remarkable job they do, day 

in, day out. 

“It’s mindboggling to think that 

all the Long Service Awards we 

presented yesterday amount to 

more than 600 years of service.” 

Chair Colin Dennis added: “The 

reason the Welsh Ambulance 

Service is what it is rests with its 

people who work tirelessly, 24/7, 

to serve the people of Wales. 

“All our staff and volunteers 

play a part in saving lives and 

I am extremely proud of their 

achievements. 

“Congratulations to all of our 

recipients.” 



31

NEWLINE 


NHS Charities 

Together Patrons The 

Prince and Princess 

of Wales surprise 

health workers with 

75th anniversary 

party – even helping 

make the cake! 

Marking the 75th anniversary 

of the NHS on Wednesday 5th 

July, Their Royal Highnesses 

The Prince and Princess of 

Wales have surprised NHS 

staff and patients from across 

the UK with a very special NHS 

Big Tea party – even arriving 

early to help lay the tables, put 

finishing touches on a birthday 

cake, and debate the age-old 

question: jam or cream first. 

Hosted by NHS Charities Together 

– the national charity caring for 

the NHS, of which Their Royal 

Highnesses are Patrons – and 

television presenter Mel Giedroyc, 

the event was attended by 

members of the workforce and 

patients representing myriad 

achievements of the NHS and NHS 

charities over the last 75 years. It 

was held in the wellbeing garden of 

St Thomas’ Hospital in London – a 

wellbeing initiative funded by Guy’s 

and St Thomas’ Charity. 

The Prince and Princess met 

with guests ranging from Aneira 

Thomas, the first baby born on 

the NHS, to pioneers in research 

and those on the frontline tackling 

Covid-19. The guest list honoured 

staff past and present, including 

three generations of NHS workers 

from one family – inspired by 

grandmother and former nurse of 

nearly 50 years, Blanche Hines, 

who was part of the Windrush 

generation. 

Their Royal Highnesses 

discussed current challenges and 

thanked staff for the work they 

continue to do, and – in the spirit 

of the tea party – even attempted 

to settle the long-standing scone 

debate regarding jam or cream 

first, with The Princess voting for 

jam, and Prince William preferring 

whatever is closest. They 

concluded their visit with a video 

message for the entire NHS: 

“Wishing everyone a very happy 

75th birthday for the NHS. 

Thank you so much for all 

you do.” 

Ellie Orton OBE, Chief 

Executive of NHS Charities 

Together, said: “We want to 

say a huge thank you to our 

Royal Patrons, and everyone 

who’s helped celebrate the 75th 

anniversary of our beloved NHS 

this year. As the national charity 

caring for the NHS, NHS Charities 

Together is here for anyone who 

wants to give something back to 

its people, who all give so much 

to us, and that extra support 

has never been so important. 

It includes providing staff 

psychologists, counselling, peer 

support training and so much 

more. 

“It’s not too late to arrange 

your own NHS Big Tea party 

and raise vital funds to support 

NHS charities – find out 

how you can get involved at 

nhscharitiestogether.co.uk.” 

Dr Neil Rees, a Consultant 

Clinical Psychologist leading 

the staff wellbeing programme 

at Guy’s and St Thomas’, which 

has benefited from NHS charity 

funding, said: “The Prince of 

Wales was very mindful of the 

support that’s been given by 

NHS charities and how essential 

that is, and really understood 

the issues and complexities 

– particularly with the current 

challenges we’re facing. The 

pandemic shone a light on the 

needs of staff, but he was keen 

to talk about how we maintain the 

care roles like mine provide, and 

how charities play a major role in 

that. It was incredibly special to 

be recognised in that way.” 

Eurovision and former Great- 

British Bake Off presenter 

Mel Giedroyc was the host 

for the event on behalf of 

NHS Charities Together, and 

said: “The NHS is part of our 

DNA in this country so it was 

an utter privilege to be involved 

in this NHS Big Tea surprise to 

celebrate 75 years of the NHS 

and NHS charities. People were 

so delighted and it was just a 

quintessentially lovely, British day, 

celebrating our health service 

that we all love so much. I hope 

we will continue to love and take 

care of it for the next 750 years, 

because it’s something truly 

precious – and what would we do 

without it? I have it to thank for 

my hernia operations!” 

The Prince and Princess of 

Wales became Royal Patrons 

for NHS Charities Together in 

December 2020, during the 

height of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Since then, their support for 

the charity has helped to shine 

a light on the incredible and 

ongoing contribution of the NHS 

workforce and the role of NHS 

charities in helping the NHS go 

further for everyone. 

Now entering its sixth year, the 

NHS Big Tea brings the nation 

together to celebrate the NHS 

and raise funds to provide the 

extra support needed for staff, 

patients, and volunteers. All 

funds raised from the NHS Big 

Tea contribute to key projects 

supporting the incredible NHS 

workforce, the long-term recovery 

of the NHS following Covid-19, 

and projects improving care for 

patients and communities. 

To find out more about the 

work of NHS charities, or how 

you can host your own NHS 

Big Tea event pack, please visit 

www.nhscharitiestogether. 

co.uk 

Six new community 

first responder cars 

for the South Western 

Ambulance Service 

thanks to NHS 

Charities Together 

Thanks to a £128,000 grant 

from NHS Charities Together, 

patient care provided by 

South Western Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust 

volunteer Community First 

Responders, will be boosted 

by the arrival of six new Dacia 

Dusters response vehicles. 

The new vehicles were officially 

presented to the ambulance 

service at an event at Buckfast 

Abbey in Devon, on the last day of 

Volunteers’ Week. 

Every day, volunteers from across 

the South West support the South 

Western Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust (SWASFT) by 

attending emergencies within 

their local communities ahead 

of an emergency ambulance. 

Sometimes the difference is 

providing reassurance; sometimes 

it is saving someone’s life. 

In the last 12 months, Community 

First Responders were mobilised 

approximately 24,000 times, to 

medical emergencies such as: 

cardiac arrests, chest pains, 

breathing difficulties and patients 

who had fallen. 

The grant was secured by the 

South Western Ambulance 

Charity as part of a collaborative 

project with the Trust’s 

Volunteering and Community 

Services team and delivered with 

the support of the Fleet team. 

Each car has been converted and 

equipped with a full Community 

First Responder kit including 

a defibrillator and observation 

equipment. Each car also carries 

a Raizer lifting chair to assist 

32 


TESTED 

ADVANCED 

AMBULANCE SEATING 

patients who have had a fall. 

Will Warrender, Chief Executive 

of SWASFT, said: “The funding 

received by the South Western 

Ambulance Charity is enabling us 

to better support our volunteers, 

who, in turn provide incredible 

support to the communities 

they serve. 

“The six cars that are being 

provided through the charity 

will enable Community First 

Responders to respond to 

emergencies across a wider 

geographic area and support the 

training of new volunteers through 

observer shifts.” 

Zoe Larter, Head of South 

Western Ambulance Charity, said: 

“We would like to thank NHS 

Charities Together for awarding 

us this grant. It’s really going to 

make a huge difference and help 

improve the patient care delivered 

by our dedicated volunteers.” 

Ellie Orton OBE, Chief Executive 

of NHS Charities Together, 

said: “NHS Charities Together 

is the national charity caring for 

the NHS, and we’re delighted 

to support South Western 

Ambulance Charity with this 

project. Our ambulance services 

are facing pressures on a colossal 

scale, and CFRs provide vital 

support when every second 

counts. We hope these new 

response vehicles will help them 

reach vulnerable patients even 

faster in emergency incidents – 

and ultimately help save lives.” 

SWASFT has over 500 active 

volunteers who support the 

service in patient-facing and 

non-patient facing roles. To find 

out about volunteering roles at the 

Trust and to express an interest, 

please visit - https://www.swast. 

nhs.uk/welcome/community-firstresponders/volunteer-recruitment. 

The cars will enhance the 

work of the Community First 

Responders in their communities 

by supporting operational 

requirements in the following 

ways: 

• Additional response vehicles 

to extend Community First 

Responder capacity and 

improve patient experience 

• Provided a response vehicle 

that allows two Community 

First Responders to respond 

together to patients across the 

South West 

• Volunteer training activities, 

such as experienced crew 

members taking out new 

volunteers on familiarisation 

shifts 

• For double-crewed shifts to 

enhance skills or to enable work 

with other professionals 

Cars may also be used to target 

specific types of incidents, e.g. as 

a Falls Vehicle or Welfare Support 

Car, or to work alongside a skilled 

professional such as with the 

Mental Health Team or Home 

Treatment Team. 

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33

NEWLINE 


A Day in the Life Of 

… a 999 call handler 

mentor 

After 15 years of answering 

emergency ambulance calls, 

Suman Legah has heard it all, 

and now she spends most 

of her days mentoring and 

inspiring the next generation 

of 999 call handlers. We joined 

her to see what a day in her life 

is like. 

“Ambulance service, is the patient 

breathing?” 

One ring of the phone is all our 

Emergency Medical Dispatchers 

have before they speak directly 

to someone in their hour of need, 

and the first call of today is for an 

elderly lady who has had a fall 

in a Lincolnshire care home and 

suffered a nasty head injury. 

Emergency call handler and 

mentor Suman Legah carefully 

and calmly takes all the details 

needed for an ambulance to be 

dispatched, before talking the 

concerned carer through how to 

stop the bleeding with a clean, dry 

towel. Suman reassures the caller 

an ambulance will be sent as soon 

as possible and ends the call to 

take the next one. 

The phone rings again, this time 

a General Practitioner (GP) with a 

patient experiencing chest pain, 

followed by a call for an elderly 

lady stranded on the toilet for 10 

hours having been found by her 

carers when they arrived for their 

morning visit. 

Suman explains that while she’s 

taken some very traumatic calls 

over the years, it’s actually these 

elderly patients who concern her 

the most. 

She said: “It’s the older callers 

that get me – the little Dorises – if 

people aren’t looking out for each 

other now, what is it going to 

be like for me when I’m older. It 

makes you think. 

“I once took a call from the police 

who had forced entry to an elderly 

woman’s house and found she 

had been on the floor for two 

weeks – no medication, no food, 

no water – no-one had checked 

up on her. But she was still alive! 

“As it was a fall, the call was 

automatically categorised as a 

Category 3, so I immediately went 

over to our Clinical Assessment 

Team to ask them to upgrade it 

given the circumstances so we 

could get there as quickly as 

possible.” 

The two EMAS 999 control 

rooms – one in Bracebridge Heath 

in Lincolnshire and one near 

Nuthall in Nottinghamshire – take 

challenging calls every day, and 

so Suman explains that anyone 

looking to join as a 999 call 

handler needs to be emotionally 

resilient to cope with such calls. 

Suman said: “I’ve taken calls from 

people who have seen loved ones 

stabbed, or drivers who have 

come across traumatic road traffic 

collisions where the patient’s limbs 

have come off due to the force of 

the impact. It’s the picture painted 

in your mind by the caller which 

can be difficult. 

“You also get the callers who 

shout and swear at you – it gets 

easier over the years, but I am 

human too. 

“All I can do is my best for each 

caller, which means taking control 

of the situation, getting the 

information I need to send help 

to them, and providing them with 

reassurance until an ambulance 

crew can arrive.” 

To help her process and reflect 

on the calls she answers, Suman 

walks around 16,000 steps a day 

– including walks before her 6am 

shift starts, in her 45-minute meal 

break, and to help her wind down 

when she gets home to Ilkeston in 

Derbyshire. 

She said: “I don’t sleep much and 

I’m an early riser so I’m up before 

4am and do some yoga, prayer, 

read, have a shower and a cup of 

tea, and then come to work about 

half an hour early. 

“Then I park up, do a few laps 

around the headquarters site as 

I love walking, and then I set my 

desk up, log in, and I’m ready to 

take on whatever comes my way. 

“After work I use the time to 

think about what I could have 

done better, but without beating 

myself up.” 

Before becoming a 999 call 

handler, Suman travelled the world 

as a buyer for big-name brands 

such as BHS, Asda and Tesco. 

After getting married, she stopped 

travelling and looked for a more 

local role and began working in 

the control room at EMAS. 

She said: “I was very intimidated 

coming to work in the office as 

everyone knew more than me 

and I kept worrying ‘what if I 

kill someone?’. 

“Back then you only had three 

shifts with a mentor and then you 

were taking calls by yourself. Now 

we mentor new colleagues for 

around 10 to 12 shifts. I make sure 

they feel confident and reassured 

and know they can still always 

come to me to ask anything they 

are not sure about.” 

Suman’s first solo shift was tough, 

especially as the first call she ever 

answered was for someone who 

had taken their own life and there 

was little she could do to help 

them. 

She said: “In my mind I hadn’t 

helped because the patient had 

died, and there wasn’t much 

support back then for us. I went 

home and cried, and then carried 

my resignation letter in my bag 

with me for six months. 

“However, it turned out I needed 

to give the job a chance, and 

within six months it all started 

coming together and I was asked 

to become a mentor for new 

colleagues. 

“Now I say to my mentees that 

they need to give the role six to 

nine months, and then one day it 

will all suddenly click in your head, 

and you’ll walk in buzzing, and 

you won’t need to ask anyone 

anything.” 

Throughout her EMAS career to 

date, Suman estimates that she’s 

mentored somewhere between 30 

and 40 people, and every single 

one of them have passed their 

Emergency Medical Dispatcher 

certification. 

However, she is clear that people 

applying for the role need to be a 

certain type of person and willing 

to work bank holidays, weekends, 

days and nights as part of a shift 

pattern. 

Suman added: “This job isn’t 

for everyone. You need to be 

confident and assertive, and 

you cannot get upset after every 

traumatic call. At the end of the 

day, if you are not alert enough 

and practising active listening with 

each caller to catch something 

which may indicate that someone 

is seriously unwell, then someone 

could die. 

“This is a really serious job, and 

I need to feel confident that all 

my colleagues around me in the 

control room are able to do the 

right thing for our patients. 

“We need to be following the 

script for compliance, but 

without it sounding like we are 

reading from a script, still making 

it personal for them, and still 

thinking outside the box when we 

34 


NEWLINE 

need to in order to do the right 

(Gorseinon), Tamsin Turner 

the island, but if you think the 

hosted the visit. 

thing for that patient.” 

(Pembroke Dock), Callum 

domestic calls would be in any 

Paramedics 

switch gears at TT 

motorsport festival 

PARAMEDICS from the Welsh 

Ambulance Service have been 

supporting the world-famous 

TT motorsport festival in the 

Isle of Man. 

McNamara (Holyhead), Aimee 

Griffiths (Dobshill), Amanda Binks 

(Aberystwyth) and Lesley Spanner 

(Gorseinon) were picked to attend. 

The team were led across the 

two-week period by Dorian 

James, operations manager 

in Powys. 

Dorian said: “The TT is a fantastic 

learning experience, and you 

way dull, you couldn’t be more 

wrong. 

“The island’s Mountain Road has 

no speed limit and unfortunately, 

lots of race-goers and tourists had 

accidents here, so what we saw 

was predominantly trauma jobs. 

“We worked really closely with the 

Isle of Man Ambulance Service 

and Great North Air Ambulance, 

He said: “We had an absolutely 

brilliant welcome from the Isle of 

Man Ambulance Service. 

“From the managers to the ‘makeready’ 

staff, they couldn’t do 

enough for us. 

“We presented them with a Welsh 

dragon plaque at the end of the 

trip as a token of our appreciation. 

Every May and June, the world’s 

greatest road racers gather on 

the Isle of Man to test themselves 

against the 37.73 mile ‘Mountain 

Course’ carved out of the island’s 

public roads. 

The festival attracts 40,000 visitors 

annually, and when the Isle of 

Man Ambulance Service made an 

appeal for mutual aid, the Welsh 

Ambulance Service answered. 

acquire so many new skills. 

“For example, we learnt in 

our induction how to perform 

a surgical airway procedure 

and how to use a ‘Lucas-3’ 

device to deliver mechanical 

chest compressions, a piece of 

equipment which only high acuity 

paramedics in Wales are trained 

to use. 

which flew patients from the island 

to the UK mainland. 

“Callum even got opportunity to 

spend time on the air ambulance 

and ended up in Liverpool and 

Northern Ireland during some 

of the transfers. 

“It was a completely different way 

of working there.” 

“I’d encourage all of my WAST 

colleagues to think about applying 

next year.” 

Clare Langshaw, the Welsh 

Ambulance Service’s Head 

of Emergency Preparedness, 

Resilience and Response, 

said: “Mutual aid arrangements 

like this not only enable us 

to deliver services across 

geographic boundaries but it’s 

“Our job was to attend the 

Dorian has extended a thanks to 

also a wonderful opportunity for 

Paramedics Sarah Raddenbury 

‘business as usual’ activity on 

the Isle of Man colleagues who 

individuals to develop their skills 

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35

NEWLINE 

and get a whole new perspective 

on things. 

“It helps to strengthen 

relationships with our partner 

agencies, as well as introduce us 

to new people and new ideas.” 

Judith Bryce, Assistant Director of 

Operations for National Operations 

and Support, said: “This is the 

second year that we’ve supported 

the TT event, and each year, 

colleagues come back with bags 

of enthusiasm having experienced 

something completely different, 

and lots of ideas for improvement 

based on what they observed. 

“We’re proud and grateful to these 

seven colleagues for flying the flag 

for Wales in such a professional 

way.” 

Will Bellamy, Head of the Isle of 

Man Ambulance Service, added: 

“I’d like to take this opportunity 

to offer my personal thanks to 

Dorian, Sarah, Tamsin, Callum, 

Aimee, Amanda and Lesley for 

their invaluable support during the 

TT fortnight, and for their tireless 

devotion in keeping both Manx 

residents and visitors to the island 

as safe as possible. 

“It was a great opportunity for our 

teams to be able to learn from 

their Welsh colleagues too. 

Chief Executive Jason Killens 

(Credit: Wales Online) 

King’s Ambulance Service Medal 

for distinguished service, it was 

announced tonight. 

Meanwhile, Volunteer Car Service 

Driver Ian Cross has been 

awarded a British Empire Medal 

for services to the Trust. 

The King’s Birthday Honours 

List recognises the outstanding 

achievements of people across 

the UK, from all walks of life. 

Colin Dennis, Chair of the Welsh 

Ambulance Service, said: “We’re 

beyond thrilled that Jason and 

of highly skilled, engaged and 

healthy people, and it shines 

through in all he does. 

“These awards recognise the 

dedication of some of our very 

best ambulance professionals, 

and I’d like to extend a huge 

congratulations to Jason and Ian.” 

Jason began his career as an 

Emergency Medical Technician 

at London Ambulance Service, 

where he held various senior 

leadership roles, including 

Executive Director of Operations. 

“I’ve had 27 years in ambulance 

services in the UK and Australia 

and I love it as much now as I did 

on day one. 

“Ambulance work for me is all 

about doing the best we can for 

our people and our patients, so the 

King’s Ambulance Service Medal is 

as much for them as it is for me. 

“A huge congratulations also to 

Ian, who is an integral cog in the 

wheel of our non-emergency 

service.” 

Ian Cross, a civil servant from 

Pontypool, volunteers two days 

per week to take patients to their 

hospital appointments, including 

dialysis, oncology and outpatient 

appointments. 

Ian, who is severely deaf, is usually 

accompanied by his hearing dog 

Buddy, a 10-year-old Cocker 

Spaniel trained to assist Ian by 

alerting him to important sounds, 

like smoke alarms. 

In 2022/23, Volunteer Car Service 

Drivers made 51,924 journeys 

across Wales and covered more 

than one and a half million miles in 

their own vehicles. 

Ian, 53, said: “I couldn’t believe 

it when the letter landed on my 

doormat. 


“I look forward to welcoming 

more colleagues from the Welsh 

Ambulance Service to the island 

in 2024!” 


Service staff 

recognised in King’s 

Birthday Honours List 

TWO Welsh Ambulance Service 

staff have been recognised in 

His Majesty the King’s Birthday 

Honours List. 

Chief Executive Jason Killens has 

been awarded the prestigious 

Ian have been recognised in 

King Charles’ first Birthday 

Honours List. 

“We’re incredibly proud of all 

colleagues who go the extra mile 

for patients, at all levels, including 

hard-working volunteers like Ian. 

“Jason meanwhile has a near 

30-year ambulance service career, 

his talent and tenacity as a Chief 

Executive taking him literally 

around the globe. 

“He’s passionate about the 

delivery of high quality patient care 

in partnership with a workforce 

He was appointed the Chief 

Executive of the South Australia 

Ambulance Service in 2015 before 

joining the Welsh Ambulance 

Service as Chief Executive 

in 2018. 

He is an Honorary Professor at 

Swansea University’s College 

of Human and Health Sciences, 

and the Chief Executive lead for 

Operations at the Association of 

Ambulance Chief Executives. 

Jason, 48, said: “I’m proud and 

delighted to be recognised in the 

King’s Birthday Honours List. 

“I saw ‘On His Majesty’s Service’ 

and thought: ‘Oh no, I’m in 

trouble.’ 

“I was shaking like a leaf and it 

gave me goose bumps to read – 

I have goose bumps talking about 

it even now. 

“Poor old Buddy was wondering 

where his tea was because I just 

kept re-reading the letter. 

“The fact that it’s the King’s first 

Birthday Honours List makes 

me especially proud, and I’m 

really looking forward to the 

presentation of the medal.” 

36 


NEWLINE 

To learn more about becoming 

a Volunteer Car Service Driver, 

visit: Become a Volunteer 

Car Service Driver - Welsh 

Ambulance Services NHS Trust 

Secretary of State for Wales, 

David TC Davies, said: “It is 

incredibly inspiring to hear 

about the extraordinary and 

invaluable work of so many people 

from across Wales who have 

deservedly been recognised in the 

King’s Birthday Honours. 

“Welsh recipients from a wide 

range of fields have been 

recognised, whether it’s for 

their commitment to their local 

community, their contribution 

to sport, education, culture or 

health – and I’m thrilled that 

their endeavours have been 

commended. 

“I would like to congratulate all the 

recipients being honoured and 

thank each and every one for their 

contribution.” 

LGBT+ staff survey 

finds EEAST ‘a 

modern and inclusive 

organisation’ 

Chief executive recognises 

progress, but says there is 

‘much further to go’. 

The East of England Ambulance 

Service is publishing the results 

of an independent survey of 

colleagues who identify as LGBT+. 

https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/ 

about-us/equality-and-diversitysurveys.htm 

This follows independent surveys 

of BME staff and employees living 

with a disability and is part of 

the Trust’s on-going programme 

to making EEAST an inclusive 

environment for everyone. 

65% of LGBT staff took part 

and shared their views. 72% of 

respondents reported that they 

consider the Trust to be ‘a modern 

and inclusive organisation, which 

recognises and embraces people 

of all sexual orientations and 

different gender identities.’ 

Tom Abell, CEO of EEAST, said: 

“We have made good progress in 

improving the culture at EEAST as 

evidenced by our improved Care 

Quality Commission report and 

the lifting of CQC and European 

Human Rights Commission 

conditions. We are also optimistic 

that our results from our recent 

staff survey show that we are 

beginning to move in the right 

direction. 

“However, we still have much 

further to go in making our 

Trust an inclusive environment 

for everyone. The key areas 

to improve include ensuring 

that our staff are confident that 

complaints or concerns raised 

within EEAST are taken seriously 

and not dismissed, trivialised, 

or explained away, and that we 

tackle ignorance that can lead to 

discrimination. 

“We have a three-year plan to 

make EEAST a more inclusive 

place to work and have a skilled 

team in the Strategy, Culture and 

Education Directorate to drive 

forward this plan. We will work 

with our employee networks to 

ensure that the voice of our people 

is represented and valued in all 

our plans.” 

Ground-breaking 

degree turns out first 

qualified paramedics 

A group of London Ambulance 

Service medics are celebrating 

completing a new twoyear 

university degree in 

paramedicine. 

The 45 students are the first 


cohort to graduate from 

the University of Cumbria’s 

Paramedicine Course. 

The new programme, which is 

fully-funded for the students and 

started in 2021, aims to make 

becoming a paramedic more 

accessible and allows clinicians 

who are already on the frontline to 

continue to work while they earn 

their degree. 

Lee Knowles, 50, from East 

London, was a driving instructor 

until the age of 46. He started 

working on ambulances four 

years ago and is one of the frontline 

workers to benefit from the 

programme. 

He said: “I got my paramedic 

registration this month (July) as I 

turned 50. At my age, to be given 

the opportunity to go back to 

university, debt-free, was amazing. 

It has opened many doors for me. 

“I left school at 16, with good 

enough GCSEs. But 30 years 

ago, I would have never thought 

I would have joined an ambulance 

service and even possibly become 

a qualified paramedic.” 

Donna Buckman, 35, from Surrey, 

worked as a florist before joining 

the Service at 30. She said the 

course was a challenging but 

rewarding experience: 

“I don’t think I would have 

considered a degree without this 

opportunity. 

“I was diagnosed with dyslexia 

years ago and more recently with 

dyscalculia. I knew that would be 

a challenge, but I tried not to let 

that get in the way. 

“When I saw I had finished with 

a first, I was shocked. I didn’t 

know I could do it because I 

found the academic side of 

things challenging. I hope my 

achievement inspires other 

neurodivergent people to not give 

up on their dreams.” 

Jamie Haig, 47, from North 

London, became an ambulance 

worker in 2019 after a career in IT. 

He said: “I went through a period 

in my life when I needed change. 

I became an Emergency Medical 

Technician four years ago and that 

change was wonderful – I wish I’d 

done it 20 years ago. 

“But as fantastic as the Technician 

job was, I wanted to qualify as 

a paramedic. It was great to be 

back in the classroom, I loved the 

academic challenge. This degree 

has opened up a huge number of 

options for me. I have nothing but 

gratitude for this job.” 

Dr John Martin, Chief Paramedic 

at London Ambulance Service, 

joined the celebrations at 

University of Cumbria and said: 

“Huge congratulations to the 

graduates – it’s incredibly 

inspiring to see them get to 

this milestone. Studying for a 

university degree while working 

on the frontline can be extremely 

challenging, so everyone should 

be immensely proud! 

“We know demand on our 

services continues to grow and 

the need to secure a pipeline 

of paramedics is a key priority. 

This degree has created a new 

route, helping our staff gain the 

same standards of education as 

those who take the usual degree 

route, while continuing to work on 

the frontline. 

“It has also proved to be an 

amazing opportunity for those 

who may have thought university 

wasn’t for them and we hope it will 

help us attract a more diverse pool 

of talent from the local area.” 

The new degree programme 

runs alongside the successful 

Associate Ambulance Practitioner 

apprenticeship, which is a route to 

becoming an Emergency Medical 

Technician (EMT) without any prior 



37

NEWLINE 

medical qualifications. Following 

the apprenticeship, frontline 

workers can move onto the 

two-year degree course without 

pausing their careers. 

In 2022, London Ambulance 

Service launched the most 

ambitious recruitment programme 

in its history. In the last year, 1600 

people have joined the Service 

including 900 frontline ambulance 

staff and 370 call handlers. The 

increased numbers mean the 

Service now has around 400 

ambulances on the road every 

day responding to 999 calls – 100 

more than pre-pandemic levels. 

Last year, London Ambulance 

Service was ranked as the top 

NHS employer for apprenticeships 

in the country by the Department 

for Education – ahead of big 

name companies like Tesco 

and Amazon. 

Magpas Air 

Ambulance signs 

the Armed Forces 

Covenant, alongside 

armed forces 

personnel and the 

Lord Lieutenant of 

Cambridgeshire, 

Julie Spence OBE 

Cambridgeshire-based charity 

Magpas Air Ambulance 

received a Gold Award in the 

Defence Employer Recognition 

Scheme for its support of 

Armed Forces personnel 

on 12 July. It’s a coveted 

achievement, with only a 

handful of businesses in the 

UK receiving the award—which 

is the highest badge of honour 

available in the scheme and 

recognises the positive role that 

employers play in supporting 

the Armed Forces community. 

Not only does it make the charity 

one of a small percentage 

of companies across the UK 

to achieve this, Magpas Air 

Ambulance has also become the 

first air ambulance in the UK to 

receive the Gold Award too. 

The Defence Employer 

Recognition Scheme confirmed 

the charity was to receive the 

Gold Award after Magpas Air 

Ambulance made a series 

of pledges and worked for 

accreditations to demonstrate 

the charity’s support for 

their colleagues in the forces 

over the past few years. This 

included signing the Armed 

Forces Covenant in 2021, which 

represents a promise to those 

who serve or have served—and 

their families—that they will be 

supported and treated fairly by 

the charity. 

Magpas Air Ambulance’s Chief 

Executive Daryl Brown MBE 

DL, who is also Honorary 

Commander for the US Air 

Force, 423rd Medical Squadron 

of the 501st Combat Support 

Wing, summarises, “Magpas Air 

Ambulance has a really strong 

relationship with the Armed 

Forces, with a number of our 

founding doctors coming from 

army and RAF backgrounds. For 

over 50 years, this partnership 

has thrived—with Magpas Air 

Ambulance continuing to host 

many Armed Forces doctors, 

paramedics and flight crew—and 

some of our non-clinical staff 

are current or former service 

personnel, including two trustees. 

“As a charity we have signed up 

to the Armed Forces Covenant 

and we’re incredibly proud of 

our colleagues who have and 

continue to serve in the Armed 

Forces, as well as their families, 

and will always ensure they are 

treated fairly and get the support 

they need from Magpas Air 


38 


NEWLINE 

Ambulance. As well as signing 

the Armed Forces Covenant 

and working with the Defence 

Employer Recognition Scheme, 

we also have a partnership with 

our local medical reserve force 

(254 medical regiment), and 

are proud to have a reservists 

policy—which has been 

developed in consultation with 

our Armed Forces personnel. We 

also work closely with the US Air 

Force bases and international 

forces located in our region. 

We hope all of this supports 

our current workforce and will 

encourage other members of the 

forces to join this 24/7 lifesaving 

service.” 

Natalie Church, Magpas 

Air Ambulance Director of 

Operations, continues “One of 

our charity’s greatest strengths 

is our dedication to education 

and training—including learning 

from other services, such as 

the Armed Forces. The Magpas 

Air Ambulance medical team 

regularly utilise procedures and 

equipment that are used on 

the battlefield and endorsed 

by our military staff to enhance 

patient care. 

“The skills and experience of 

our Armed Forces personnel 

complement our lifesaving 

service, and in return Magpas 

Air Ambulance provides these 

clinicians with the opportunity 

to not only maintain but further 

develop their clinical expertise 

in the field when they’re not on 

active operations.” 

Magpas Air Ambulance, the 

charity that saves lives 24/7 

across the whole of the east of 

England by bringing pre-hospital 

emergency care to critically ill 

and injured patients is not state 

funded and relies on generous 

public donations to continue 

saving lives. To find out more 

about the service, just visit: 

https://magpas.org.uk/. 

Great-grandad 

recalls ambulance 

career as 

paramedics 

transport him back 

to the sixties 

A 98-year-old man with 

dementia was able to recall 

events from his career on 

London ambulances when two 

paramedics visited his care 

home in a 1960s ambulance 

and wearing uniform dating 

back to that time. 

Albert Gibbs, a Normandy 

veteran from the Second World 

War who worked on ambulances 

in London between 1965 and 

1990, now lives in Essex and 

often refers back to his time as an 

ambulance worker, but memory 

loss means many important 

events from his career have 

been forgotten. 

However, when London 

Ambulance Service paramedics 

Craig Henty and Terence 

Thomson visited him recently in 

an original 1967 Morris Wadhams 

ambulance and period uniforms, 

it took him right back to his days 

as a medic. 

He immediately said: “I wore the 

same uniform and the same hat. 

Then, he added: “I recognise 

your badge. It’s from the northeast 

sector, where I used to 

work. I was stationed at Ilford, 

but sometimes also worked 

in Romford.” 

Before visiting, Craig and Terence 

had researched material from 

Albert’s time in the ambulance 

through the Service’s Historic 

Collection and traced thank-you 

letters from patients Albert had 

cared for, as well as pictures of a 

work holiday he had organised. 

Albert said: “I had a holiday club 

that people called ‘Gibbs Tours’. 

I once arranged a weekend in 

Benidorm and got 43 people to 

go, including ambulance workers, 

nurses, doctors, and their 

families. It was a good weekend!” 

Reminiscing about some 

important jobs he attended, he 

said: “I delivered five babies and 

saved a person who fell under 

a train. 

“I had a good time and a lot of 

laughs at the Service, especially 

when I rang the ambulance 

bell on the Woolwich ferry. We 

weren’t allowed to do that, but I 

did it once and then sped down 

the ferry. It got me into some 

troubles!” 

Craig Henty, London Ambulance 

Service Paramedic and Head of 

Historic Collections, commented: 

“I sat with Albert in the back of 

the ambulance for a chat and it 

felt as if we had just finished a 

job together. 

“His mannerism and familiarity 

with the vehicle are classic 

of someone who works in an 

ambulance. He even rested his 

feet on the rail in front of him and 

that’s exactly what an ambulance 

crew would do. 

“I was amazed to see that 

the experience brought him 

right back.” 

Head Nurse at Elizabeth House 

Care Home Tracy McGuinness 

explained that people with 

dementia can benefit from visual 

and sensory cues to stimulate 

their brain and trigger their 

memory. 

She said: “It was emotional to 

see Albert recall his time as an 

ambulance worker. 

“We encourage our patients to relive 

important experiences from 

their lives as that keeps their brain 

engaged and can reduce their 

cognitive decline. We try to keep 

their mind ticking and give them 

purpose.” 

Albert Gibbs’ daughter Elaine 

Dettmar said: “My dad served in 

the ambulance service for many 

years and that was a huge part of 

his life – it was moving to help him 

re-live it. 

“As he talked and engaged with 

the pictures more memories were 

coming out.” 

Throughout his 25-year 

ambulance career, Albert Gibbs 

saw the development of what 

grew to be known as ‘London 

Ambulance Service’, which 

today is the busiest emergency 

ambulance service in the world. 

On the year he became a medic, 

in 1965, a London-wide service 

was formed in the capital after 

nine existing services merged 

together, comprising nearly 1,000 

vehicles and 2,500 staff. 

In 1974, when the National Health 

Service was reorganised, the 

Service was transferred from the 

control of local government to 

the South West Thames Regional 

Health Authority. 

Service managers continued to 

report to South West Thames 

until 1 April 1996, when the 

organisation became an NHS 

trust. London Ambulance Service 

as we know it today officially 

came into being. 

This year, the NHS celebrates 

75 years since post-war 

reorganisation led to the National 

Health Service Act of 1948. As 

part of this, for the first time, 

there was a requirement for 

ambulances to be available for 

all those who needed them. 


collects original items that trace 

the history of the Service in its 

Historic Collection. This includes 



39

NEWLINE 

horse carriages and blitz 

ambulances from the Second 

World War, as well as medical 

equipment, uniforms, and medals 

of historical significance. 

NHS 111 staff to 

move into new 

ambulance centre 

in Gillingham 

Staff from South East Coast 

Ambulance’s NHS 111 service 

will begin to move into a new 

multi-purpose ambulance and 

contact centre in Gillingham 

this week. 

The staff, who are currently 

based in Ashford, Kent, are 

expected to move in to the 

building from Wednesday, 28 

June. They will join their 999 

frontline operations colleagues 

who moved into the building 

earlier this month with both teams 

being joined later this year by 

their 999 Emergency Operations 

Centre (EOC) colleagues. 

The multi-purpose centre, in 

Bredgar Road, Gillingham, 

will consist of a Make Ready 

Centre, EOC, and NHS 111 

contact centre. It will be the first 

ambulance centre in the country 

to bring all three functions 

together under one roof. 

people across both 999 and 111 

services. 

John J O’Sullivan, Associate 

Director for Integrated Care (999 

& 111) at SECAmb said: “I’m 

really pleased that our NHS 111 

teams will be joining their frontline 

colleagues at the new centre this 

week. This is an important move 

as we continue to evolve and 

share best practice across our 

999 and 111 functions. 

“I would like to thank all those 

involved in this project which is a 

significant undertaking and which 

will be of real benefit to the Trust 

and our patients. I wish everyone 

well in their new home.” 

Resuscitation 

Council UK raise 

awareness of the 

urgent need for a 

rehabilitation plan 

for survivors of 

cardiac arrest at 

Westminster event 

On Monday 19 June, 

Resuscitation Council UK 

(RCUK) hosted a parliamentary 

event to raise awareness of the 

urgent need to have a recovery 

plan to ensure people who have 

a cardiac arrest get the follow 

up care they urgently need. 

Cross party MPs and Lords 

attended the successful event, 

where they heard powerful 

testimonies from cardiac arrest 

survivors, who spoke about their 

challenging individual and family 

experiences, and the significant 

barriers to recovery and quality of 

life post-arrest. They highlighted 

the absence of a formal care 

pathway for post cardiac arrest 

care across the UK. 

A cardiac arrest is the ultimate 

medical emergency, when the 

heart stops beating, and the 

individual is clinically dead. Yet 

cardiac arrest survivors are not 

offered the same well-established 

rehabilitation services that stroke, 

and heart attack survivors get. 

My Right To Cardiac Arrest 

Recovery campaign raises 

awareness of the lack of support 

available for individuals who have 

experienced a cardiac arrest and 

aims to achieve a formal care plan 

for cardiac arrest survivors, which is 

consistently applied across the UK. 

Lord Aberdare said: “I was 

delighted to attend Resuscitation 

Council UK’s parliamentary event 

on Monday 19th June: ‘My Right 

to Cardiac Arrest Recovery’. 

“I spoke to many cardiac arrest 

survivors and their families, 

who told me that as a result 

of a cardiac arrest, they often 

struggle with anxiety, depression, 

and post-traumatic stress. They 

explained that the support 

available for cardiac arrest 

care is inconsistent across the 

UK, and there needs to be a 

formal care pathway, similar to 

what heart attack and stroke 

survivors receive. 

“I support this campaign and 

believe everyone has the right to 

make their best possible recovery 

after a cardiac arrest.” 

To ensure cardiac arrest survivors 

receive the care and support they 

need, RCUK are asking people 

to sign a petition to get MPs to 

prioritise this very important issue. 

James Cant, CEO at 

Resuscitation Council UK, said: 

“It is great to have everyone 

in one room to get this very 

important conversation going, 

so we can begin to implement 

change. 

“Currently, we are failing people 

who survive a cardiac arrest - 


Integrating both 999 and 

111 services is a key part of 

SECAmb’s aim to deliver more 

joined up integrated care and 

to increase efficiency. The 

development will also bring the 

east of SECAmb’s region in 

line with its West Emergency 

Operations Centre (including NHS 

111), based in Crawley, which 

opened in 2017. 

The new centre will provide 

the Trust with greater contact 

centre capacity and provide 

greater resilience and operational 

flexibility. It will also bring local 

recruitment opportunities for 

40 


NEWLINE 

there is no personalised care plan 

for rehabilitation for these patients, 

they are often sent home with 

severe neurological, physical, and 

emotional difficulties, missing out 

on the vital services they need to 

help them recover. 

“Please take a spare moment to 

sign our petition or write to your 

local MP, as a cardiac arrest can 

happen to anyone and anytime – 

meaning it could be a loved one, 

so although you may not think 

this concerns you now, it may do 

in the future.” 

Data suggests that as little as 

29% of survivors of out of hospital 

cardiac arrest are assessed for 

neurological rehabilitation in their 

post-cardiac arrest care, and 

psychological reviews are only 

offered to 20% of survivors. 

RCUK is developing a new set 

of guidelines for cardiac arrest 

survivors, aimed at ensuring 

consistent, effective, and 

sustainable care for cardiac arrest 

survivors and their families. 

For more information or to 

request for an interview or 

case studies please call 

Tom Shearsmith, Media and 

Campaign Officer by email tom. 

shearsmith@resus.org.uk 

Ambulance employee 

responded to 

emergency call while 

working from home 

A member of East of England 

Ambulance Service who 

abandoned an online meeting 

to help save a man’s life has 

been commended. 

George Barber, acting Chief of 

Staff for the Trust, was working 

from home in a meeting with the 

Emergency Operations Centre 

in January, when the call came 

through the GoodSam app for 

first responders. 

Mr Barber, who is qualified as 

an emergency care assistant, 

checked the Trust’s computeraided 

despatch system, and saw 

the nearest ambulance was still 

some distance away. 

He left the meeting and jumped 

into his car, arriving at the leisure 

centre in Saffron Walden to find a 

man had gone into cardiac arrest 

in the pool. 

Mr Barber said: “I arrived to find 

police giving good quality CPR 

and confirmed with control that it 

was both a cardiac arrest and that 

critical care were still attending. 

Then I supported doing CPR and 

maintaining the patient’s airway, 

and I had to pull the patient further 

out of the water before they were 

shocked due to safety.” 

The patient eventually regained 

partial consciousness before 

being taken to hospital, where he 

made a full recovery. 

Mr Barber, who has gone on 

to become a community first 

responder for EEAST, has 

been given the Chief Officer 

Commendation for his actions. 

He is just one of 131 people who 

received an award as part of 

the Trust’s annual ceremony on 

Wednesday, July 4. 

The ceremony honours courage 

and swift action in medical 

emergencies by blue-light 

colleagues and members of 

the public. It also recognises 

outstanding commitment, 

long service and dedication by 

members of EEAST staff. 

Tom Abell, chief executive, said: 

“George recognised this was 

an opportunity to save a life 

and instantly stepped out of his 

everyday role. Without a doubt, his 

actions helped bring this patient 

back from the brink of death. 

WHY NOT WRITE FOR US? 

Ambulance UK welcomes the submission of 

clinical papers and case reports or news that 

you feel will be of interest to your colleagues. 

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

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

All submissions should be forwarded to info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

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

info@mediapublishingcompany.com 



41

IN PERSON 

EEAST NEWS 

Essex & Herts Air 

Ambulance’s Centre for 

excellence takes shape 

with key appointments 

In a significant step forward in delivering 

its vision, to create a world-leading 

community through which prehospital care 

is developed to achieve the best possible 

outcomes for all patients, local life-saving 

charity, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance 

(EHAAT), has made four key appointments 

to its Centre for Excellence. 

The Centre for Excellence is underpinned 

by its four pillars: Research and Scholarship, 

Innovation, Education and Training, and 

Community, which support three overarching 

clinical domains of cardiac arrest, head injury 

and patient experience and outcomes. Together 

these create a framework where working 

collaboratively, the highest possible standards of 

pre-hospital clinical care can be reached. 


Advanced Paramedic Practitioner, Lisa 

Burrell, has joined the Centre for Excellence 

team as Education and Training Lead. A 

busy mother of three, she brings a wealth 

of experience to the new role, and also runs 

a MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice at St 

George’s, University of London. 

Lisa’s role in the Centre for Excellence will 

be primarily focused on embracing the 

training needs and professional development 

of EHAAT’s clinical teams, and the wider 

medical community. Working alongside 

colleagues, she will also be responsible for 

creating a strategy which focuses on sharing 

best practice, to ensure prehospital care 

is developed to make a real difference to 

patients and their families. 

Lisa said: “I am thrilled to join such a highly 

motivated and talented team. EHAAT has a 

strong reputation for leading development 

in prehospital critical care, and it is a great 

privilege to be part of the innovative journey 

going forward with the Centre for Excellence.” 

Consultant Neurosurgeon, Professor Chris 

Uff, has been appointed as the Centre for 

Excellence Academic Lead for Head Injury. 

Keen triathlete and violin maker, Professor Uff 

is head of neuro trauma and neurovascular 

surgery at The Royal London Hospital and 

Major Trauma Centre in East London. His role 

will see him working with the clinical teams 

at EHAAT, and linking up with other partner 

organisations, to understand more about head 

injury and what new and innovative treatment 

options are available to reduce the lasting 

effects of what can be a catastrophic injury. 

Professor Uff said: “I’m delighted to join the 

EHAAT team as academic head injury lead. 

Working with such diverse and unique talent 

places us in an enviable position to deliver 

outstanding and innovative care to our 

patients.” 

Adam Carr, who has been with EHAAT since 

2013 as a Critical Care Paramedic and more 

recently Head of Patient & Family Liaison, 

has been promoted into the new role of 

Community Lead (Clinical) at the Centre for 

Excellence. In this new role, Adam will deliver 

and oversee a co-ordinated community 

training programme covering CPR and 

defibrillators, so that the public are better able 

to make life-saving interventions in the crucial 

minutes following an incident. 

Adam said: “Being given the opportunity and 

resources to set up the ‘Community’ pillar 

of EHAATs Centre for Excellence is such a 

huge and exciting opportunity for me. Over 

my time with EHAAT, I have seen, on a regular 

basis, the difference bystander CPR makes to 

the outcome of our patients. For this reason, 

one of my main initial projects is going to be 

ensuring CPR and AED (defibrillator) training 

is accessible and available to as many of the 

good people of Essex and Hertfordshire as 

possible. I genuinely believe this will benefit 

our local communities and beyond, I can’t 

wait to get started!” 

Dr Sarah McLachlan has been appointed 

as Centre for Excellence Research Lead. 

Having worked with EHAAT for the last five 

years, she is also a Senior Research Fellow in 

Health Sciences Research at Anglia Ruskin 

University. Sarah’s new role at EHAAT will be 

focused on building and leading a team to 

deliver the charity’s research and scholarship 

strategy. She will also lead on research 

collaborations with other organisations, as 

well as patients and members of the public. 

Sarah said: “I am delighted to have the 

privilege of leading the implementation of 

our exciting Centre for Excellence research 

and scholarship strategy. The strategy 

focuses on enhancing our understanding of 

patients’ experiences and outcomes, and 

producing high quality evidence to help drive 

continual improvements in the care that we 

provide, especially around head injury and 

cardiac arrest.” 

42 


IN PERSON 

Dr Gareth Grier, Project Lead at the Centre 

for Excellence, is delighted to welcome 

Sarah, Lisa, Chris, and Adam to the Centre 

for Excellence team. He said: “Our vision for 

the Centre for Excellence is bold, innovative 

and sits at the heart of the community. With 

Chris, Sarah, Adam and Lisa on board, and 

their combined knowledge and experience, 

I have no doubt that we will be able to take 

constructive steps in our aim to create a world 

leading community, where clinical excellence 

sits at the centre of our ambition, ensuring 

prehospital care is developed to make a real 

difference in achieving the best possible 

outcomes for patients and their families in our 

region and beyond.” 

To support, donate and find out more about 

EHAAT and the Centre for Excellence visit 

https://www.ehaat.org. 

NEWS 

New Medical Director, 

Dr Andy Lockyer 

Prior to his appointment as Medical Director 

at GWAAC, Dr Lockyer among other activities 

completed several fundraising challenges, 

organised a Women in PHEM event to 

encourage female Doctors to consider this 

career path, and was Blood Transfusion 

Clinical Governance Lead for three years. 

“It will be a great honour to serve GWAAC 

going forward. The organisation has seen 

a few challenges over the years including 

the move to our current airbase and the 

pandemic. I can see a real opportunity to 

progress the medical team. We have an 

incredibly talented team of people; I want to 

harness this as best as possible so we remain 

a cutting-edge critical care service, with all the 

latest developments that we can provide.” 

Dr Andy Lockyer, Medical Director, Great 

Western Air Ambulance Charity 

As GWAAC’s Medical Director, Dr Lockyer 

will take leadership of all aspects of GWAAC’s 

medical team, including performance, 

standards, overseeing audit processes, and 

staffing. He will represent all GWAAC Doctors 

and work closely alongside Advanced Clinical 

Practitioner in Critical Care, Vicki Brown, 

who is the lead for GWAAC’s Specialist 

Paramedics in Critical Care. 

Jonny joins the Trust from North West 

Ambulance Service, where he is currently the 

Chief of Digital and Innovation. 

Prior to that, he spent 15 years in the private 

sector, including as a Business Intelligence 

Director at Health Management Ltd and Client 

Intelligence Manager at Capita. 

Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “The 

Welsh Ambulance Service has undergone 

significant transformation over the last couple 

years and is today celebrated as one of the 

most innovative of its kind internationally. 

“We want this to continue, and Jonny’s 

appointment is testament to just how 

committed we are to using digital technology 

to enhance our services. 

“Jonny brings a wealth of expert knowledge 

and experience, and we look forward to him 

joining the #TeamWAST family.” 

Jonny’s priorities on entering the Trust 

will be to deliver and evolve the digital 

strategy, create the right conditions for 

digital innovation and review the technology 

adoption and training approach. 

He will also develop a pipeline of development 

NEWS 

Welsh Ambulance Service 

appoints new Director of 

Digital 

opportunities, harness partnerships to help us 

become a digital exemplar organisation and 

ensure our cyber security continues to meet 

and overcome daily challenges. 

Jonny said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be 

joining the Welsh Ambulance Service as its 

new Director of Digital. 

“I’m excited to be a part of such a forwardthinking 

organisation and as I settle into the 

Dr Lockyer joined GWAAC in 2016 when he 

started his pre-hospital emergency medicine 

(PHEM) training. He qualified as a Critical Care 

role, I am eager to support the organisation 

through delivery of our digital innovations and 

solutions. 

Doctor in 2017 and achieved the Fellowship in 

Immediate Medical Care in 2019. 

He has been a Consultant in Emergency 

Medicine at the Bristol Royal Infirmary since 

2018, where he is the Clinical Lead for major 

incident planning, public health, major trauma, 

education, and global health. He is also the 

BRI’s Global Emergency Medicine Program’s 

lead consultant, for which he won their 2023 

Unsung Hero award, and a Trustee of the 

related international medical charity. 

THE Welsh Ambulance Service has 

appointed a new Director of Digital. 

Jonny Sammut has been appointed to 

oversee an ambitious digital services strategy 

which will support the delivery of patient care 

and improve the experience of staff. 

“I believe that digital has a big part to play in 

further enhancing the care we provide to our 

patients and the day-to-day experience of our 

colleagues. 

“I’m looking forward to solving everyday 

problems and building on our digital 

ecosystem by exploring state-of-the-art 

technologies and data-driven insights. 

“I am excited to embark on this journey.” 



43

IN PERSON 

Jonny is the successor of Andy Haywood, 

who joined the Trust in 2020 as its first ever 

Director of Digital. 

Since Andy’s departure for pastures new last 

year, Leanne Smith, Assistant Director for 

Data and Analytics, has been carrying the 

portfolio on an interim basis. 

Jonny will join the Trust officially in September. 

NEWS 

NHS England appoints Chief 

Information Officer 

transformations throughout his career, and so 

brings a wealth of experience and expertise to 

the role of Chief Information Officer. 

“I’ve found John’s measured, insightful, and 

outcomes-oriented approach to problem 

solving invaluable since he joined NHS 

England. 

“I know the whole team will continue to value 

his wise and caring leadership style, as we 

adopt the latest technology to transform the 

NHS and improve care for patients.” 

NEWS 


chief paramedic appointed 

as visiting professor in 

Paramedic Science 

“The paramedic role has evolved dramatically 

over the last two decades and there is now an 

incredible wealth of experience, and expertise 

within the profession, as well as career 

development and board-level opportunities.” 

In 2021 Dr Martin was appointed the first 

Chief Paramedic at London Ambulance 

Service, a newly created role which brings 

together responsibility for clinical quality and 

for ensuring paramedics and ambulance 

clinicians have access to world-class training, 

education and professional development. 

In this role, he has overseen accountability 

for emergency preparedness, resilience and 

response during Her Majesty the Queen’s 

funeral. 

He was invited to be the paramedic advisor to 

the emergency medical committee during the 

London 2012 Olympics games, supporting 

expert provision on the field of play. 

Also among his many career highlights, Dr 

Martin has given evidence in both the House 

of Lords and at the Commons Health and 

NHS England has appointed a new Chief 

Information Officer to oversee digital 

technology across the health service. 

John Quinn has been offered the role 

following a rigorous recruitment process. 

His key responsibilities will include running 

and evolving the NHS’s critical technical 

infrastructure and managing cyber security for 

national services. 

The most senior paramedic at London 

Ambulance Service (LAS) has been 

appointed to a prestigious teaching post 

at his former university where he will share 

his experience with the next generation of 

Social Care Select Committee. 

Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive at London 

Ambulance Service, said: 

“John is a fantastic role-model for others in the 

NHS and I’m so pleased that he continues to 

inspire the next generation of paramedics and 

leaders in the London Ambulance Service and 

wider ambulance workforce. 

John has been filling the role on a temporary 

basis since February and was previously 

the Executive Director of IT Operations and 

Enterprise Services at NHS Digital. 

He also spent eight years in leadership roles 

at the Medicines and Healthcare products 

Regulatory Agency (MHRA), including as the 

Executive Director for Technology, Digital Data 

and Delivery during the pandemic. 

paramedics. 

Chief Paramedic Dr John Martin has been 

appointed visiting professor in Paramedic 

Science at the University of Hertfordshire. It 

is the second honour this week for Dr John 

Martin who was awarded His Majesty’s 

the King’s Ambulance Service Medal for 

distinguished service in the monarch’s 

Birthday Honours last weekend. 

“We are very lucky to have someone who is 

so passionate and inclusive about developing 

others starting out in the profession and 

helping to shape the skills and knowledge 

that our medics need to serve the people of 

London.” 

Many graduates of the University of 

Hertfordshire go on to have successful 

careers at London Ambulance Service. 


He spent the earlier part of his career in 

the Department for Education in Digital, 

Technology, Project Delivery and Knowledge 

Management roles. 

Dr Tim Ferris, National Director of 

Transformation at NHS England, said: 

“John has led significant digital 

Dr John Martin, Chief Paramedic and Deputy 

Chief Executive at London Ambulance 

Service, said: 

“Being a paramedic is an incredible and 

satisfying career and I’m delighted to return to 

the University of Hertfordshire as a professor 

where I completed my original Paramedic 

Science degree over 20 years ago. 

Each year we recruit around 500 paramedics, 

50 percent of whom are recruited through 

apprenticeships and Paramedic Science 

degrees in the UK, with the rest of the 

paramedic workforce recruited internationally 

and from other NHS organisations. The 

Service is hoping to recruit over 1,400 

frontline staff, including paramedics, as part of 

its 2022-23 recruitment programme. 

44 


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after a major project to install 

charging infrastructure. 

London, UK, 05 July 2023 – 

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne 

and Wear NHS Foundation Trust 

has been able to accelerate its 

fleet electrification after Mer 

installed charge points at 13 

of its sites. Mer worked on the 

project with NTW Solutions 

Ltd, which is the subsidiary 

responsible for support services 

to the Trust. NTW Solutions 

provides the Trust with estates 

and facilities management, car 

leasing, finance, workforce and 

procurement services. 

Lee Cant, Commercial Director 

of NTW Solutions, said: “Working 

with Mer to procure these 

chargers has been an enabler 

for us to move forward with our 

decarbonisation strategy. We 

benchmark ourselves against 

other trusts in the region and 

we know that we are out in front 

in terms of fleet electrification 

thanks in part to this project.” 

NTW Solutions runs a fleet 

of 1,400 lease cars for Trust 

employees as well as around 90 

service vehicles ranging from 

pool cars to vans and trucks. 

“In total 40 percent of the lease 

cars are now fully electric or plugin 

hybrids, while about a quarter 

of the service fleet is the same,” 

added Lee. “Some of the service 

vehicles are larger and they 

need full payloads for operations 

like laundry, so they won’t be 

electrified yet, we’ll concentrate 

for now on the lighter vans.” 

Mer won a competitive tender 

to deliver the charge points after 

meeting all the key criteria. One 

of the main priorities for the Trust 

was the ability to set different 

tariffs – free charging for fleet 

vehicles, a preferential rate for 

staff, and a higher rate for visitors. 

Working with Mer 

to procure these 

chargers has been 

an enabler for us to 

move forward with 

our decarbonisation 

strategy. We 

benchmark ourselves 

against other trusts 

in the region and we 

know that we are out 

in front in terms of 

fleet electrification 

thanks in part to this 

project.. 

“It was imperative that we could 

set different rates for public 

charging, staff charging, and also 

for our fleet service vehicles,” 

said Lee. “It was important to be 

able to differentiate for different 

use cases and also to have 

different methods of accessing 

the chargers, from contactless 

payment to RFID cards and key 

fobs. 

“We were also keen on having a 

viable management system that 

we could extract data from, in 

order to ascertain which chargers 

were the most popular and 

identify where we might need 

additional infrastructure to meet 

demand. 

“Mer has been fantastic; 

they have gone above and 

beyond in terms of customer 

service. Working with them 

has significantly increased the 

speed of electrification and the 

decarbonisation of our fleet. 

“We had a lot of wards that were 

not prepared to go electric until 

there were chargers on site. For 

example, we have a 24/7 crisis 

service that operates around the 

clock so needs constant access 

to the vehicles. With the mileage 

that they do and the size of the 

area they cover, they needed 

reliable charging infrastructure on 

site to give them that confidence 

to go electric. 

“It has enabled us to change our 

policy so that all new vehicles 

added to the fleet have to be 

electric unless there is a very 

good operational reason why they 

can’t be EVs.” 

Scott Duncan, associate 

consultant at Mer, said: “We 

are proud to be helping the 

Trust with the decarbonisation 

of its fleet. This was a complex 

but rewarding project to install 

chargers across multiple 

locations. The Trust is making 

full use of the smart charger 

technology to set different tariffs 

for various use cases and utilise 

Mer’s proprietary back-office 

software for data analytics.” 

For more information visit https:// 

uk.mer.eco/emergency-services/ 

Durabook upgrades 

its U11I fully rugged 

tablet to better 

support emergency 

services 

Durabook, the global rugged 

mobile solutions specialist, 

has significantly upgraded 

its U11I fully-rugged tablet to 

offer unparalleled versatility 

for emergency service crews 

performing their critical work. 

Not oema With its 12th Gen Intel ® 

CPU processor and architectural 

innovations, the U11I is the most 

versatile 11-inch rugged tablet, 

exceeding standard requirements 

and elevating the user experience 

for mobile workforces and 

response teams. 

Performance is up to 225% faster 

than its predecessor, ideal for 

ambulance workers operating 

in time-critical situations, while 

its Coolfinity fanless thermal 

solution offers increased 

dependability and reduced 

downtime so crews are assured 

of optimal performance in any 

conditions. 

Designed for endurance, the 

tablet is certified to withstand 

drops of up to 6 feet and 

remains functional in the extreme 

temperatures conducive to 

emergency services work. 

Additionally, its ultra-long battery 

life of up to 10 hours, plus an 

optional extra 20 hours, means 

emergency services crews can 

trust it to last an entire shift. 

Performance is up 

to 225% faster than 

its predecessor, 

ideal for ambulance 

workers operating 

in time-critical 

situations, while its 

Coolfinity fanless 

thermal solution 

offers increased 

dependability and 

reduced downtime so 

crews are assured of 

optimal performance 

in any conditions. 

The U11I is equipped with 

advanced wireless capabilities 

for powerful yet simple and 

flexible connectivity. Response 

teams benefit from increased 

throughput, simultaneous 

connections and improved 

consistency in dense areas so, 

wherever they are, they can 

connect with the hospital to 

46 


COMPANY NEWS 

receive critical patient data for 

rapid diagnosis and treatment. 

“The upgraded U11I tablet 

far exceeds expectations by 

boosting productivity and 

offering unparalleled versatility 

and reliability, which is critical 

for emergency services teams 

operating in the most challenging 

situations.” said Twinhead CEO 

Fred Kao. 

For more information on how 

the U11I can enhance your 

organisation’s operations, visit 

www.durabook.com, or contact 

marketing@durabook.com 

Mer x Ambulance UK 

Healthcare services are 

actively supporting the net 

zero transition. Electrifying 

emergency service fleets is a 

fundamental part of meeting 

key sustainability goals in the 

coming years. 

With the transition to zeroemission 

emergency vehicles 

comes the need for the right 

kind of charging infrastructure, 

to ensure the vehicles are ready 

and available to respond to 

unforeseeable situations at all 

times. No two emergency fleets 

are the same, and neither is the 

charging infrastructure required 

to power the fleet. 

Fleet managers do not have to 

think about how, when and where 

their fleets will charge alone. Mer, 

a leading EV charging company 

backed by Statkraft, Europe’s 

largest renewable energy 

generator, supports healthcare 

teams transition their emergency 

fleets to electric by providing 

suitable, reliable EV charging 

infrastructure. 

As a leading supplier of EV 

charging to UK public services 

and with more than 10 years’ 

experience in the industry, Mer 

provides free consultancy for 

Fleet managers do 

not have to think 

about how, when and 

where their fleets will 

charge alone. Mer, a 

leading EV charging 

company backed by 

Statkraft, Europe’s 

largest renewable 

energy generator, 

supports healthcare 

teams transition 

their emergency 

fleets to electric by 

providing suitable, 

reliable EV charging 

infrastructure. 

NHS and ambulance services. 

Mer offers expert guidance on 

infrastructure requirements, 

operation models and power 

connections. It’s Operator 

Portal offers clear visibility 

of charger health, availability 

and functionality, and the 

company provides full aftercare, 

maintenance, and 24/7 support 

once the infrastructure has been 

installed. 

Mer is hosting a webinar to help 

personnel in the healthcare 

services understand how to build 

an EV charging infrastructure 

portfolio that is reliable, future-fit 

and attentive to the demands of 

their specific fleet. 

To learn more about how Mer 

can help you transition your 

emergency service fleet to 

electric, attend its Electrifying the 

Emergency Services webinar. 

Link: https://uk.mer.eco/ 

emergency-services/?utm_ 

medium=editorial&utm_ 

source=ambulanceuk&utm_ 

campaign=Emergency%20 

Services 

Webasto heating 

and air conditioning 

systems 

Webasto heating and air 

conditioning systems are used 

by front line fleets with systems 

designed to meet exacting, 

tailored requirements. Our 

products are designed 

to provide exceptional 

performance and service. 

Not only do we provide 

comfortable working climates for 

the crew, we can also achieve a 

reduction in idling times which 

in turn lowers fuel consumption, 

decreases overall operating 

costs and helps us to remain 

focused towards improving the 

environment. 

Webasto products have been a 

mainstay for one of the largest 

fleets in the UK for many years, 

based on an impressive reliability 

record and ease of operational 

function. 

Not only do we 

provide comfortable 

working climates for 

the crew, we can also 

achieve a reduction 

in idling times 

which in turn lowers 

fuel consumption, 

decreases overall 

operating costs and 

helps us to remain 

focused towards 

improving the 

environment. 

A parts locator and replacement 

part service are available to 

ensure your own people get 

the best operational efficiency 

from the fleet. Clear and concise 

training material, with regular 

updates are also offered either at 

Webasto’s training academy, or at 

your own depot locations to suit 

your needs. 

For many large fleets, demands 

placed on both crew and vehicle 

can be extremely arduous, so it 

is of vital importance that both 

remain fully optimised to respond 

when it really matters. When 

considering these demands and 

agreeing on a build specification 

for your frontline ambulance, 

rapid response, and patient 

transport service vehicles we 

will only specify products that 

meet the exacting standards 

and performance expected from 

Webasto. 

Webasto is the largest producer 

of auxiliary heaters and air 

conditioning in Europe. Let us 

take you through the options. 

For an informal chat, call David 

Stafford on 01302 381141 or 

email david.stafford@ 

webasto.com 



47

Data Driven Vehicle Telematics & Asset Monitoring 

Prior to deployment, during the mission and post event. 

Vehicle 

Maintenance 

Reduce 

unnecessary 

VOR time. 

Role 

Equipment 

Detailed status 

and activity 

logs. 

Fuel 

Consumption 

Increase mpg 

and reduce 

emissions. 

Make Ready 

Improve vehicle 

turnaround 

times. 

Equipment 

Compliance 

Comply with 

device servicing 

schedules. 

Inventory 

Monitoring 

Monitor real 

time equipment 

inventories. 

Consumables 

Management 

Manage 

consumable item 

replenishment. 

The Insight Platform provides unrivalled levels of data for fleet and asset management, as well 

as CCTV capability. Whether you’re aiming for a net zero fleet or want to know where your most 

valuable assets are at any given time, to understanding compliance levels of key assets or replay any 

crashes/ incidents in real time, the Insight Platform can help. 

Visit us at stand K150 to learn how our technology benefits 

multiple clients across UK Ambulance Trusts, and other 

mission critical sectors. 

www.theortusgroup.com 

E: hello@ortus.co.uk 

T: 0845 459 4705

Ambulance UK August 2023

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