Ambulance UK December 2023

NEWSLINE
NEWSLINE
AMBULANCE UK – DECEMBER
Instead Ben enrolled at university
and qualified as a PE teacher.
He worked in several schools
in Hampshire and Hertfordshire
but never got over his dream of
becoming a paramedic.
Ben said: “The ambition to work
on ambulances was always there:
the sound of sirens, the thought
that I wanted to help. And the
memory of the ambulance medic
visiting me in hospital after the
crash has always sat in the back
of my mind.”
More than 25 years on, when Ben
was finally able to get a driving
licence again, that memory
prompted him to successfully
apply for a job as an Emergency
Medical Technician at London
Ambulance Service. Later, he
earned a place on the LAS
paramedic apprenticeship
scheme – which allows
frontline crews to gain a degree
and become fully-qualified
paramedics.
He is now only a year away from
achieving his life-long dream.
At the 2023 Adult Learning
Awards ceremony held at City
Hall, the Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan presented Ben with
the Good Work Award, which
recognised his exceptional
professional progression in
the workplace.
He said: “I have dreamt of getting
where I am for nearly 30 years.
I am so proud and honoured.
Getting this recognition from the
Mayor feels incredible.”
Ben was also recognised for
having taken the brave step of
opening up about his journey as a
neurodivergent medic.
He said: “I masked my ADHD
diagnosis during my first three
years in the Service, but talking
about it has really helped me
embrace it.
“I have received incredible
support from my managers,
who have made the adjustments
I needed. I would really
encourage anyone with similar
diagnoses to speak up. There are
arrangements that can help you
feel more empowered to do your
job well.”
Damian McGuinness, Chief
People Officer at London
Ambulance Service, said: “I am
in awe of Ben’s determination
to pursue his dream career and
getting where he is today.
“Having got to this point while
overcoming real challenges is
incredibly inspirational. I once
again offer my congratulations for
achieving this milestone with such
passion and care.”
On the night London Ambulance
Service also won the Apprentice
Employer of the Year Award for
the second time running.
The accolade highlights the
Service’s commitment to help
Londoners get into a highlyskilled
profession via accessible
and inclusive routes, as well as
its dedication in supporting new
staff through their professional
and academic journeys.
Paramedic who
delivers presents to
sick children every
Christmas gets royal
recognition
A selfless paramedic who
has delivered more than
26,000 Christmas presents
to sick children has been
honoured with a King’s
Ambulance Medal.
Nigel Flanagan, a long-serving
paramedic at London Ambulance
Service, has picked up the rare
award at Windsor Castle this
week, in a prestigious ceremony
hosted by Princess Anne.
He said: “It was incredible to
meet Princess Anne. She made
me feel so at ease and chatted
to me about my charity work and
what it is like to be a paramedic
in London.
“As I walked up to the castle and
went past all the King’s guards
saluting me, I started becoming
really emotional. It was a really
special day that I’ll never forget.”
Nigel, 38, from Lingfied in
Surrey, was recognised for his
selflessness and charitable spirit
as well as for his exemplary
clinical care during his 20 years at
London Ambulance Service.
In 2009, the father-of-three set
up Operation Christmas Present
to help tackle isolation amongst
children who are in hospital
during the festive season and
ensure they can wake up to a
present despite being away from
home on Christmas day.
Since then, he has volunteered his
free time visiting more than 400
hospitals, children’s A&Es, and
women and children’s refuges.
Nigel said: “Fourteen years ago,
I treated a little boy and took him
to hospital on Christmas Eve. He
was devastated that he couldn’t
have been around his family the
following day.
“Working shifts, I saw many
people experiencing loneliness
and isolation. I decided to start
a campaign that could make a
small difference during what’s
meant to be the season of joy
and cheer.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
when Nigel and his colleagues
couldn’t bring presents to people
in hospitals, they collected food
supplies and delivered them to
over 80 foodbanks across the
capital, helping people whose
livelihoods had been hit hard by
the lockdowns.
The medal he received this week
is only awarded to those who
have shown exceptional devotion
to their work, outstanding ability,
merit, and conduct in their roles
within NHS ambulance services.
Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive at
London Ambulance Service, said:
“Nigel embodies the values of our
Service, with his extraordinary
compassion, desire to improve
lives, and exemplary clinical care.
“While working really hard to care
for patients as part of his job,
he has sacrificed precious time
with his family to make children
feel less lonely. He has shown
incredible humanity and we are
so proud this was recognised by
the Royal Family.”
Thousands of
schoolchildren will be
taught how to save
a life as part of an
ambitious campaign
to create a generation
of lifesavers, kick
starting in boroughs
where data suggests
the impact would
be greatest.
The London Lifesavers
schools programme, which
was launched on Re-start a
Heart Day, will see London
Ambulance Service medics
teach life-saving skills to
Year 8 children in the biggest
programme of its kind to target
youngsters in the capital.
It is part of a drive by the Service
to make the capital one of
the best cities in the world at
responding to cardiac arrest.
Children will be taught how to
recognise a cardiac arrest, give
chest compressions to keep
blood pumping round the body
and use a defibrillator, which can
restart a heart.
Sam Palfreyman-Jones, Head of
First Responders, said: “We know
that by teaching life-saving skills
in schools and giving children the
confidence to use a defibrillator,
more lives will be saved in
those crucial minutes before an
ambulance arrives.
“Most cardiac arrests happen
in the home, so we are telling
children that by learning these
simple skills, they could save
someone they love.”
This is exactly what teenager
Oliva Smith did when her stepfather
Geraldo Folie collapsed
at home earlier this year. Oliva –
who learnt life-saving skills in the
scouts – recognised the signs of
cardiac arrest and immediately
dialled 999 and started giving him
chest compressions.
Olivia said: “I learned what to do
at Scouts five or six years ago but
the training kicked in as soon as I
saw Geraldo gasping for breath.
“I’m so happy seeing Geraldo at
home now – I see him laugh and
tell myself ‘wow, look what I did!’.
“When I learned these skills I
never expected to use them
but these incidents happen and
thanks to London Lifesavers,
more lives will be saved.”
London Ambulance Service aims
to get to two schools a week
and teach 80,000 children in
every borough over the course
of the campaign. It has used
data to target seven ‘wave one’
boroughs: Brent, Barking and
Dagenham, Harrow, Newham,
Ealing, Redbridge and Enfield,
where it has invited schools to
take up the training.
To do this, experts analysed
cardiac arrest data borough by
borough (including higher cardiac
arrest incidents, lower rates of
bystander CPR, lower survival
rates, and fewer defibrillators)
as well as demographic data
including levels of deprivation.
For example, bystander CPR
rates were highest in Waltham
Forest, Redbridge and Hackney
and lowest in Kensington and
Chelsea, Ealing and Southwark.
Defibrillator availability is lowest
in Waltham Forest, Barking and
Dagenham and Hackney and
highest in Richmond up Thames,
Greenwich and Hillingdon.
LAS Chief Executive Daniel
Elkeles said: “We want London
to be one of the best cities in
the world when it comes to
responding to cardiac arrest.
The good news is that we have
some of the best response
ambulance response times in the
country for these emergencies
but every second counts before
an ambulance arrives, and the
international evidence shows that
increasing bystander intervention
is the key. We need to build a
social movement that makes CPR
training one of the things that lots
of people know how to do and we
need to get defibrillators in every
corner of the city.”
Early chest compressions and
the use of a defibrillator can more
than double someone’s chances
of survival.
The London Lifesavers team
from LAS have already taught
these skills to students at
Bishop Thomas Grant School in
Streatham earlier this year.
School head teacher Bernie
Boyle said: “You never know
when you might need these vital
skills. We didn’t hesitate to sign
up for London Lifesaver training
for our Year 8 children. We
are so proud to be part of this
programme which is creating a
new generation of lifesavers.”
The London Lifesavers team also
train members of the public at
pop-up events across London
and offer training to businesses,
charities and community
organisations.
As part of the campaign,
LAS is also seeking to get
thousands more defibrillators into
communities where they can start
saving lives.
London Lifesavers is funded
through a grant provided by NHS
Charities Together to our charity,
London Ambulance Charity.
Maternity award
for swift actions
to safely deliver
breech baby
Crews from the East of
England Ambulance Service
NHS Trust (EEAST) and Essex
and Herts Air Ambulance
(EHAAT) received an award
at the UK MUM (Maternity
Unit Marvels) Awards for the
exemplary response provided
to a mother experiencing a
complex birth at home.
A judging panel – which included
Chief Nursing Officer for Britain
Dame Ruth May and renowned
maternity safety expert Donna
Ockenden – presented the
community award for the swift
action and decision making which
helped deliver a positive outcome
for both mother and baby.
The award recognised the
response to a 999 call from a
woman who was unaware she
was pregnant until presented with
the baby being born feet first –
known as a breech birth – which
has higher rates of complications.
The panel highlighted the quick
escalation for critical care
support of the two ambulance
crews who arrived on scene
when it was clear the birth was
not progressing. The sequence
of events that followed ensured
mother and baby received
specialist care promptly.
EEAST’s critical care desk
dispatched Essex and Herts Air
Ambulance to the scene and
an agreement was reached
between the teams to meet at
a rendezvous point en route to
hospital, so the woman could
be seen quicker by the critical
care team.
The maternity unit was also
alerted and a community midwife
arranged to meet the crews at the
rendezvous point.
Once at the rendezvous point, the
team helped free the baby’s other
foot and rotated the baby’s hips
to aid the descent.
Just 48 minutes after the initial
999 call, the baby was delivered
in the ambulance at the side of
a road and was given ventilatory
support until the baby was
breathing on its own.
Mother and baby were then
transported to the nearest
neonatal intensive care unit,
with the baby’s temperature
maintained using a heated gel in
a Transwarmer ® Mattress and a
hat applied.
Daimon Wheddon, clinical
lead for maternity services at
EEAST, said:
“This example of exemplary
care has rightly been held up
and shared as best practice for
dealing with a complex birth in
the community.
AMBULANCE UK – DECEMBER
20
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For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com
For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com