Ambulance UK October 2023

Volume 39 No. 5 

October 2023 

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CONTENTS 

CONTENTS 

Ambulance UK 

4 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

7 FEATURE 

7 FACTORS INFLUENCING ON-SCENE TIME IN A 

PHYSICIAN-STAFFED HELICOPTER EMERGENCY 

MEDICAL SERVICE (HEMS): A RETROSPECTIVE 

OBSERVATIONAL STUDY 

18 NEWSLINE 

31 IN PERSON 

This issue edited by: 

Matt House 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

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AMBULANCE UK – OCTOBER 

3

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Welcome to this issue of AUK. 

AMBULANCE UK UK – - OCTOBER JUNE 

68 

4 

“But it isn’t just 

about flu or 

“The Covid pay anymore, rises 

implemented 

the weirdly 

hot weather 

hardly over Summer fi t 

the has bill, lead and to 

a tripling of 

I fear there 

pollen induced 

is respiratory a real 

danger 

demand 

that 

for 

many services 

recruitment 

as well as the 

and direct retention effects 

of the high 

in the NHS 

temperatures 

will as be well.” 

adversely 

affected.” 

All Well, too I’m quickly offi cially summer retired seems and just to have to indulge given way myself to winter a little, with I’m going Storm to Agnes begin causing by considering havoc as how I write the this 

piece. ambulance It always service amuses has evolved me to see since Christmas I started baubles some 35 go years on sale ago. earlier Does and anyone earlier remember in the year the but arrival then I of 

began defi brillators think on about the ambulance? the way the At pressures the time on a revolution, the NHS are complete also building with a sooner walkman with recorder seasonal to vaccination ensure 

programmes that you used commencing it absolutely in by summer rote. Consider rather than that late now autumn we are in delivering presumably them an remotely attempt by to thwart drone and or mitigate the 

that progress particular can easily respiratory be seen. illness The issue. Paramedic But it isn’t syllabus just about was contained flu or covid in anymore a little red the book, weirdly now hot there weather are so 

over many summer more skills has and lead knowledge to a tripling requirements of pollen induced no-one respiratory goes on demand duty without for many JRCALC services on their as well smart as the phone. 

direct There effects were few of the medicines, high temperatures pain relief was well. limited I wouldn’t to entonox necessarily and the count most myself diffi cult as skill a climate was strapping change 

sceptic someone but into it isn’t a Neil something Robertson, I’ve now ever paramedics spent time thinking regularly about administer detail, advanced I recycle drugs and drive and a perform full electric life 

car saving but surgical the global interventions. weather related I’m proud catastrophes to have of been this on year that do journey make you and stop continue and think. to follow And with in that interest pause the 

for changes thought to comes come. another consideration, a move to full electric ambulances and how that might impact the 

NHS, amongst the obvious challenges of cost and infrastructure. Whilst most of the UK’s ambulance Trusts 

are Summer trialling is some apparently form of here, EV, well there as is near currently as we no get way in of Lancashire, escaping the I’m additional guessing most time in of resource you are looking hours that 

comes forward with to holidays the need and for time recharging, with family which or may friends. not It be can as be much a great of a problem time but for at the urban same services time stressful but almost with 

certainly the price will increases be for rural we have services seen with across longer all aspects journeys. of I’m life. not The sure pay what rises the implemented answer to the hardly conundrum fi t the bill, is and 

but I fear I do there believe is a real it lies danger somewhere that recruitment within the increase and retention in telemedicine in the NHS and will reduced be adversely allocations. affected. This I wonder year’s 

emergency how many of services todays show Paramedic clearly cohort demonstrated will be around the rising for interest the next in 30 technology, years. Given AI and the high robotics demands, as potential both 

solutions practical and mental, as demonstrated I suspect already that many in the will private move on sector, different AI in particular pastures could and that have there a significant will be far role fewer in 

more retiring accurately in the future, targeting especially resource. since Imagine, the current as a NHS 999 retirement call is received age continues the patients to medical increase. history Maybe, is being like 

simultaneously many of my peers, interrogated I have seen with the information golden age gathered of ambulance helping predict service. the likely Whatever severity the of future the presentation brings, I hope 

and the summer automatically will deliver diverting you the all a incident well earned to the break. most appropriate As for me, I’m resource, looking then for a learning job… from the outcome, 

consistently 24/7/365… A stretch of the imagination? We speak to computers that sound like humans all the 

time, they don’t tire or need breaks, how long will it be before NHS111 goes fully digital I wonder? Hopefully 

no Sam time English, soon as Co-Editor I don’t believe Ambulance you could UK ever teach a computer to care but it does make you think… 

Sam English, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 

Publishers Publishers Statement 

For 

For 

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years, 

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thanks 

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to 

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support, 

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

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

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

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people 

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as 

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of our 

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like 

to and thank postal the costs following this issue companies would not for their have support been published as without - Alpha their Laboratories, contribution towards Bluelight our UK, print and 

postal DS Medical, costs this Eberspaecher, issue would not Ferno have UK, been Frontier published Medical, - Bluelight IPRS, UK, Medacx, DS Medical, Ortus, St Eberspaecher, 

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FEATURE 

FACTORS INFLUENCING ON-SCENE TIME 

IN A PHYSICIAN-STAFFED HELICOPTER 

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE (HEMS): 

A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL 

STUDY 

Alexander Fuchs 1,2*† , Markus Huber 1† , Thomas Riva 1 , Stefan Becker 2 , Roland Albrecht 2,3 , Robert Greif 4,5,6 and 

Urs Pietsch 2,3,7 

Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2023) 31:20 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-023-01085-x 

ORIGINAL RESEARCH 

Abstract 

Keywords: Helicopter emergency medical system, Prehospital onscene 

time, Trauma, Helicopter hoist operation, Airway management, 

Resuscitation, Paediatric 

Background: For helicopter emergency service systems (HEMS), 

the prehospital time consists of response time, on-scene time and 

transport time. Little is known about the factors that influence on-scene 

time or about differences between adult and paediatric missions in a 

physician-staffed HEMS. 

Methods: We analysed the HEMS electronic database of Swiss Air- 

Rescue from 01-01-2011 to 31-12-2021 (N = 110,331). We included 

primary missions and excluded missions with National Advisory 

Committee for Aeronautics score (NACA) score 0 or 7, resulting in 

68,333 missions for analysis. The primary endpoint ‘on-scene time’ 

was defined as first physical contact with the patient until take-off to 

the hospital. A multivariable linear regression model was computed to 

examine the association of diagnosis, type and number of interventions 

and monitoring, and patient’s characteristics with the primary endpoint. 

Results: The prehospital time and on-scene time of the missions 

studied were, respectively, 50.6 [IQR: 41.0–62.0] minutes and 21.0 

[IQR: 15.0–28.6] minutes. Helicopter hoist operations, resuscitation, 

airway management, critical interventions, remote location, night-time, 

and paediatric patients were associated with longer on-scene times. 

Conclusion: Compared to adult patients, the adjusted on-scene 

time for paediatric patients was longer. Besides the strong impact of 

a helicopter hoist operation on on-scene time, the dominant factors 

contributing to on-scene time are the type and number of interventions 

and monitoring: improving individual interventions or performing them in 

parallel may offer great potential for reducing on-scene time. However, 

multiple clinical interventions and monitoring interact and are not single 

interventions. Compared to the impact of interventions, non-modifiable 

factors, such as NACA score, type of diagnosis and age, make only a 

minor contribution to overall on-scene time. 

Introduction 

†Alexander Fuchs and Markus Huber have contributed equally and share the first authorship 

Critically ill or injured patients require a rapid assessment and stateof-the-art 

medical treatment [1]. Furthermore, safe and fast transport 

to an appropriate hospital is necessary to prevent the patient from 

undergoing an avoidable secondary inter-hospital transfer that 

consumes more time [2, 3]. In Switzerland, the emergency medical 

system consists of paramedic-staffed ground ambulances and the 

emergency, physician-staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Services 

(HEMS). HEMS patient transport is considered safe, ensures short 

intervention times and offers access to difficult and remote regions [4– 

6]. On-scene HEMS physicians diagnose patient illnesses or conditions 

earlier and perform or initiate advanced life-saving critical interventions, 

which improve the survival rates of trauma patients [6, 7]. 

Current international treatment guidelines for critical illnesses or injuries 

focus on the first critical hour. However, the association between 

prehospital time and survival is unclear [8]. Prehospital time consists 

of three parts: (1) the response time, including the flight time from the 

base to the patient; (2) the on-scene time; and (3) the time needed 

to transport the patient to the hospital. Prolonged on-scene time is 

associated with increased in-hospital mortality in trauma patients [9, 

10]. By contrast, HEMS transport is an independent factor for improved 

survival in paediatric and adult trauma patients [11–13]. Commencing 

definitive treatment more rapidly contributes to improved survival, 

including for non-trauma patients, especially in stroke, myocardial 

infarction, cardiac arrest and sepsis [14–16]. 

The factors contributing to a mission’s prehospital time in a physicianstaffed 

HEMS are unclear. Flight times depend not only on the distance 

from the base to the scene and the destination hospital, but also on 

the topography and weather conditions. As regards flight safety, these 

variables are unchangeable. Thus, we aimed to investigate factors 



7

FEATURE 

Table 1 Intervention and monitoring performed by the helicopter emergency medical system crew listed by sub-units 

Basic interventions 

and monitoring 

Immobilisation and 

analgesia 

Critical interventions Airway management Resuscitation Other 

Intravenous (i.v.) access Vacuum mattress Intraosseous (i.o.) access Tracheal intubation Chest compressions Cervical collar 

Peripheral oxygen Sedation Emergency front of 

saturation (SpO2 ) neck access (eFONA) 

Electrocardiogram 

(ECG) 

Temperature 

Analgesia 

Reduction of a fracture 

or dislocation 

Chest needle decompression 

Facemask ventilation Defibrillation Vacuum splinting 

Neuromuscular block - 

ing agent (NMBA) 

Mechanical chest 

compression device 

Active rewarming (hot 

pads) 

Transcutaneous paceing Capnography Invasive or non-invasive 

blood pressure 

Haemostasis Vasopressors Medication (Antiepileptic, 

Antiemetic, Tranexam 

acid, Antiarrhythmic, 

Antihypertensive, etc.) 


that contribute to extending on-scene time. Furthermore, we were 

interested in the differences between paediatric and adult patients. 

Methods 

Study design and population 

The study protocol of this retrospective observational cohort study 

was approved by the Ethics Committee of Eastern Switzerland (EKOS 

22/021, St. Gallen, Switzerland), which waived the need for informed 

consent due to the retrospective study design and anonymised data 

analysis. The study was performed in line with the Declaration of 

Helsinki and the Swiss Act on Human Research. We followed the 

guidelines on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in 

Epidemiology (STROBE) [17]. 

Setting 

Swiss Air-Rescue (Rega) provides 24/7 physician-staffed HEMS 

services with 20 helicopters at 14 bases covering an area of more 

than 41,000 km2. The bases are distributed throughout the country, 

making it possible to reach any location within an average of 15 min 

after an alert is received. Swiss Air-Rescue operates a national dispatch 

and mission-control centre for HEMS operations and, independently 

of the government and hospitals, conducts around 14,000 HEMS 

missions annually. An HEMS crew consists of a pilot, a paramedic 

and a physician. Swiss Air-Rescue’s HEMS physicians require 

board certification in anaesthesiology and certification in prehospital 

emergency medicine. 

Data collection 

We retrospectively screened the Swiss Air-Rescue HEMS electronic 

medical record database from 01-01-2011 to 31-12-2021 and included 

all primary HEMS missions. We excluded secondary missions, 

missions with National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) 

score 0 and 7 (uninjured or dead patients) and missions lasting longer 

than 24 h (search and rescue missions). Patients under the age of 16 

years were classified as paediatric, all others as adults. On-scene time, 

the primary endpoint, was defined as the landing time of the helicopter 

as a surrogate for the first physical contact between the crew and the 

patient until the beginning of the transport phase to the hospital with 

the lift-off of the helicopter. Secondary endpoints were: prehospital 

time, trauma vs. non-trauma and interventions or measurements 

influencing on-scene time. 

Measurements 

The anonymised data was transferred from Swiss Air-Rescue’s 

electronic medical records into a dedicated research database. Patient 

and mission characteristics included age, sex, location (urban vs. 

remote), time of day and type of activity (e.g. traffic, sport, outdoor 

activity). The patients’ location was defined as urban when access by 

road was given; otherwise remote. The medical data included the NACA 

score, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and helicopter hoist operation. 

Diagnoses were coded according to the 2019 World Health Organisation 

International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and grouped into trauma 

and non-trauma [18]. Performance of medical interventions or monitoring 

by the HEMS crew are listed in Table 1 and were grouped into clinically 

meaningful sub-units for the multivariable model. 

For pragmatic medical reasons—and deviating from the formal 

definition of night flights—daytime missions were defined as those 

occurring between 07:00 and 19:00, while night time flights between 

19:01 and 06:59. Mission times were defined as follows: 

• On-scene time: from first physical contact with the patient until 

beginning of the flight to the destination hospital. 

• Prehospital time: from the alerting of Swiss Air-Rescue’s national 

HEMS dispatch and mission-control centre until arrival at the 

destination hospital. 

Statistical analysis 

In terms of summary measures, categorical variables were 

summarised using counts and percentages, while numerical variables 

were summarised using the median and interquartile range (IQR). 

Data availability is shown for each variable in the corresponding 

tables. We used chi-squared or exact Fisher test for unadjusted group 

comparisons between child and adult patients of categorical variables, 

and unpaired two-sample Wilcoxon test for numerical variables. 

For the multivariable linear regression model with the outcome ‘onscene 

time’, we included all patients with available measurements and 

a diagnosis, but excluded missions with pre-hospital times greater than 

24 h. Model fit was evaluated by means of the adjusted R2. The effect 

of each variable on the outcome ‘on-scene time’ is illustrated by 

estimated marginal means. Separate multivariable linear regression 

models were computed for the child and adult sub-groups. 

8 

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FEATURE 

Figure 1. Study flowchart 

Due to the observational character of the study, no formal sample-size 

calculation was performed. Statistical analysis was performed using R 

[19]. Two-sided P-values are considered here and a P-value < 0.05 was 

considered significant. 

Results 

We screened 110,331 missions, of which 68,333 were used in the final 

analysis. Figure 1 shows the study flow chart. 

Patients and mission characteristics are summarised in Table 2. 

The median age was 50.0 [IQR: 27.0–65.0] years and most patients 

were adults (87.1%) and male (64.4%). The majority (52.4%) of all 

patients presented NACA scores between IV and VI. Overall, 11.0% 

of missions required a helicopter hoist operation (HHO), and the 

majority of missions took place during the daytime (86.1%). Across all 

included missions, prehospital time and on-scene time were 50.6 [IQR: 

41.0;62.0] minutes and 21.0 [15.0;28.6] minutes, respectively. 



9

FEATURE 

Table 2 Baseline characteristics of all patients adjusted to age. Data are given in n (%) or median [Q1;Q3] 

All patients Children 

Adults 

(< 

(≥ 

N = 68,333 N = 8,803 N = 59,530 

p 

N 

Age (years) 50.0 [27.0;65.0] 10.0 [5.00;13.0] 54.0 [36.0;68.0] 0.000 68,333 

Sex: < 0.001 68,333 

Female 24,317 (35.6%) 3,628 (41.2%) 20,689 (34.8%) 

Male 44,010 (64.4%) 5,174 (58.8%) 38,836 (65.2%) 

Other 6 (0.01%) 1 (0.01%) 5 (0.01%) 

National Advisory Committee for 

< 0.001 68,333 

Aeronautics (NACA) score: 

NACA I–III 32,496 (47.6%) 5,396 (61.3%) 27,100 (45.5%) 

NACA IV–VI 35,837 (52.4%) 3,407 (38.7%) 32,430 (54.5%) 

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS): < 0.001 64,918 

3 5,106 (7.87%) 307 (3.64%) 4,799 (8.49%) 

4 335 (0.52%) 27 (0.32%) 308 (0.55%) 

5 318 (0.49%) 34 (0.40%) 284 (0.50%) 

6 558 (0.86%) 72 (0.85%) 486 (0.86%) 

7 523 (0.81%) 66 (0.78%) 457 (0.81%) 

8 519 (0.80%) 76 (0.90%) 443 (0.78%) 

9 505 (0.78%) 97 (1.15%) 408 (0.72%) 

10 780 (1.20%) 124 (1.47%) 656 (1.16%) 

11 869 (1.34%) 122 (1.45%) 747 (1.32%) 

12 938 (1.44%) 132 (1.57%) 806 (1.43%) 

13 1,892 (2.91%) 262 (3.11%) 1,630 (2.89%) 

14 6,238 (9.61%) 737 (8.75%) 5501 (9.74%) 

15 46,337 (71.4%) 6,369 (75.6%) 39,968 (70.7%) 

Location < 0.001 62,158 

Urban 32,283 (51.9%) 3,789 (46.4%) 28,494 (52.8%) 

Remote 29,875 (48.1%) 4,381 (53.6%) 25,494 (47.2%) 

Helicopter hoist operation (HHO): < 0.001 68,333 

No 60,785 (89.0%) 8,527 (96.9%) 52,258 (87.8%) 

Yes 7,548 (11.0%) 276 (3.14%) 7,272 (12.2%) 

Activity: < 0.001 63,943 

Traffic 9,301 (14.5%) 821 (9.5%) 8,480 (15.3%) 

Sport (Summer) 4,204 (6.6%) 399 (4.6%) 3,805 (6.9%) 

Sport Mountains (Summer) 5,727 (9.0%) 317 (3.7%) 5,410 (9.8%) 

Sport (Winter) 16,970 (26.5%) 3,977 (45.8%) 12,993 (23.5%) 

Sport Mountains (Winter) 1,197 (1.9%) 13 (0.15%) 1,184 (2.14%) 

Water Sports 579 (0.9%) 113 (1.30%) 466 (0.84%) 

Other 25,965 (40.6%) 3,046 (35.1%) 22,919 (41.5%) 

Time of day: < 0.001 68,333 

Daytime (07:00–19:00) 58,842 (86.1%) 7,818 (88.8%) 51,024 (85.7%) 

Night-time (otherwise) 9,491 (13.9%) 985 (11.2%) 8,506 (14.3%) 

Prehospital time (min) 50.6 [41.0;62.0] 47.0 [39.0;57.0] 51.0 [41.5;63.0] < 0.001 64,899 

On-scene time (min) 21.0 [15.0;28.6] 19.0 [14.0;25.0] 21.0 [15.2;29.0] < 0.001 64,765 


Detailed diagnoses, summarised in Table 3, were available in 53,105 

missions (77.7% of all missions). Among these missions, 68.5% and 

39.8% of patients were diagnosed with trauma and non-trauma, 

respectively. Significantly, Table 3 highlights that multiple trauma 

diagnoses were made in 39.3% of trauma patients and multiple nontrauma 

diagnoses in 32.9% of non-trauma patients. Note that in this 

analysis, we explicitly accounted for the possibility of both trauma and 

non-trauma diagnoses in a single patient. 

Table 4 summarises the interventions and monitoring conducted, 

stratified into the following categories: basic interventions and 

monitoring, immobilisation and analgesia, critical interventions, airway 

management and resuscitation. Detailed variables were available in 

60,278 (88.2%) missions. Intravenous access and SpO2 monitoring 

were established in 82.8% and 85.0% of missions, respectively. 

Analgesia was given in 50.3% of missions, while intraosseous access 

was performed in 0.9% of all missions where the measures were 

available. As regards airway management, tracheal intubation and 

10 


FEATURE 

Table 3 Diagnoses and on-scene times stratified by age. Data are given in n (%) or median [Q1;Q3] 

All patients Children 

Adults 

(< 

(≥ 

N = 68,333 N = 8,803 N = 59,530 

p 

N 

Diagnosis available: 53,105 (77.7%) 6,889 (78.3%) 46,216 (77.6%) 0.195 68,333 

Trauma 

Trauma diagnosis: 36,354 (68.5%) 5,647 (82.0%) 30,707 (66.4%) < 0.001 53,105 

Number of trauma diagnoses: < 0.001 36,354 

1 22,068 (60.7%) 3,779 (66.9%) 18,289 (59.6%) 

2 8,435 (23.2%) 1325 (23.5%) 7,110 (23.2%) 

3 4,152 (11.4%) 446 (7.90%) 3,706 (12.1%) 

4 1,699 (4.7%) 97 (1.7%) 

1,602 (5.2%) 


On-scene time (min) 20.0 [15.0;28.0] 18.8 [14.0;24.0] 20.0 [15.0;28.3] < 0.001 34,719 

Non-Trauma 

Non-trauma diagnosis : 21,144 (39.8%) 1,618 (23.5%) 19,526 (42.2%) < 0.001 53,105 

Number of non-trauma diagnoses: < 0.001 21,144 

1 14,194 (67.1%) 1,380 (85.3%) 12,814 (65.6%) 

2 4,836 (22.9%) 211 (13.0%) 4,625 (23.7%) 

3 1,623 (7.68%) 25 (1.55%) 1,598 (8.18%) 

4 491 (2.32%) 2 (0.12%) 

489 (2.50%) 

Type of non-trauma: 

Circulatory system 12,037 (56.9%) 199 (12.3%) 

11,838 (60.6%) < 0.001 21,144 

Respiratory system 1398 (6.6%) 294 (18.2%) 

1104 (5.7%) < 0.001 21,144 

Nervous system 2545 (12.0%) 342 (21.1%) 

2203 (11.3%) < 0.001 21,144 

Other 6415 (30.3%) 805 (49.8%) 

5610 (28.7%) < 0.001 21,144 


On-scene time (min) 22.0 [16.0;30.0] 21.0 [15.8;28.0] 22.0 [16.2;30.0] 

< 0.001 19,922 

capnography were performed in 10.3% and 11.4% of all missions, 

respectively. Chest compressions were performed as a resuscitation 

measure in 2.5% of all missions. Significantly, in 91.5% of all missions 

with recorded measures, further measures, as mentioned in Table 1, 

were taken beyond those explicitly mentioned in Table 4. While most 

patients were immobilised with the vacuum mattress, cervical collar 

and vacuum splinting were rarely used. 

Data including ICD-10 diagnosis, interventions and monitoring to be 

entered into the multivariable regression model with the outcome ‘onscene 

time’ were available for 45,060 missions (paediatric n = 5,981, 

adults n = 39,079), as summarised in Table 5. In the model, helicopter 

hoist operations (HHO) had the largest effect on on-scene time: a 

mission requiring HHO adds on average 15.1 (95%-CI 14.7–15.5, p < 

0.001) minutes to the overall on-scene time. Table 5 highlights that 

each critical intervention and each airway-management measure 

adds on average 2.4 (95%CI 2.0–2.9, p < 0.001) minutes and 2.4 

(95%-CI 2.3–3.6, p < 0.001) minutes, respectively. Note that separate 

regression models were computed for the child and adult sub-groups. 

To aid the interpretation and relative size of the regression coefficient, 

Fig. 2 illustrates each variable’s estimates of the regression coefficients 

(in units of minutes) in decreasing order. 

This study explicitly considers the number and types of measures 

taken (e.g. airway management measures): the impact of multiple 

measures on on-scene time in the child and adult sub-groups is shown 

in Fig. 3, which shows that the on-scene time increases linearly as a 

function of the number of airway-management, monitoring and criticalintervention 

measures. 

Discussion 

In summary, in Swiss Air-Rescue’s physician-staffed HEMS, adjusted 

on-scene and prehospital time for missions with paediatric patients 

was slightly longer than in missions with adult patients. Patients in 

remote areas that are difficult to access due to the terrain, requiring 

an evacuation involving a helicopter hoist, were associated with 

the greatest prolongation of on-scene time. Critical interventions, 

resuscitation and airway management also influenced the on-scene 

time to a varying degree (Fig. 3). Every single intervention and 

monitoring measure has a cumulative effect on on-scene time. 

An observational study reported median HEMS on-scene times of 

only 10 min, which may be explained by a high proportion of treatment 

interventions being conducted by ground-based medical teams before 

final helicopter transport [20]. A German comparative registry analysis 

of trauma patients between 2007 and 2009 showed on-scene times 

of around 40 min for HEMS and explained these in terms of a high 

proportion of patients requiring airway management [21]. Patient 

survival for HEMS transport was improved in this German analysis 

compared to the cohort of ground transportation by ambulance. In our 

analysis, on-scene time significantly depended on the interventions 

and measurements performed. It remains unclear whether—and if so 

to what extent—prolonged on-scene time in general influences patient 



11

FEATURE 

Table 4 Available measures of interventions and monitoring stratified by age Data are given in n (%) 

All patients 

N = 68,333 

Children 

(< 

N = 8,803 

Adults 

(≥ 

N = 59,530 

p 

N 

Measure available: 60,278 (88.2%) 7,923 (90.0%) 52,355 (87.9%) 

Basic interventions and monitoring 

iv access 49,923 (82.8%) 4,761 (60.1%) 45,162 (86.3%) 

SpO 2 

51,214 (85.0%) 6,353 (80.2%) 44,861 (85.7%) 

ECG 30,974 (51.4%) 2,038 (25.7%) 28,936 (55.3%) 

Temperature 3,073 (5.10%) 421 (5.31%) 2,652 (5.07%) 

Immobilisation & analgesia 

Vacuum mattress 24,555 (40.7%) 4,041 (51.0%) 20,514 (39.2%) 

Sedation 613 (1.0%) 130 (1.6%) 483 (0.9%) 

Analgesia 31,928 (53.0%) 3,627 (45.8%) 28,301 (54.1%) 

Reduction of a fracture or dislocation 1,048 (1.7%) 124 (1.6%) 924 (1.8%) 

Haemostasis 1,460 (2.4%) 104 (1.3%) 1,356 (2.6%) 

Critical interventions 

i.o. access 548 (0.9%) 110 (1.4%) 438 (0.8%) 

eFONA 14 (0.02%) 1 (0.01%) 13 (0.02%) 

Chest needle decompression 182 (0.3%) 8 (0.1%) 174 (0.3%) 

transcutaneous paceing 139 (0.2%) 1 (0.01%) 138 (0.3%) 

Vasopressors 3,544 (5.9%) 202 (2.6%) 3342 (6.4%) 

Airway management 

Tracheal intubation 6,210 (10.3%) 421 (5.3%) 5,789 (11.1%) 

Facemask ventilation 2,822 (4.7%) 265 (3.3%) 2,557 (4.9%) 

NMBA 3,834 (6.4%) 251 (3.2%) 3,583 (6.8%) 

Capnography 6,884 (11.4%) 473 (6.0%) 6,411 (12.2%) 

Resuscitation 

Chest compressions 1,476 (2.5%) 104 (1.3%) 1,372 (2.6%) 

Defibrillation 8,68 (1.4%) 22 (0.3%) 846 (1.6%) 

Mechanical chest compression device 1,128 (1.9%) 26 (0.3%) 1,102 (2.1%) 

Other 

Other* 55,131 (91.5%) 6,727 (84.9%) 48,404 (92.5%) 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

0.363 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

0.222 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

> 0.99 

0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

< 0.001 

ECG electrocardiogram, eFONA emergency front of neck access, iv intravenous, i.o. intraosseous, NMBA neuromuscular blocking agent, SpO 2 

peripheral oxygen saturation 

*Including but not limited to: wound dressing, vacuum splinting and cervical collar 

68,333 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 

60,278 


outcomes [3]. Fixating solely on shortening on-scene times might not 

capture the reality for patients, as life-saving interventions performed at 

the prehospital stage substantially reduced mortality in trauma patients 

[7, 10]. Discovering the correct diagnosis may reduce the delivery time 

for definitive treatment. For example, stroke patients had improved 

functional outcomes when treated by a mobile prehospital stroke unit 

as compared to traditional treatment in hospital [22]. 

Helicopters enable missions to rescue patients, especially in remote 

and difficult terrain. Given the topography of Switzerland, with the 

Alps extending up to 4,634 m and many narrow valleys, these patients 

might be impossible to reach by ground ambulances. Many missions 

in this analysis involved patients undertaking recreational activities in 

the mountains in summer and winter (e.g. skiing, hiking or climbing). 

Rescue missions with ground-based evacuation teams could, to 

the patient’s disadvantage, easily require several hours just to reach 

the patient. A HEMS helicopter operating with a helicopter hoist can 

bring a physician to the patient directly and in a timely way, resulting 

in immediate access to clinical investigations and interventions [23]. 

This could be crucial, as an analysis of helicopter hoist missions in 

a physician-staffed HEMS reported that nearly 20% of the patients 

were severely injured and presented with a NACA score ≥ 4 [6]. Such 

helicopter hoist operations can avoid lengthy terrestrial evacuations, 

which potentially endanger both patients and rescue crews. Although 

our data revealed that helicopter hoist operations were associated with 

the greatest prolongation of on-scene time, the additional on-scene 

time spent in these HEMS missions results in substantially less rescue 

time and likely greater chances of neurologically intact survival, as 

compared to traditional ground rescue. 

Advanced airway management in a patient with respiratory failure or 

the need for a patent airway is a potentially life-saving intervention, 

which is performed safely by physician-staffed HEMS services, often 

anaesthesiologists [24]. This skill could even be performed in-cabin 

as an en-route treatment to optimise time management during 

the flight to the hospital [25]. Resuscitation was associated with 

prolonged on-scene time. Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation 

in the cabin by HEMS is challenging due to the helicopter’s limited 

personnel resources and working space. Nonetheless, mechanical 

chest compression devices facilitate high-quality cardiopulmonary 

resuscitation in such situations [26]. No evidence, such as outcome 

data, is yet available for cases after the use of mechanical resuscitation 

12 


FEATURE 

Table 5 The regression coefficient of multivariable linear regression with the outcome on-scene time (in minutes) stratified by age 

Outcome: On-scene time (min) All patients Children (< Adults (16 ≥ years) 

Characteristic Beta 95% CI p Beta 95% CI p Beta 95% CI p 

Helicopter hoist operation (HHO) 

No – – – – – – 

Yes 15.1 14.7, 15.5 < 0.001 13.0 11.7, 14.3 < 0.001 15.1 14.6, 15.5 < 0.001 

Critical interventions (per measure) 2.4 2.0, 2.9 < 0.001 2.7 1.5, 3.9 < 0.001 2.4 1.9, 2.9 < 0.001 

Airway management (per measure) 2.4 2.3, 2.6 < 0.001 2.8 2.4, 3.2 < 0.001 2.4 2.2, 2.5 < 0.001 

Resuscitation (per measure) 2.1 1.8, 2.5 < 0.001 1.6 0.03, 3.2 0.046 2.2 1.8, 2.5 < 0.001 

Basic interventions and monitoring (per 

measure) 

Location 

*including but not limited to: wound dressing, vacuum splinting and cervical collar 

1.9 1.7, 2.0 < 0.001 1.5 1.2, 1.8 < 0.001 2.0 1.8, 2.2 < 0.001 

(per measure) 1.5 1.4, 1.7 < 0.001 1.1 0.72, 1.4 < 0.001 1.7 1.5, 1.8 < 0.001 

Urban – – – – – – 

Remote 1.2 0.93, 1.5 < 0.001 − 0.35 − 0.90, 0.20 0.2 1.6 1.3, 1.9 < 0.001 

Time of day 

Daytime (07:00–19:00) – – – – – – 

Night-time (otherwise) 1.0 0.65, 1.3 < 0.001 1.6 0.84, 2.4 < 0.001 0.86 0.49, 1.2 < 0.001 

Other measures* (per measure) 0.82 0.75, 0.90 < 0.001 0.71 0.54, 0.87 < 0.001 0.85 0.77, 0.93 < 0.001 

Non-trauma (per diagnosis) 0.67 0.49, 0.84 < 0.001 1.2 0.71, 1.8 < 0.001 0.68 0.49, 0.86 < 0.001 

Trauma (per diagnosis) 0.41 0.28, 0.55 < 0.001 − 0.13 − 0.45, 0.20 0.4 0.47 0.32, 0.62 < 0.001 

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

(NACA) score 

NACA I–III – – – – – – 

NACA IV–VI 0.36 0.05, 0.67 0.021 0.43 − 0.13, 1.0 0.13 0.28 − 0.07, 0.62 0.12 

Sex 

Female – – – – – – 

Male − 0.19 − 0.42, 0.05 0.12 − 0.39 − 0.85, 0.07 0.094 − 0.14 − 0.41, 0.12 0.3 

Age category 

Children – – – – – – 

Adults − 0.83 − 1.2, − 0.49 < 0.001 

Model performance 

Number of observations (N) 45,060 5,981 39,079 

Adjusted R-squared 0.23 0.26 0.23 

devices under HEMS conditions. Unfortunately, most of these devices 

cannot be used with paediatric patients, as reflected by the low 

numbers in our cohort. 

Critical interventions were regularly performed and associated with 

prolonged on-scene time. Most common in this cohort was the 

administration of intravenous vasopressors to maintain perfusion, 

intraosseous access and chest needle decompression. 

Intravenous access and analgesia were less frequently reported in 

children than in adults, even though children had more trauma. Our 

findings are in line with a recent observational study in a physicianstaffed 

HEMS [27]. Even if missions involving children were rare and 

physicians might not be that thoroughly trained in paediatric rescue, 

not to mention afraid of the potential risks, the reasons behind this 

inequity are unclear and require further investigation. Furthermore, the 

adjusted model revealed a slightly longer on-scene time for paediatric 

patients, while unadjusted on-scene time was shorter. This might be 

explained by statistical confounding, as paediatric patients had lower 

NACA scores compared to adults. However, while this finding was 

statistically significant, the clinical importance of a prolonged on-scene 

time of only 1 min might be negligible. 

Modifiable variables, such as the duration of a single measure (e.g. a 

critical intervention), have a significantly larger impact on on-scene time 

than non-modifiable factors, such as age category, type and number 

of diagnoses, and NACA score. Thus, reducing the duration of a single 

measure (intervention or monitoring) in these categories or performing 

these measures in parallel or during the flight as in-cabin treatment 

may hold significant potential to reduce on-scene time. 

While the measurements in our model were considered statistically 

independent, several measurements affect each other in clinical 

practice: A patient with a cardiac arrest is likely to be treated at least 

with chest compressions, defibrillation, intravenous or intraosseous 

access, vasopressors, intubation and capnography. Considering 

the time for all the single measurements, a cardiopulmonary 

resuscitation might easily last 10–15 min on-scene. For patients 

requiring emergency anaesthesia, baseline monitoring (SpO2, 

electrocardiogram, non-invasive blood pressure, and capnography), 

intravenous or intraosseous access, several medications (e.g. hypnotic, 

opioid, neuromuscular blocking agent, vasopressors), facemask 



13

FEATURE 

Figure 2. Regression coefficients of the multivariable linear regression model with ‘on-scene time’ as the outcome. Mean and 95% confidence 

intervals are shown. Separate regression models were computed for (i) all patients, (ii) the child sub-group and (iii) the adult sub-group. HHO 

helicopter hoist operations, NACA National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 


ventilation, intubation and mechanical ventilation might also result in 

at least 10–15 min spent on-scene. In our HEMS, one medical crew 

member is responsible for preparing and administering medication 

and hemodynamic monitoring, while the other oversees airway 

management. These parallel performed tasks might save time spent 

on-scene. However, communication is important in such situations to 

have shared mental models within the HEMS crew; thus, an airway 

checklist is performed as standard operating procedure [28]. 

Our study has several limitations due to its retrospective and 

observational character. Data in some mission reports (i.e. ICD-10 

diagnosis or measurement) are missing. The time of arrival on-scene 

is the landing time of the helicopter. Thus, the on-scene time might 

be slightly overestimated. We considered patients with a NACA score 

≥ IV potentially time-critical. However, only the patient’s most severe 

NACA score was recorded, which might be resolved by early on-scene 

treatment (e.g. airway obstruction, tension pneumothorax, anaphylactic 

shock). Our data may be difficult to compare with those from other 

topographic areas with less need for helicopter hoist operations. 

Unfortunately, our database lacks patient-survival and outcome data, 

which we realised is an important point for improvement on this study. 

Finally, the study took place over a long period of time which might 

have had influence in terms of protocols and practice. 

Conclusions 

In conclusion, compared to adult patients, the adjusted on-scene and the 

prehospital time for children was slightly longer, and children were more 

likely to have trauma, but also a lower NACA score. Intravenous access 

and analgesia were less frequently established in children. On-scene 

time was significantly prolonged in rescue missions with helicopter hoist 

operations. Each individual intervention and monitoring measure increases 

on-scene time. Thus, performing such interventions in parallel or as 

in-cabin treatment could be an option to reduce on-scene time in lifethreatening 

patient conditions, but would require special training. However, 

multiple clinical interventions and monitoring interact and are not single 

interventions. Compared to the impact of interventions, non-modifiable 

factors, such as NACA score, type of diagnosis and age, make only a 

minor contribution to overall on-scene time. Future research should focus 

on the crucial association between on-scene time and patient outcomes 

in a physician-staffed HEMS, quality of care for paediatric prehospital 

patients and the feasibility of in-cabin treatment. 

14 


FEATURE 

Figure 3. Effect plots of the multivariable linear regression model with the outcome ‘on-scene time’ (in minutes), separately for the child and adult 

sub-groups. Mean and 95% confidence intervals are shown. Note that the number of diagnoses and measures are considered as factor variables 

here to assess the linearity of the association between the number of measures and on-scene time. HHO helicopter hoist operations, NACA National 

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

Abbreviations 

HEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical Service 

HHO Helicopter Hoist Operation 

ICD International Classification of Diseases 

NACA National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

Acknowledgements 

None. 

Author contributions 

AF: conception and design, primary data acquisition, statistical analysis 

and interpretation, manuscript drafting. MH: conception, statistical 

analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting. SB, TR and RA: data 

interpretation, critical revision of the manuscript. RG: data interpretation, 

manuscript drafting and critical revision. UP: conception and design, 

primary data acquisition, data interpretation, manuscript drafting and 

critical revision, project supervision. All of the authors have read and 

approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be named 

as an author. 

Funding 

This study did not receive any specific funding. 

Availability of data and materials 

The dataset analysed in the current study is available from the 

corresponding author upon reasonable request and with permission of 

the responsible Ethics Committee. 



15

FEATURE 

Declarations 

Ethics approval and consent to participate 

The study protocol was approved by the responsible Ethics Committee 

(Ethics Committee of Eastern Switzerland; EKOS 22/021) and the 

need for informed consent was waived due to the retrospective and 

anonymised character of the data in this study. 

Consent for publication 

Not applicable. 

Competing interests 

RG is the ERC Board Member of ILCOR (International Liaison 

Committee on Resuscitation), as well as the ILCOR’s Education, 

Implementation and Team Task Force Chair. All other authors declare 

that they have no conflicts of interest. 

Author details 

1Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Inselspital, 

Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse, 3010 

Bern, Switzerland. 2Swiss Air-Rescue (Rega), Zurich, Switzerland. 

3Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Cantonal 

Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland. 4University of Bern, Bern, 

Switzerland. 5School of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 

Vienna, Austria. 6European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Research NET, 

Niel, Belgium. 7Department of Emergency Medicine, Inselspital, Bern 

University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. 

Received: 29 December 2022 Accepted: 6 April 2023 

Published online: 14 April 2023 

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17

NEWSLINE 

opens the new base open for 

Magpas Air Ambulance to begin 

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headquarters. 

is a momentous day, however 

our hard work continues as we 

look to develop our services 

further, push to raise the £6million 

needed keep us flying every year, 

and continue to save lives 24/7.” 

HRH The Princess Royal unveils plaque, opening the new 

Magpas Air Ambulance airbase 

Daryl Brown MBE DL, the 

charity’s Chief Executive Officer, 

said “It was an honour to 

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she’s been so pivotal in helping 

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Find out more about the charity 

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Ambulance medic 

raises money for new 

defibrillator in tearful 

tribute to brother 


HRH The Princess 

Royal opens 

new Magpas Air 

Ambulance base in 

Cambridgeshire 

On Tuesday, 12th September 

Magpas Air Ambulance staff, 

clinicians, former patients 

and supporters witnessed an 

important milestone in the 

charity’s history as HRH The 

Princess Royal opened the new 

charity airbase. 

The lifesaving charity has been 

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The building, designed by MCW 

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Lindum, includes a dedicated 

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crew and clinicians; and has 

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treated them, away from the 

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To ensure it maximises renewable 

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designed with the approach 

of ‘be lean, be clean and be 

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The location of the new airbase 

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major trunk roads, which will 

reduce vehicle dispatch times 

by up to 15 minutes, and the 

co-location of the charity’s 

operations and support staff— 

who currently work across two 

sites—will be more efficient: 

reducing charity overheads and 

improving environmental impact. 

HRH The Princess Royal became 

Magpas Air Ambulance’s Patron 

after she visited the charity’s 

previous operations base in 

February 2020, and heard about 

the need for the service to find a 

new home. In 2021, the charity’s 

50th year of operations, HRH 

launched the Future 50 Appeal 

aimed at raising the funding 

needed to complete the building. 

And in February of this year, HRH 

unveiled a cornerstone to mark 

the ongoing development of 

the project. 

However, Tuesday’s visit from The 

Princess Royal is undoubtedly 

the most exciting yet as HRH 

“After she unveiled the plaque, 

which will become a treasured 

part of our building alongside the 

cornerstone, we were delighted 

to see her passion for the service 

we provide. 

“It’s incredibly exciting to see, 

what has been a plan for a very 

long time, finally come to fruition. 

Magpas Air Ambulance has 

treated over 70,000 patients in 

the past 50 years, and this new 

building will be fundamental 

to our service going forward 

saving thousands more lives 

and keeping families together for 

generations to come.” 

Magpas Air Ambulance is one 

of the first emergency medical 

charities of its kind in the UK, 

initially set up by two GPs in 1971. 

The new airbase is an important 

milestone in its 50-year pursuit 

to improve emergency care 

for patients across the region. 

However, for the charity that has 

experienced the highest number 

of activations in six years, the 

hard work has just begun. Natalie 

Church, the charity’s Director 

of Operations who led the new 

base development explains, 

“In addition to enhancing our 

service, the new building provides 

so many more opportunities to 

increase the understanding of our 

work and teach the community 

lifesaving skills such as CPR. 

For Magaps Air Ambulance this 

An ambulance medic has 

raised money for a new 

defibrillator at the temple 

where his brother died 

suddenly last year. 

Ron Dhesi, a long-serving 

London Ambulance Service 

frontline worker, raised £2400 in 

just two hours for a defibrillator 

that he recently installed at 

Woolwich Gurdwara, where his 

older brother passed away. 

Ron then taught the community 

how to use the defibrillator – 

which can restart someone’s 

heart if it has stopped beating 

- and perform life-saving chest 

compressions. 

Perminder Singh Dhesi, from 

Welling, was only 66 when he 

went into cardiac arrest after 

an afternoon service at the 

south east-London Sikh temple 

last December. 


crews tried desperately to save 

him but Perminder died shortly 

after his collapse. 

18 


Emergency Medical Technician 

Ron Dhesi, 64, said: 

“We were together on Christmas 

day as we normally are every year 

– he was absolutely fine, he was a 

perfectly healthy man. 

“I know from my job that a 

cardiac arrest can happen to 

anyone, at any time, but you 

never expect the worst day to 

happen to you. 

At Perminder’s funeral, Ron 

spoke to the members of the 

temple about the vital importance 

of having a defibrillator on site. 

Within two hours, Ron had 

already gathered enough money 

to buy a new defibrillator and 

convinced the community to learn 

life-saving skills. 

Ron, who has worked for 

London Ambulance Service for 

20 years, has since delivered a 

lifesaving training session at the 

Gurdwara with his son Chanbir, 

35, who is also a London 

Ambulance Service paramedic, 

and his colleagues Tom Aris and 

Simran Pengli. 

Welling with emotion talking 

about his loss, Ron said: 

“My relationship with my brother 

was beyond words. Not having 

him for the past eight months has 

taken a lot out of me. 

“He was the sibling that you 

dream of. We grew up together, 

he stood up for me, fought for 

me. He was the one who glued 

the family together. 

“He loved his grandchildren, but 

sadly he missed the birth of his 

granddaughter. 

“We will never know if my brother 

could have been saved if a 

defibrillator was there, but this is 

all about giving someone the best 

chance of survival.” 

Ron is now planning training 

sessions at other temples in 

Greenwich. 

Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive at 

London Ambulance Service, said: 

“Rons’ incredible devotion to 

the health and wellbeing of his 

community at an incredibly 

difficult time for his family is 

really inspiring. 

“I support his efforts to 

encourage people to learn vital 

resuscitation skills and help make 

London a city of lifesavers: you 

could save the life of a loved one.” 

Trust working with 

partners to improve 

care for lower 

category call patients 

South East Coast Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust, 

(SECAmb), is working with its 

partners to establish ways of 

improving the care received by 

lower category call patients. 

Recognising that many of these 

patients are often waiting too 

long for an ambulance response 

or being taken to hospital when 

they could be treated elsewhere, 

including by community 

healthcare providers, SECAmb 

is developing an approach that 

will see NHS Urgent Community 

Response (UCR) teams from 

across its region access its 

Computer Aided Dispatch 

(CAD) system. 

UCR teams provide urgent 

care to people in their homes 

which helps to avoid hospital 

admissions and enables people 

to live independently for longer. 

Through these teams, older 

people and adults with complex 

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19

NEWSLINE 

health needs who urgently need 

care, can get fast access to a 

range of health and social care 

professionals within two hours. 

Access to the system will follow 

a 12-week period of working with 

SECAmb, with daily ‘touch points’ 

to establish the types of calls 

which would be better assigned 

to community teams. The UCR 

team is then given access to a 

portal that allows them to review 

and directly attend appropriate 

calls and, in turn, ensure 

ambulance clinicians are freer to 

respond to calls which require an 

ambulance response. 

The touch point calls also offer 

both providers and SECAmb 

with an opportunity to better 

understand the range of patients 

calling 999 that could potentially 

be managed by UCRs earlier in a 

patient’s journey. 

Operations for Integrated Care 

(999 and 111) Scott Thowney 

said: “This important work aims 

to improve patient care and 

provide a more appropriate 

service to some of our lower 

category call patients who 

may not necessarily require an 


“By working more closely with 

community providers across our 

region, we will ensure that more 

patients can be receive timely 

treatment and our clinicians 

will be freer to respond to 

those patients who require an 


“This additional partnership work 

will help SECAmb and the wider 

NHS ahead of the winter and 

ensure we are doing all that we 

can to provide the right care for 

our patients.” 

A cycle paramedic who hops 

on her bike to save lives every 

day has achieved a top 20 

finish at one of the world’s 

most renowned cycling 

championships. 

Carol Reeves, 44, a medic in 

London Ambulance Service’s 

pioneering Cycle Response 

Unit (CRU), ranked 19th in 

the UCI Gran Fondo World 

Championships in August – 

the world’s biggest and most 

prestigious competition for both 

professional and amateur cyclists. 

It took Carol just five hours and 

10 minutes to cycle 100 miles, 

climbing a gruelling 6,000 ft. 

She tackled the challenging 

roads of Highland Perthshire 

outpacing 180 of the world’s best 

women riders. 

moving to Waterloo to cover an 

area in Central London by bike. 

This year, Carol qualified at the 

Gran Fondo race in Cambridge 

and was then invited to represent 

Team GB in Glasgow. 

Only the top 25% of riders from 

27 qualifying events held around 

the world were invited to compete 

in Scotland. 


Cycle Response Unit is a team of 

40 paramedics who ride through 

the city’s busiest areas to alleviate 

pressures on ambulances. 

Cycle paramedics carry 75 

kilograms of equipment, 

including the same life-saving 

equipment as an ambulance like a 

defibrillator and electrocardiogram 

(ECG) machine. 


Following this period, the teams 

will be able to review 999 calls 

awaiting a response and, where 

appropriate, respond directly to 

lower category 3 and category 

4 calls instead of SECAmb 

clinicians. 

While the work is at an early 

stage, referrals to the UCRs are 

increasing week on week. Daily 

touch point calls are now taking 

place with UCRs in Sussex and 

Medway and several teams within 

Surrey and Kent participating 

or scheduled to start in the 

coming weeks. 

Currently, SECAmb’s ‘hear and 

treat rate’ – 999 calls which 

are handled with advice over 

the phone or referral to another 

service – stands at approximately 

10 per cent. The service is 

looking to increase the rate to 

14 per cent – the equivalent to 

around 30,000 calls a year, which 

would have otherwise received an 


SECAmb Head of Clinical 

Hollie Poole, West Sussex Area 

Director at Sussex Community 

NHS Foundation Trust said: 

“I’ve had positive feedback from 

our clinicians on the ground. 

They’ve told me that the Urgent 

Community Response model 

and the work that they are 

undertaking feels responsive, 

relevant and is making a real 

difference to our patients. 

“This is a fantastic example of 

what can be achieved through 

collaborative working. As we 

continue to work closely together, 

I’m excited for the future of UCR 

in Sussex.” 

Cycle paramedic 

breaks into top 20 at 

global championship 

Carol said: “Getting to the finish 

line was a bit like racing to save 

the life of a patient. You need to 

have the confidence that you are 

going to make it.” 

Carol, who has been at the 

Service for 17 years, cycles an 

average of 30 miles per shift. As 

a cycle paramedic, she can race 

past the capital’s heavy traffic to 

get to her patients in an average 

of six minutes. 

Carol said: “Pedalling fast to get 

to emergencies on a bike that has 

lots of medical equipment packed 

into panniers definitely helped me 

prepare for the competition. 

“It was amazing to achieve such a 

result. All that was going through 

my head was: ‘please, don’t 

come last!’” 

Carol, from Dartford, Kent, 

became a keen cyclist 15 

years ago, after a career in the 

British Army. 

In 2006, she started working as a 

paramedic in East London, before 

Over 50 per cent of the patients 

they treat can be discharged at 

the scene, freeing up ambulance 

crews to attend patients who 

need to be taken to hospital. 

East of England 

Ambulance Service 

NHS Trust (EEAST) 

has taken a 

remarkable step 

towards prioritising 

the mental health 

of its staff by 

introducing approved 

support dogs. 

This pawsome new scheme 

involves the use of four-legged 

friends to provide essential 

support and companionship 

24/7 to EEAST staff members 

after traumatic events. 

20 


NEWSLINE 

EEAST has so far enlisted 17 four- 

their own dogs to workstations, 

by reducing doctor visits and 

Two decommissioned 

legged friends, with an additional 

50 awaiting assessment. Known 

as GoodDOGS, these canine 

emergency operation centres, 

and offices. Although the 

proposal was initially approved, 

significantly improving mental 

health and overall wellbeing. 

ambulances and a Land Rover 

have been handed over to the 

Ukrainian military courtesy of a 

companions are the personal 

pets of staff members and have 

undergone assessment by a staff 

representative, authorised by 

Canine Concern, the overseeing 

organization. 

Those pups approved for 

the pandemic hindered its 

implementation. When I 

learned about Cambridgeshire 

Police’s welfare dog project in 

2020, I realised it was exactly 

what our teams needed. After 

consultations and discussions, 

I≈decided to revive the 

The rollout of the GoodDOGS 

scheme commenced in April, 

beginning with the recruitment of 

the first three dogs. Subsequent 

assessment days have been 

held in Chelmsford, Longwater, 

Bedford EOC, and Melbourn HQ. 

Ukrainian doctor and his friends. 

This is the third such donation of 

decommissioned vehicles and 

equipment to be donated by the 

service over the last year. 

Anatoliy Telpov, who works in the 

participation receive their own 

identification badges and are 

available round the clock to 

provide support, especially 

after traumatic events, and the 

initiative represents a significant 

stride in employee wellbeing, 

project and introduce our own 

GoodDOGS to EEAST.” 

The positive effects of interactions 

with dogs on human health and 

wellbeing are well-established. 

Dogs contribute to increased 

More former 

ambulances sent to 

frontline of Ukraine 

conflict 

Emergency Department of South 

Tyneside District Hospital, was 

a key member of a group who 

drove the fleet close to the border 

of Ukraine. 

The efforts by Dr Telpov, who 

demonstrating the Trust’s 

commitment to providing support 

to its dedicated and valued 

staff members. 

physical activity, reduced risks 

of cardiovascular disease, and 

enhanced immunity to allergies, 

particularly in children. According 

Former ambulances still 

supporting patients in need 

after being decommissioned 

is from Ivano-Frankivsk, a city 

in the west of the country, 

follows previous work with NHS 

colleague Kelley Storey. She 

Amanda Harris, project lead, 

said: “The inspiration for this 

initiative came from a proposal in 

to research conducted by the 

University of Lincoln, dogs 

play a pivotal role in saving the 

UK health sector an estimated 

North East Ambulance Service 

has donated more former 

ambulance vehicles to the 

works for Northumbria Healthcare 

NHS Foundation Trust and private 

ambulance company, FSNE. 

2019 to have staff members bring 

£2.45 billion annually, primarily 

Ukraine support effort. 

Alongside the NEAS vehicles, 

Rendering Controlled Drugs Irretrievable for Use 

SaferDenature Controlled Drug denaturing kits will render unused, waste 

or expired medicines irretrievable prior to disposal via pharmaceutical 

waste streams in line with current legislation * . 

Suitable for use with tablets, capsules, 

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The water soluble sachet contains the 

formula granules to guard against 

accidental spillage and user contamination 

Available in volumes from 250ml to 20L to 

suit different working environments 

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09 Safer Denature - Ambulance UK - Sept 2023.indd 1 28/09/2023 09:43:02 


21

NEWSLINE 

FSNE donated a 4x4 and 

provided funds to pay for fuel and 

food for the journey. 

checks and now they’re out 

there helping. We got some great 

feedback from the military, saying 

they were a help.” 

With the help of Harry Clark, 

who works for NEAS, and FSNE 

team members James Redshaw, 

Katharine Sayer and Stephen 

Aitken, all four vehicles were 

taken across to mainland Europe 

and then to the Polish border to 

be handed to Ukrainian military 

representatives. 

A further two vehicles have also 

been donated to the Bravery 

Foundation which has also been 

used for the Ukraine effort. 

Another 7.5 tonne lorry will be 

donated in September 2023. 

Graham Tebbutt, managing 


Simarnam Singh, who also 

works as a doctor alongside Dr 

Telpov at South Tyneside and 

Sunderland NHS Foundation 

Trust, and his friends and family 

from the Sikh Temple GKMRHK 

in South Shields, sponsored ferry 

travel, hotels and return flights for 

the team. 

The vehicles have since 

undergone checks in Ukraine 

and have been resprayed. They 

will now be helping to transport 

casualties from the frontline to 

where they can be treated. 

The doctor and a team of friends 

and supporters he works with, 

are now seeking out more 

4x4 vehicles and quadbikes 

to send over in the next wave 

of donations. 

They hope to raise more funds 

and gather together as many 

donated vehicles as possible to 

send over to Ukraine. 

He said: “These vehicles have 

gone to help get people to 

hospitals from the frontline and 

we know they have gone to help 

in the South East of the country. 

They will be helping every day. 

“The journey to take them over to 

Ukraine went very well. The team 

was absolutely marvellous and 

dedicated and they faced long 

days and very hot conditions with 

no air conditioning. 

“All the vehicles got their final 

director of NEASUS, the 

subsidiary fleet arm of North 

East Ambulance Service, said: 

“It’s great to know that even after 

they’ve finished serving the North 

East public, our vehicles are 

able to continue helping patients 

in need. 

“My team have been really proud 

of being able to play a small role 

in this work, and I’d like to thank 

them for their support in ensuring 

the vehicles were capable of 

completing the journey.” 

Dr Telpov added: “A special thank 

you must go to Kelley for her help 

and time with this project. 

“Graham has also been a huge 

support, without the generous gift 

of the ambulances and supplies 

it would not have been possible. 

“I would like to say a thank you 

to Greg Douglas and Melissa 

Douglas, the directors of FSNE, 

and their team, as well as my 

colleague Sim for everything they 

have done. 

“Now we are working to source 

as many 4x4s and quadbikes as 

we can, as they can handle the 

terrain and can be used to get 

people who need help out fast.” 

Anyone interested in donating 

funds can donate via the 

GoFundMe campaign https:// 

gofund.me/6f85e7e2 and contact 

Dr Telpov through the page. 

Staff from East of 

England Ambulance 

Service (EEAST) 

have taken part in 

a series of realistic 

emergency planning 

exercises designed 

to prepare them 

for emergency 

situations that are 

not encountered 

every day. 

One recent exercise at Sutton 

Bridge featured a simulated 

explosion on a ship and 

involved water rescue, rescue 

at height and saw EEAST 

crews and the Norfolk Fire 

and Rescue Service (NFRS) 

colleagues working closely 

together to practice triage 

and treatment of multiple 

casualties. 

EEAST’s participation was 

co-ordinated by Peterborough 

Mentoring, Support and Training 

Team with additional input from 

their Hazardous Area Response 

Teams, patient transport and 

make-ready teams. Police and 

community first responders 

also attended. 

The EEAST staff who attended 

were all on rest days and were 

drawn from a wide range 

of clinical grades including 

BSc students from Anglia 

Ruskin University. 

These exercises are in addition 

to the regular staff training, 

and are designed to offer 

high-quality, fully-immersive 

training to challenge staff with 

situations they may not encounter 

very often. 

Exercises have simulated a wide 

range of scenarios, including 

burns, heat related illness, 

trauma, shootings, drownings, 

and a stabbing in a nightclub. 

The exercises are open to all, 

regardless of clinical grade. 

“All we ask is a willingness to 

learn and get involved and we’ve 

had very positive feedback from 

all our attendees,” said Leading 

Operations Manager Laura 

Kitchen, who has co-ordinated 

22 


NEWSLINE 

the events with other EEAST and 

Fire and Rescue colleagues. 

“This is a great example of staff 

across EEAST working together 

and freely giving up their time 

to help colleagues, as well as 

an excellent example of EEAST 

working with other emergency 

services and external agencies. 

“It also shows that EEAST offers 

immersive and high-fidelity 

training to staff and students, 

which is undoubtedly of value 

in terms of recruitment and 

staff retention.” 

Peterborough Mentoring, Support 

and Training Team (MST) was 

formed four years ago to support 

all staff that were on a Learning 

or Preceptorship pathway, 

offer support to all staff who 

may have clinical questions, 

require support and to develop 

operational training, irrespective 

of their grade. 

North West 


helps identify 

patients with 

undiagnosed high 

blood pressure 

North West Ambulance Service 

(NWAS) has successfully 

piloted an initiative in Greater 

Manchester to help identify 

previously unknown cases 

of hypertension and is now 

working to scale this up to be 

rolled out region-wide. 

Having high blood pressure, or 

hypertension, is a main factor 

causing heart attacks and 

strokes. Over one third of adults 

in England have high blood 

pressure, but three in 10 of those 

don’t know they have it. Being 

aware of having high blood 

pressure is a first step to prevent 

heart attacks and strokes as this 

can be lowered to healthy levels 

and therefore reduce the risk. 

Using secure email data transfer 

of electronic patient records, the 

initial pilot involved analysing data 

of NWAS patients who had a high 

blood pressure reading during 

clinical observations on scene. 

Where the patient was cared 

for in the community without 

the need to be taken to hospital 

for immediate follow up care, 

blood pressure patient data was 

shared with the local primary care 

network so that patients could 

be called for review to confirm 

or discard hypertension by their 

GP, and a treatment plan initiated 

if necessary. 

From 71 records shared, the pilot 

helped to identify 14 new cases 

of hypertension, borderline cases 

or cases needing management 

review. After analysing these 

results, the data suggests that 

by sharing high blood pressure 

readings with primary care 

networks across the region, 

around 500 new cases of 

hypertension could be diagnosed 

using just one month of data. 

Work is now ongoing with 

integrated care boards and 

cardiovascular disease prevention 

groups, including GPs and 

community pharmacies across 

the region to scale up this pilot 

and allow the data to be shared 

with them in a secure, scalable, 

and manageable way. 

Medical Director for NWAS, 

Chris Grant said: “This project 

really highlights how we’re using 

advancements, such as our 

electronic patient records, to 

work together with our partners 

within the NHS to make a real 

difference to the health of 

our patients. 

“Learning from this pilot will help 

us to improve our data sharing 

processes and understand the 

potential of this in supporting 

prevention in other areas. 

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23

NEWSLINE 


Preliminary data analysis has 

also indicated hypertension rates 

were significantly higher in most 

deprived areas, so we’ll pay 

particular attention to whether 

this work can also support in 

reducing health inequalities.” 

NWAS is now working with health 

and local authority partners from 

North East and North Cumbria 

Integrated Care System, to 

explore ways of automatically 

sharing blood pressure data 

from all NWAS patients in 

North Cumbria who do not 

need to be taken to hospital for 

further treatment. 

Chris continues: “By rolling out 

this initiative further, we hope to 

identify cases of hypertension 

in people who may otherwise 

not have known they had high 

blood pressure. However, where 

possible we encourage people to 

get their blood pressure checked 

out themselves regularly so that 

any risk factors can be managed.” 

A blood pressure test is a simple 

way of checking if someone’s 

blood pressure is too high or too 

low. This can be carried out at 

a number of places, including 

at home – using a patient’s 

own digital blood pressure 

monitor, a local pharmacy and 

GP practice, at an NHS Health 

Check appointment (offered to 

adults in England aged 40-74), 

or even in some opticians and 

supermarkets. 

Unexpected arrival in 

the departure lounge 

When a mother suddenly went 

into labour in Luton Airport’s 

departure lounge, airport staff 

and passing air crew all went 

to her aid while EEAST 999 

call-handler Megan Byrne 

talked them through making a 

successful and safe delivery. 

Megan recently travelled to Luton 

Airport where she met in-person 

the people she had talked 

through delivering the baby - from 

EEAST’s Ambulance Control 

Centre in Norwich. 

Megan said: “The 999 alert 

was raised by a passing pilot 

who followed my instructions to 

prepare the mother for delivery. 

Melanie Horwood, the Terminal 

Duty Officer arrived on scene, 

took control of the situation and 

began assisting the birth which 

was progressing quickly. The 

pilot relayed my instructions 

onto her until the baby was born 

and I could hear it crying in 

the background.” 

Various members of staff from 

Luton Airport offered assistance, 

including retail staff and Luton 

Airport Fire Department, by 

bringing first aid supplies, 

blankets and even translating 

what was happening to the 

mother who didn’t speak English. 

The ambulance crew arrived 

shortly after and mother and 

baby were transported to 

Luton and Dunstable Hospital. 

They are believed to be doing 

well and have returned to their 

own country. 

Megan has been with EEAST for 

four years, having decided while 

studying for a geography degree 

that she really wanted to work in 

an ambulance call centre. 

However, this was not the first 

baby she had helped deliver over 

the phone: “I’ve been quite lucky, 

I’ve been involved in delivering 

around eight babies,” she said. 

“Sometimes callers are in very 

obscure locations, such as the 

side of the road when people have 

not made it to hospital in time. But 

never before in an airport.” 

Since helping deliver the 

baby, Megan has now started 

a new role in EEAST, where 

she will bring her knowledge 

of call handling to our Patient 

Safety Teams. 

A poignant day as Air 

Ambulance Charity 

Kent Surrey Sussex 

remember Graham, 

Mark and Tony, 25 

years on 

On 26th July Air Ambulance 

Charity Kent Surrey Sussex 

(KSS) remembered the 

dedication and devotion 

of crew members Graham 

Budden, Mark Darby and Tony 

Richardson, three incredible 

men who sadly lost their lives 

in a helicopter accident whilst 

serving with the charity, 25 

years ago. 

(Wreaths were laid at the 

memorial stone at Blue 

Bell Hill) 

In a private remembrance 

ceremony held in the morning, 

family members, Team KSS 

colleagues, volunteers and 

representatives from other 

emergency services, gathered at 

the memorial stone at Blue Bell 

Hill in honour of Graham, Mark 

and Tony. 

Some of those who gathered 

placed wreaths at the base 

of the memorial stone in 

memory of each crew member, 

including Barney Burgess, 

Chair of the charity’s Board of 

Trustees and Medical Director 

Dr Duncan Bootland. 

A poignant three-minute silence 

at 11am followed, as all who 

were gathered paused to reflect 

on the ultimate sacrifice made 

by Graham, Mark and Tony, 

whilst working to save the lives 

of others. A helicopter from KSS 

then circled overhead three 

times to honour the life of each 

crew member. 

(The Very Reverend John 

Richardson, Vicar of Maidstone 

led the service) 

A Memorial Service was held at 

2pm at The Collegiate Church of 

All Saints, Maidstone, led by The 

Very Reverend John Richardson, 

Vicar of Maidstone. The service 

was attended by family members, 

Team KSS colleagues, volunteers, 

supporters, representatives of 

other emergency services and 

friends of Graham, Mark and 

Tony. During the service Graham, 

Mark and Tony’s commitment 

and service to the charity and 

the communities it serves was 

honoured. A KSS helicopter 

circled in the sky above the 

church as guests were departing. 

Guests departing from the 

memorial service at All Saints 

Collegiate Church, Maidstone 

Later in the day, a memorial 

bench dedicated to Graham, 

Mark and Tony to mark the 25th 

anniversary was unveiled at 

the charity’s Rochester base. 

Memorial plaques dedicated to 

the three crew members were 

also unveiled at both the charity’s 

Rochester and Redhill bases. 

(The memorial bench in 

memory of Graham, Mark 

and Tony at the charity’s 

Rochester HQ) 

Barney Burgess reflected: “It has 

been an incredibly poignant day 

for the families, Team KSS, our 

communities, and all who knew 

and loved Graham, Mark and 

Tony, as we joined together to 

24 


NEWSLINE 

mark the 25th anniversary. We will 

always remember their dedication 

and devotion to the charity as we 

continue to honour their memory 

and legacy of saving lives. 

The inspection of the Trust’s 

apprenticeship programmes 

took place in June 2023 and 

included the clinical Ambulance 

Support Worker, which includes 

Overall effectiveness – Good 

The quality of education – 

Good 

Behaviour and attitudes – 

Outstanding 

The areas identified for 

improvement are already part of 

an ongoing Quality Improvement 

Plan being implemented by 

the Trust. 

“Graham, Mark and Tony are 

forever in our hearts and our 

thoughts are with their loved 

ones, especially today.” 

Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service’s 

apprenticeship 

provision has been 

hailed as good with 

outstanding features, 

following a full 

Ofsted inspection. 

The Trust currently has 587 

apprentices in both clinical 

roles and corporate services 

which accounts for 9% of the 

workforce (the Government 

target is 2.3%). 

advanced and emergency driving, 

and the Associate Ambulance 

Practitioner roles. 

The Ofsted inspectors were 

impressed by the behaviour of 

the apprentices, their extremely 

positive attitudes to learning and 

the way in which they support 

and constructively challenge each 

other to develop their skills. 

The inspectors recognised the 

expertise of YAS Educators, 

the well-planned curriculum 

and quality of assessments. 

Learner support was deemed 

strong with Educators building 

the confidence and resilience of 

apprentices very effectively. 

Personal development – 

Outstanding 

Leadership and management 

– Good 

Apprenticeships – Good 

Safeguarding – Effective 

Dawn Adams, Associate Director 

of Education and Organisational 

Development (Interim) for 

Yorkshire Ambulance Service, 

said: “I am exceptionally proud 

of our apprenticeship provision 

in YAS. Our achievement rates 

are strong and distinction rates 

are excellent. I would like to take 

this opportunity to thank all our 

apprentices for their hard work 

and determination to succeed, 

and to thank all those who 

support our apprentices; it really 

does make a difference.” 

The Ofsted report follows on from 

the announcement that Yorkshire 

Ambulance Service was named 

as the top-rated NHS trust in 

England at number 36 of the Top 

100 Apprenticeship Employers. 

This list is produced annually by 

the Department for Education. 

Ambulance service 

research aims to 

support callers 

experiencing 

loneliness 

A collaborative research 

project aims to inform 

new guidance supporting 

people who call ambulance 

services frequently. 

Specialist Patient 

Transport 

Services 

IPRS MTS supplies general and specialist 

patient transport services across the UK and 

also to and from Europe. 

Our Services: 

High Dependency Transfers 

Secure Mental Health Transfers 

Repatriation 

Bariatric Transfers 

www.IPRSMTS.com 



25

NEWSLINE 

North East Ambulance Service 

have collaborated on a research 

project with Northumbria 

University that aims to inform 

new guidance for ambulance 

trusts supporting people who 

call frequently. Frequent callers 

can have a combination of 

complex mental and physical 

health issues, and may also be 

experiencing social issues such 

as loneliness and isolation. 

Gayle Fidler, Emergency 

Operations Centre Support 

Services Manager for NEAS has 

been working with researchers 

from Northumbria’s Department 

of Social Work, Education 

and Community Wellbeing 

to interview people who call 

frequently, frontline paramedics, 

health advisors and senior 

clinical advisors from NEAS in 

a bid to improve routes to the 

right support and interventions 

for patients. 

Director of Paramedicine at North 

East Ambulance Service, Andrew 

Hodge, said: “Patient care is our 

priority so it’s important for us 

to understand the nature of our 

calls and how we might further 

support our patients. 

“We are currently undergoing this 

research study with Northumbria 

University to support patients 

who experience loneliness and 

isolation and have felt the need to 

contact the ambulance service. 

“We work closely with other 

agencies to ensure that patients 

have access to a range of 

services that may be able to 

support them. Working with 

the university on this project, 

we hope to understand our 

patients better so that we can 

often greater support to them 

where needed.” 

Dr Tracy Collins from 

Northumbria, who has a clinical 

background in occupational 

therapy, is leading the study 

which has received funding 

support from the National 

Institute for Health and Care 

Research (NIHR) Clinical 

Research Network North East 

and North Cumbria’s Targeting 

Health Needs award. 

She is collaborating with Dr 

Jason Scott, a Chartered 

Psychologist and national 

academic lead for the Frequent 

Caller National Network 

(FreCaNN), which helps to inform 

ambulance service policy and 

practice in relation to frequent 

callers across the UK, and Senior 

Research Assistant Lisa Moseley, 

who comes from a career in 

social work. 

“It became clear from our 

conversations with colleagues 

and practitioners that ambulance 

trusts supporting people who 

call frequently often have social 

needs in addition to medical 

needs,” said Dr Collins. 

“We’re keen to know more about 

individual experiences and allow 

those people who do self-identify 

as being lonely and socially 

isolated to the ambulance service 

to have their voices heard. We 

need to begin to understand their 

unmet needs so we can begin 

to make recommendations for 

alternative routes of support.” 

Due to the sensitive nature of 

the topic, only people who self- 


26 


NEWSLINE 

identify as lonely and socially 

isolated have been interviewed 

using open questions which 

gather information anonymously 

on their circumstances, social 

circle and community support 

networks. Their lived experience 

is being explored alongside the 

views of NEAS staff. 

Health advisors and paramedic 

crews dealing with contacts from 

people who call frequently have 

been featured in the popular BBC 

documentary, Ambulance, which 

followed and filmed with NEAS 

crews during series 9. 

The project follows a research 

paper published in the British 

Paramedic Journal by Dr 

Scott, Dr Collins and a group 

of expert authors from UK 

ambulance services which 

analysed the impact of the 

COVID-19 pandemic on people 

who call frequently and how 

ambulance services in particular 

were adapting to suit changing 

patient needs. 

The team are currently analysing 

data from interviews with service 

users and staff and hope to be 

able to publish the research 

findings later this year. 

Plans to harness Northumbria’s 

research, education and 

knowledge exchange expertise 

to help meet the health and 

social needs of communities 

in the region and beyond are 

being developed as part of the 

University’s Centre for Health and 

Social Equity (CHASE). 

New route for nurses 

to join frontline at 

EEAST 

A new pathway for nurses to 

transfer their skills to frontline 

pre-hospital care is open at the 

East of England Ambulance 

NHS Trust (EEAST). 

Introduced in November 2022, 

the new initiative has received 

excellent feedback from the 

nurses who have already made 

the move to pre-hospital practice 

at EEAST. 

The pre-hospital nurse 

practitioners, who must have a 

professional registration with the 

Nursing and Midwifery Council 

(NMC), work on the frontline 

alongside paramedics and other 

pre-hospital clinicians. 

After an induction and training 

programme over up to 30 weeks, 

the pre-hospital practitioners 

work to a similar scope of 

practice to a paramedic. 

David Young, who qualified as a 

nurse in 2001, was part of the first 

group of 14 nurses to go through 

the programme to become a 

pre-hospital nurse practitioner 

and is loving his new role on a 

frontline ambulance. 

Before starting at EEAST, David 

was a clinical nurse specialist 

in international emergency 

assistance and repatriations. 

David said: 

“Traditionally this type of role was 

never open to nurses and I had 

considered undertaking further 

study to become a paramedic 

during my 22 years as a nurse, 

but I never found the right time 

in my career to make the switch 

before this programme. 

“This role allows me to apply my 

previous nursing experience, but 

also to learn some challenging 

new skills such as emergency 

trauma care, advanced life 

support for all age ranges and 

emergency obstetric care. 

“As a nurse on a frontline 

ambulance, every day and every 

patient is different; one minute, 

we can be responding to a 999 

call to a woman in labour to 

deliver a baby, then the next 

a road traffic collision, cardiac 

arrest, or transferring a patient 

between hospitals and anything 

in between. You never know what 

you will be asked to do next, 

which is fantastic. 

“I love this job. I look forward to 

putting on my green uniform, 

getting to the station, getting in 

the ambulance, and waiting for 

control to allocate us a job. It’s 

amazing!” 

Melissa Dowdeswell, Director 

of Nursing and Interim 

Chief Operation Officer at 

EEAST, said: 

“This new programme allows 

nurses to transfer their extensive 

knowledge, experience and 

skills to working in a prehospital 

setting working 

alongside paramedics and other 

frontline clinicians. 

“The feedback from nurses on 

the programme and the support 

provided has been excellent 

which is why we are looking to 

expand the programme to further 

bolster our workforce. 

“The specialist skills that prehospital 

practitioners bring 

to EEAST will help enhance 

the service we provide to our 

communities.” 

London Ambulance 

Service to provide 

NHS 111 services to 

North Central London 


(LAS) has been awarded 

the contract to provide NHS 

111 services, in partnership 

with London Central and 

West (LCW), to the 1.5 million 

people who live within North 

Central London. 

LAS and LCW will take on 

responsibility for 111 and GP 

out-of-hours service from 

November 2023 covering five 

London boroughs – Barnet, 

Camden, Enfield, Islington and 

Haringey. The new contract 

and accompanying new service 

model, which is worth £19 million 

per year, will have a number of 

benefits for patients, including 

an increase in ‘consult and 

complete’, meaning that patients’ 

needs are met within two hours. 

Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive 

for London Ambulance Service, 

said: “I’m so pleased that the 

North Central London Integrated 

Care System awarded their 

111 contract to LAS as the lead 

provider in partnership with 

London Central and West. We 

will use the strengths of both 

organisations to put in place 

more responsive care models 

for both the 111 and GP out-ofhours 

services. 



27

NEWSLINE 

“Our hard working staff are 

experts in receiving and 

responding to urgent and 

emergency calls, and this latest 

development builds on our years 

of experience of hosting the 

NHS 111 service in other areas 

of London. It will allow us to 

bring together our emergency 

and urgent care services for an 

additional 1.5 million people, and 

we are very excited to begin. 

“This latest development means 

we are now the lead or sole 

provider of 111 in four of the five 

areas of London (South East, 

North East, North West and North 

Central) with a small role in South 

West London, so we’re extending 

our footprint to cover all of 

London for this service. 

“It really is a great example of LAS 

working in partnership with other 

providers to create a compelling 

North West 


boosts resilience 

ahead of Winter 

As the darker evenings set in 

and the temperature drops, 


(NWAS) is putting plans in 

place to ensure it can continue 

to deliver a high-quality 

service despite additional 

winter demands, including the 

recruitment of more than 700 

new staff members. 

By Christmas, 75 new 

paramedics and 32 emergency 

medical technicians will have 

joined the team, with more due 

to be in post by March 2024. 

There will be 72 new recruits for 

the Patient Transport Service and 

250 new call handlers for the 999 

and NHS 111 contact centres. 

that the high-quality service 

expected by our patients is 

maintained throughout the 

winter period. 

“We know that the winter months 

will bring with it additional 

challenges in terms of more 

people needing our help, ongoing 

industrial action taking place 

across the healthcare system and 

an expected increase of seasonal 

illnesses, but we are as prepared 

as we can be for increased 

demands on our service. 

North West 


hospital handover 

collaboration 

shortlisted for 

HSJ Award 

26 emergency departments. The 

work began in October 2022 

and involved getting together to 

come up with innovative ideas 

and putting them into action. 

There was then an evaluation 

process to measure the impact 

before coming back together to 

share findings and next steps in 

May 2023. 

This initiative has been selected 

to make the HSJ Awards shortlist 

following a thorough judging 

process which whittled down a 

record-breaking 1,456 entries 

to 223 shortlisted projects, 

making it the biggest awards 

programme in the award’s 

43-year history. The high 

volume - and exceptional quality 

– of applications once again 

mirrors the impressive levels of 

innovation and care continually 

being developed within the UK’s 

healthcare networks. 


offer for our commissioners and a 

good deal for patients.” 

Fred Worth, Chairman of London 

Central & West UCC Ltd, said: 

“As a GP-led not-for-profit 

organisation, we are proud to 

play such a vital part in ensuring 

patients can access urgent 

care quickly. Working with our 

partners, we have demonstrated, 

over many years, the value that 

LCW brings to the healthcare 

system and are delighted 

to continue to deliver this 

service to the patients of North 

Central London.” 

Patients and members of the 

public will also benefit from 

having direct access to a 

multidisciplinary team of LAS 

professionals within the Clinical 

Assessment Service which will 

mean more timely access to 

assessments, greater clinical 

oversight and an increased use 

of alternative pathways to ensure 

access to the right service, 

first time. 

NWAS is also increasing the 

number of clinicians working in 

its 999 contact centres. They 

help get patients the right care 

for their needs by providing 

healthcare advice over the 

phone or making referrals to an 

alternative health or care service 

in the community. 

An additional 32 emergency 

ambulances will be out 

responding to patients by 

February, increasing the number 

of emergency ambulances 

operating across the region 

to 553. 

NWAS will continue to work 

closely with local hospitals to 

help reduce the amount of time 

ambulances spend waiting to 

handover patients, allowing 

vehicles and crews to be free to 

respond to the next emergency. 

Chief Operating Officer, Salman 

Desai said: “As always, we are 

here for the public when they 

need us most and we have 

robust plans in place to ensure 


(NWAS) has been shortlisted 

for a Health Service Journal 

(HSJ) Award in the Patient 

Safety category after working 

with North West NHS trusts 

in a series of collaborative 

events to share ideas and best 

practice for improving hospital 

handovers. 

The improvement collaborative 

has helped to reduce the number 

of over 60 minute handover 

delays in the North West by 47 

per cent, only slightly short of the 

its target of achieving a 50 per 

cent reduction by 31 March 2023. 

The joined-up approach led by 

NWAS alongside NHS health 

and care quality improvement 

organisation Aqua and NHS 

England North West included 

representatives from 20 NHS 

trusts across the region covering 

Director of Quality, Innovation and 

Improvement, Maxine Power said: 

“It’s a fantastic achievement to be 

shortlisted for such a prestigious 

award. I am exceptionally proud 

of what has been achieved by 

working together to provide our 

patients with a better experience 

when they use our services. 

A huge well done to all the 

passionate people involved who 

have worked exceptionally hard to 

drive forward change and make a 

real difference.” 

Some of the improvements that 

have been put in place as part 

of the collaboration include 

managing surges of patients 

presenting at hospitals over a 

short period, using daily data to 

support decision making and 

going back to basics by looking 

at ways to make improvements to 

existing processes. 

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, 

adds; “It always gives me great 

pleasure to congratulate our 

finalists at this stage of the 

judging process and this year is 

28 


NEWSLINE 

no exception as we acknowledge 

the North West hospital handover 

improvement collaborative for 

being shortlisted in the category 

of Patient Safety. 

“It’s been so encouraging to hear 

that 2023 has been recordbreaking 

in terms of the number 

of applicants and, as ever, the 

calibre of entries left our panel of 

expert judges with some tough 

decisions to deliberate over. 

However, it’s always important 

to remember that the HSJ 

Awards are not just a celebration 

of success stories but also a 

platform to shape the future of 

the NHS. 

“We can’t wait to welcome our 

finalists to the awards ceremony 

in November and to recognise 

and applaud such impressive 

achievements across the sector.” 

The official HSJ Awards 

ceremony will be held on 

16 November 2023 at 

Evolution London. 

New website given 

the Bluelight 

Bluelight UK Ltd, a trusted 

provider of ambulances, is 

poised for an exciting journey 

ahead. This North West 

based ambulance provider is 

thrilled to unveil its redesigned 

website, marking a significant 

milestone in its evolution. 

When Bluelight UK ventured 

into the online realm back 

in the early Noughties, the 

company held ambitious 

aspirations for its ambulance 

startup and the impact it 

could make. 

In the early 2000s, the landscape 

of search engine optimisation 

and social media was quite 

distinct, with platforms like AOL 

and Windows Messenger leading 

the way. Reflecting on that era, 

Bluelight UK’s CEO, Simon 

Forster, reminisced, “In the early 

days, companies like ours relied 

on word-of-mouth referrals and 

in-person networking, supported 

by market-specific advertising. 

The technology and social media 

landscape we have today were 

beyond our reach, limiting our 

options for expanding our reach 

as a small startup.” 

He continued, “Today, platforms 

such as LinkedIn, Instagram, 

Meta (formerly Facebook), and X 

(formerly Twitter) are vying for our 

attention. While we still welcome 

visits to Bluelight UK depots for 

our clients, we recognise the 

growing demand for high-quality 

vehicles with swift turnaround 

times. Increasingly, our clients 

turn to the web for their vehicle 

searches, which is why we 

have invested substantially in 

revamping our website to cater 

to their needs. Collaborating 

closely with our designers, we 

have found an effective way to 

provide a vastly improved user 

experience on our website. Our 

initial testing has yielded highly 

positive results. Our enduring 

mission has always been to 

deliver value to our clients, and 

we believe that our revamped 

website will not only save our 

clients valuable time but also 

offer a seamless ambulance 

purchasing experience. We 

extend our heartfelt gratitude to 

our clients for their unwavering 

loyalty and support, eagerly 

anticipating the opportunity to 

collaborate with even more of 

you in the future.” 

As Bluelight UK approaches its 

20th-year anniversary, it stands 

as a testament to the dedication 

of its founders, Simon and Julie 

Forster, who have been part of 

the motor industry since 1986. 

Julie Forster, Bluelight UK’s CFO, 

shared, “Our careers began 

separately in the motor industry 

in 1986, culminating in our 

small family-run startup, which 

we initiated right on our front 

driveway. We take immense pride 

in the service we’ve crafted and 

are enthusiastic about the future 

of Bluelight UK.” 

Explore their new website for 

yourself at www.bluelightuk. 

co.uk. Exciting times await! 

Student sets heart 

on medical career 

after his stopped six 

times in one day 

A student whose heart stopped 

six times in a few hours has 

thanked the NHS doctors, 

nurses and paramedics who 

saved his life and pledged to 

use his ‘second chance’ to 

follow in their footsteps. 

Atul Rao, a US citizen, was 

studying in London when a 

blood clot in his lungs stopped 

the blood flow through his heart, 

a condition called pulmonary 

embolism, and caused him to go 

into cardiac arrest. 

He was discovered collapsed by 

fellow students who raised the 

alarm before an Imperial College 

London security guard began 

to give him chest compressions 

(CPR) in the minutes before 


crews arrived. Paramedics were 

able to get his heart beating 

again and they took him to 

Hammersmith Hospital’s heart 

attack centre where scans 

confirmed that blood clots in the 

lungs were blocking the flow of 

blood from the heart. 

Staff at Hammersmith Hospital 

worked tirelessly through the 

night to keep Atul alive and 

stabilise him but his heart 

stopped a further five times 

in that first 24 hours before 

clot-busting drugs began to 

work and Atul’s heart started 

beating reliably. 

He was still critically unwell 

when he was transported to 

St Thomas’ Hospital the next 

day in case he needed access 

to extracorporeal membrane 

oxygenation (ECMO) – a life 

support system which can fully 

replace the work of the heart and 

lungs so that patients have time 

to heal. Fortunately, the clotbusting 

drugs had begun to work 

and with the help of other life 

support machines, he was able 

to recover without the need for 

ECMO. Atul made a remarkable 

recovery over the next two 

weeks and was discharged from 

St Thomas’ Hospital. 

Atul, who is from Seattle and 

studies at Baylor University in 

Texas, visited Hammersmith 

Hospital with mum Srividhya 

and dad Ajay earlier this month. 

They were shown the bed space 

where his heart was repeatedly 

restarted and spoke to clinicians 

about what happened to Atul in 

those hours where his life was in 

the balance on 27 July. The family 

told the doctors, nurses and 

paramedics they were ‘thankful 

beyond words’ for the efforts they 

made to save his life. 

Atul told the staff it has helped 

him decide what he wants to do 

with his life. He is in his final year 

of a pre-med degree in his native 

USA which would allow him to go 

on to a further degree to practice 

medicine. But speaking to the 

London NHS staff he revealed 

that prior to his cardiac arrest, he 

had begun to have doubts about 

his original career choice. 



29

NEWSLINE 


He said: 

“Before this happened, I was 

starting to wonder if I was doing 

the right thing doing medicine 

and whether I should be going 

into business instead. But the 

minute I woke up I knew. I want to 

use my time in a productive way. I 

want to use my second chance at 

life by helping others.” 

His mum, Srividhya, a Maths 

professor in Seattle, said: 

“A really bad thing happened in a 

really good place. Everyone who 

worked around Atul wanted him 

to be well. It’s clear they love and 

care about what they do. I feel 

blessed to be here and I’m so 

thankful and grateful to you for 

giving my son back to me. 

“I have gained perspective about 

life and he gets to see it at such a 

young age. His life has changed, 

and it’s had a profound impact.” 

Atul agrees. Having spent his 21st 

birthday in a hospital bed with his 

parents and some student friends 

he said: 

“Most 21-year-olds want to go out 

drinking. Given how dangerous 

my situation had been, I was 

grateful to be here and have 

people who love me around 

to celebrate.” 

Dad Ajay, who works at a 

software company, remembered 

how London Ambulance Service 

Advanced Paramedic (APP) Nick 

Sillett broke the news that Atul 

was critically ill from the scene via 

his son’s mobile. He showed Nick 

the barely legible notes he took 

during the call, his hands shaking, 

and spoke of his agonising flight 

over to London after knowing 

decisions were being made which 

could affect whether his son 

would live. 

Remembering a turning point, 

Ajay said: 

“At the start Atul was sedated. I 

used to call St Thomas’ Hospital 

ICU in the mornings after the 

doctors’ rounds to ask for news 

and one morning they said ‘hold 

on’. Then I heard Atul come on 

and say ‘hey, dad’. It was the 

sweetest ‘hey, dad’ I have ever 

heard and I wanted to run to him 

right away.” 

Thanking the NHS staff, he 

added: 

“I’m not exaggerating, 

Hammersmith and St Thomas’ 

hospitals have become places 

of worship for us. We will be 

coming here whenever we come 

to London. 

“It was the heroic efforts of 

London Ambulance Service, 

the amazing medical teams of 

Hammersmith, St Thomas’ and 

Royal Brompton that saved him 

from this life-threatening series 

of events.” 

The couple did not have much 

time to appreciate London on 

this first visit. So concerned 

were they about their son in 

the immediate aftermath of his 

recovery, they walked by Big Ben 

for several days on the way to St 

Thomas’ Hospital before realising 

they were passing the iconic 

landmark. Every time they heard 

an ambulance pass they say 

they were praying for the patients 

inside and the medics who would 

be caring for them. 

APP Nick Sillett, said the reunion 

had been very emotional. 

“The last time I saw Atul I didn’t 

think he was going to survive. To 

meet him again and speak with 

his parents after giving them such 

terrible news was a very special 

moment in my 18 years in this 

job. Knowing we managed to 

save Atul gives me courage and 

hope should I encounter that 

situation again. 

“The LAS crew first on scene 

also were the real heroes in 

recognising so quickly he was in 

cardiac arrest and managed to 

give him a chance.” 

Dr Louit Thakuria, a Critical 

Care Consultant at Imperial 

College Healthcare NHS Trust’s 

Hammersmith Hospital, said: 

“It’s not often you see 20-yearolds 

have a cardiac arrest and it’s 

even more rare to see someone 

who has had six cardiac arrests in 

one day make such a miraculous 

recovery. 

“This was a real team effort and 

so many people helped ensure 

Atul was able to be here. It’s a 

privilege to be a part of that and 

hear that you have helped make 

such a positive impact.” 

Dan Taylor, an intensive care and 

ECMO consultant at Guy’s and 

St Thomas’ NHS Foundation 

Trust, said: 

“Atul had a very challenging 

combination of problems which 

required input from multiple 

specialist teams. Thankfully his 

heart failure improved and he was 

able to avoid ECMO, but he spent 

several days critically ill in the 

intensive care unit. 

“The whole team are delighted 

that Atul has made such a great 

recovery, and we wish him the 

very best in his medical career in 

the future.” 

There are many known risk 

factors that can contribute to 

the development of a pulmonary 

embolism, like prolonged 

air travel. Now that Atul has 

recovered from his cardiac 

arrests, he is having tests to 

investigate the underlying 

cause for the formation of this 

dangerous blood clot in the 

lungs. Once doctors agreed 

it was safe, he was allowed to 

return home to the US. 

His case shows the importance 

of receiving good chest 

compressions in the immediate 

aftermath of a cardiac arrest. 


London Lifesavers campaign 

aims to train up thousands of 

Londoners with the knowledge 

and confidence to act in an 

emergency situation until 

ambulance crews arrive at 

the scene. Evidence shows 

that in cardiac arrest, every 

second counts and early chest 

compressions and defibrillation 

can more than double someone’s 

chances of survival. 

Meanwhile, with support from 

Imperial Health Charity, Imperial 

College Healthcare are currently 

working to develop an ECMO 

service at Hammersmith Hospital 

to give critically ill patients the 

best chance of survival. ECMO is 

a highly specialised life-support 

machine that can completely 

replace the function of the failing 

heart and lungs in an emergency. 

The charity has funded one 

ECMO machine and a training 

programme for our ICU and 

cardiology teams, and is currently 

raising funds to purchase two 

additional ECMO machines in 

order to provide this life-saving 

service for patients. 

In England 28,000 patients have 

a cardiac arrest that requires 

cardiopulmonary resuscitation 

(CPR) outside of hospital, and 

only 8.6% of those patients 

will typically survive(1). Recent 

studies have shown that for 

some patients who are suitable 

for ECMO therapy, the number 

of potential survivors could rise 

to 43%(2). 

Find out more about Imperial 

Health Charity’s ECMO Appeal 

on the charity’s website. 

30 


IN PERSON 

CEO of Essex & Herts Air 

Ambulance marks 20 years 

of loyal service to life saving 

charity 

In a milestone year for Essex & Herts Air 

Ambulance (EHAAT) marking 25 years of 

saving lives, colleagues and friends have paid 

tribute to CEO, Jane Gurney, as she reaches 

20 years of loyal service with the charity. 

At a special event held on Thursday 17th August 

at Earls Colne Business Park, members of the 

EHAAT ‘family’ joined Jane in celebrating not 

only her contribution to the charity, but also 

to the wider air ambulance sector nationally. 

As one of the longest-serving CEOs of a UK 

air ambulance, she was also a Director for 

the Association of Air Ambulances from 2013 

to 2019, and from 2016 to 2020, she was a 

Trustee on AAUK’s Board, which supports 

21 air ambulances around the country. A very 

special moment for Jane professionally, was 

when she received an honorary degree from the 

University of Essex last year, in recognition of her 

dedication to expand and improve pre-hospital 

care for those in need. 

Jane’s career with EHAAT started in 2003, when 

she joined the ‘driven and enthusiastic’ small 

team that were running Essex Air Ambulance 

(EAA) out of a small side room at Broomfield 

Hospital in Chelmsford. 

Jane explains, “I remember waiting in EAA’s 

reception and overhearing the paramedics 

talking about this ‘flying ambulance’. I thought 

it was just absolutely amazing and sounded so 

inspirational. 

“I quickly knew this was something I wanted to 

be a part of. They desperately needed income, 

and as my previous job was Sponsorship and 

Events Manager in media, I knew I had the skills 

to help them, so I took on the role of Business 

Development Manager.” 

Over the following years Jane progressed into 

management and was appointed as CEO in 

2009. She has led the team and the charity 

through many milestones which have included: 

the launch of Herts Air Ambulance in 2007 and 

then its amalgamation with EAA to form Essex 

& Herts Air Ambulance; the establishment of its 

two dedicated airbases and visitor centres at 

Earls Colne in 2011, and North Weald in 2021; 

the purchase of the charity’s first wholly owned 

AW169 helicopter in 2017, and the charity 

achieving an ‘outstanding overall’ rating by the 

Care Quality Commission in 2022. Another 

immensely proud moment was hosting a visit by 

the former Earl and Countess of Wessex, Edward 

and Sophie, to EHAAT’s North Weald airbase. 

During Jane’s tenure, the charity has also 

taken massive steps forward in achieving its 

aim; to provide the highest possible standards 

of pre-hospital clinical care. Highlights have 

included: In 2008, doctors becoming part of 

the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services 

(HEMS) teams flying on missions, enabling more 

advanced clinical interventions to be delivered at 

the scene; starting to carry blood products on 

board in 2019, and more recently the launch of 

the Centre for Excellence, which aims to create 

a world-leading community through which prehospital 

care is developed to achieve the best 

possible outcomes for all patients. 

Dr Gareth Davies, Senior Medical Advisor 

at EHAAT, has been with the charity from its 

infancy. He said, “All of those who have worked 

with Jane over the years recognise her passion, 

drive and commitment. They have witnessed 

her compassion and support for the staff and 

the respect she has displayed for the partners 

in the external health economy. But only a 

few of us that are older, will have seen and 

recognise Jane’s commitment to our industry 

and how she helped shape the world we all 

live in today. Jane and a few of her industry 

colleagues set about 20 years ago setting the 

benchmarks for all the Air Ambulance Services 

in the UK today. What was a few small-scale 

charities working alongside NHS ambulance 

services 20 years ago is now an industry where 

charities are fully blown independent health 

care organisations, where only the highest CQC 

gradings will suffice. From the earliest days, 

Jane has been committed to professionalism at 

every level. Always there for her peers and with 

a willingness to support new CEO’s coming to 

join our community. She has championed the 

importance of clinical governance in a way the 

NHS still finds difficult today and had the instinct 

and vision to support the clinician’s aspiration of 

the future with EHAAT’s Centre for Excellence. 

It’s been a pleasure to work alongside Jane over 

the last 20 years.” 

Air Ambulances UK CEO, Simmy Akhtar, 

said, “Huge congratulations to Jane on her 

20th anniversary with Essex & Herts Air 

Ambulance. Jane devoted six impactful years 

as a director of the national organisation and 

was passionate about championing and 

representing the invaluable work of the air 

ambulance community at a national level. Her 

tireless efforts have significantly shaped the 

Annual Conference and Awards of Excellence 

into the remarkable event it stands at today. 

Jane’s passion, unwavering commitment, and 

remarkable contributions continue to inspire 

the air ambulance sector and it is a pleasure 

to continue to work alongside Jane as we 

continue to collaborate on national issues.” 

Jonathan Trower, Chair of Trustees at EHAAT 

added, “The fact that the Essex and Herts 

Air Ambulance Trust has reached its 25th 

anniversary in such excellent health is, in 

no small measure, down to the determined 

leadership of Jane Gurney. So many 

congratulations are due to her on the 20th 

anniversary of her first employment by the 

charity. The progress that we have made over 

the last 20 years is remarkable and I know 

how much more Jane can achieve in the years 

to come”. 

However, perhaps the last words should come 

from Jane herself. She is humbled by the kind 

words and recognition of the impact she has 

made saying, “We have come a long way since 

our story began, and from our airbases at Earls 

Colne and North Weald, today we serve the 

communities of Essex, Hertfordshire and the 

surrounding areas. We have a Donation Centre 

in Stevenage and nine charity shops located 

in the very heart of our local communities. We 

have grown to over 140 team members and 

over 400 volunteers. Last year, we carried out 

2,582 missions, 1,346 by air ambulance and 

1,235 via our fleet of rapid response vehicles. 

“It has been a true privilege to lead Essex 

& Herts Air Ambulance through so many 

milestones over the years, and to work 

alongside our amazing supporters, our 

dedicated staff and volunteers and our highly 

skilled critical care teams. However, it goes 

without saying our patients and their families 

are the ones who truly inspire me and my team 

the most, to continue to deliver our life saving 

service today and into the future. Thank you 

to everyone who has been on this incredible 

journey with me – it has been an amazing 

privilege to be part of this very special charity 

and myself and the team look forward to many 

more rewarding years ahead.” 

To find out more or to donate visit 

www.ehaat.org. 



31

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 

with your phone 

camera and click 

the link. 

Or visit: 

uqr.to/sync-cpr 

www.corpuls.co.uk 

Official UK supplier of corpuls and Weinmann 

medical devices and software.

Ambulance UK October 2023

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