Ambulance UK December 2023

Volume 39 No. 6 

December 2023 

DEDICATED TO THE AMBULANCE SERVICE AND ITS SUPPLIERS 

Delivering Specialist Patient Transport Services 

across the UK with a strong focus on clinical quality and 

patient experience.

CONTENTS 

MAKE A 

LEGENDARY 

MOVE 

CONTENTS 

4 EDITOR’S COMMENT 

6 FEATURE 

6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DISPATCH PRIORITY 

ASSESSMENTS OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL 

DISPATCHERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES: 

A PROSPECTIVE REGISTER‐BASED STUDY IN FINLAND 

15 NEWSLINE 

31 COMPANY NEWS 

Ambulance UK 

This issue edited by: 

Matt House 

c/o Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks, Lockhill 

Upper Sapey, Worcester, WR6 6XR 

ADVERTISING: 

Terry Gardner, Samantha Marsh 

CIRCULATION: 

Media Publishing Company 

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E: info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

www.ambulanceukonline.com 

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COVER STORY 

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IPRS MTS, a division of IPRS Aeromed, is a specialist patient transport service provider 

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Their new office, located at Dunston Business Village just outside of Stafford, will serve as 

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PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY: 

February, April, June, August, 

October, December 

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Media Publishing Company 

Greenoaks 

Lockhill 


PUBLISHERS STATEMENT: 

The views and opinions expressed in 

this issue are not necessarily those of 

the Publisher, the Editors or Media 

Publishing Company 

Next Issue February 2024 

Designed in the UK by TGDH 

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

Please contact us and let us know. 

AMBULANCE UK – DECEMBER 

3

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

EDITOR’S COMMENT 

Welcome to this issue of AUK. 

Welcome to the Christmas 2023 edition of Ambulance UK. This time of the year is traditionally a time to 

meet with families and friends and to think forward to the new year and consider how they can improve. As 

I looked through the various articles for this edition, I was pleased to see so many articles about improving 

survival to discharge of patients suffering out of hospital cardiac arrest. Among these were meetings 

between survivors and the clinicians who had responded to them when they had their cardiac arrest. 

However, I also see the other side of these events. I am involved with investigating and reviewing far too 

many cases where we have not done as well as we could have done at cardiac arrest cases. These can 


“I have always 

thought that 

successful 

resuscitations 

are among the 

best events for 

an ambulance 

clinician. When 

we have returned 

a patient to 

their family and 

friends, there is a 

special sense of 

achievement and 

success. In my 

job, I get to send 

letters to all the 

clinicians involved 

with successful 

resuscitations. It 

is part of my work 

that gives me a 

sense of pride for 

the clinicians that 

work in my area.” 

involve issues with rhythm recognition, medicine administration, clinical decision making, or any number of 

other events that have reduced the chance of a patient recovering and returning home to their family. 

I have spoken with senior clinicians in other ambulance trusts and the stories they tell are the same. 

However, we can sometimes fall into the trap of blaming the clinician on scene. We can see it as their fault; 

that they have made a mistake. However, when we understand that many of our clinicians see only two or 

three cardiac arrests a year, it is easy to understand why they can be overwhelmed by the event and allow 

things to go astray. They are complex situations, requiring various procedures to be done concurrently; all 

of which need to be done quickly and efficiently to improve chances of success. 

As ambulance trusts have become busier, the opportunities for training updates have become fewer. 

Somehow, we must find time to improve this. If we are expecting high standards, we need to invest in time 

for training. Just as we spend money on new systems to improve response times, and better equipment, 

we need to invest in training and practice time for our clinicians. 

Doing this will help improve the numbers of people who survive to discharge following an out of hospital 

cardiac arrest. That will mean more people able to spend time with their friends and families at this time of 

year. So, for next year, I will be working hard on making sure the clinicians I am responsible for have had the 

appropriate time to practice their resuscitation skills for when it is their time to make a difference. 

In closing, I would like to wish you all a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you are working, stay safe, 

and look after each other. 

Matt House, Co-Editor Ambulance UK 

Publishers Statement 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ortus, St Johns Western Australia. 

Terry Gardner 

Publisher 

Specialist Patient 

Transport Services 

Delivering Specialist Patient Transport Services across the UK 

with a strong focus on clinical quality and patient experience. 

High Dependency 

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4 

For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com 

0800 254 5261 www.IPRSMTS.com 

mtscontrol@iprsgroup.com

FEATURE 

FEATURE 


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DISPATCH 

PRIORITY ASSESSMENTS OF EMERGENCY 

MEDICAL DISPATCHERS AND EMERGENCY 

MEDICAL SERVICES: A PROSPECTIVE 

REGISTER‐BASED STUDY IN FINLAND 

Tomi Salminen 1,2* , Kaius Kaartinen 2 , Mervi Roos 3 , Verna Vaajanen 4 , Ari Ekstrand 5 , Piritta Setälä 2 

and Sanna Hoppu 2 

Salminen et al. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2023) 31:8 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-023-01072-2 

ORIGINAL RESEARCH 

Abstract 

Background Responsive and efficient emergency medical services 

(EMS) require accurate telephone triage. In Finland, such services 

are provided by Emergency Response Centre Agency (ERC Agency). 

In 2018, a new Finnish computer-assisted emergency dispatch 

system was introduced: the Emergency Response Integrated 

Common Authorities (ERICA). After the introduction of ERICA, the 

appropriateness of EMS dispatch has not been investigated yet. The 

study´s objective is to determine the consistency between the priority 

triage of the emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) and the on-scene 

priority assessment of the EMS, and whether the priority assessment 

consistency varied among the dispatch categories. 

Methods This was a prospective register-based study. All EMS 

dispatches registered in the Tampere University Hospital area from 1 

August 2021 to 31 August 2021 were analysed. The EMD’s mission 

priority triaged during the emergency call was compared with the 

on-scene EMS’s assessment of the priority, derived from the preset 

criteria. The test performance levels were measured from the 

crosstabulation of true or false positive and negative values of the 

priority assessment. Statistical significance was analysed using the 

chi-square test and the Kruskal–Wallis H test, and p-values < 0.05 were 

considered significant. 

Results Of the 6416 EMS dispatches analysed in this study, 36% 

(2341) were urgent according to the EMD’s dispatch priority, and of 

these, only 29% (688) were urgent according to the EMS criteria. 

On the other hand, 64% (4075) of the dispatches were non-urgent 

according to the EMD’s dispatch priority, of which 97% (3949) were 

non-urgent according to the EMS criteria. Moreover, there were 

differences between the EMD and EMS priority assessments among 

*Correspondence: 

Tomi Salminen 

tomi.salminen@tuni.fi 

Full list of author information is available at the end of the article 

the dispatch categories (p < 0.001). The overall efficiency was 72%, 

sensitivity 85%, specificity 71%, positive predictive value 29%, and 

negative predictive value 97%. 

Conclusion While the EMD recognised the non-urgent dispatches 

with high consistency with the EMS criteria, most of the EMD’s urgent 

dispatches were not urgent according to the same criteria. This may 

diminish the availability of the EMS for more urgent missions. Thus, 

measures are needed to ensure more accurate and therefore, more 

efficient use of EMS resources in the future. 

Keywords Ambulance, Emergency Medical Communication Centre, 

Emergency medical dispatch, Emergency medical services, Prehospital 

triage, Telephone triage 

Background 

Over the last few decades, the demand for emergency medical 

services (EMSs) has risen in many developed countries [1–3]. 

However, high non-conveyance rates and other measures suggest 

a possibly considerable over-triage in the dispatch of the EMS 

[4]. At the same time, a low fatality rate is reported for non-urgent 

dispatches, suggesting limited under-triage [4, 5]. Three independent 

expert boards have named the development of the EMS dispatch 

as one of the top emergency care research topics in the current era 

[6–8]. This highlights the need to evaluate the EMS data to enhance 

the consistency between the EMS dispatch and the acuteness of a 

patient’s condition and thus, to improve the usability of the EMS for 

time-critical patients [3]. 

Quick response from the emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) may 

reduce the first EMS unit’s time to reach the patient [8], but a problem 

may arise if the EMS units are dispatched urgently to a non-urgent 

incident and thus, are unable to respond immediately to other critical 

missions [9]. In truly time-critical situations such as cardiac arrests ERC Agency operates a nationwide, interconnected network of six 

or strokes, rapid and correct dispatch is crucial [10–13]. This creates Emergency Response Centres that receive all emergency calls and 

a situation where a certain amount of over-triage is necessary and dispatch rescue services, EMSs, police and social services. Finland 

acceptable to ensure that the patients receive immediate and proper has only the official European emergency number (112) in use. In 2021, 

response when needed. However, high rates of over-triage can be EMDs handled 2,754,870 emergency calls. ERC Agency dispatched 

harmful for the EMS in numerous ways, leading to excessive costs, 828,840 missions to the EMSs around the country [20]. Before 

inappropriate use of resources [14], increased risk of ambulance 

2018 the ERC Agency used a protocol similar to the Medical Priority 

crashes [15] and overfatigue of the EMS personnel [16]. To improve the 

Dispatch System to determine dispatch categories and priorities [11, 

quality of emergency dispatch, a new computer-assisted emergency 

12] ERICA is even more rigid and computerassisted system. 

dispatch system called Emergency Response Integrated Common 

Authorities (ERICA) was introduced in Finland in 2018 [12]. 

With ERICA, the EMD uses processing instructions, and the nature 

of the emergency leads to a series of mandatory and non-mandatory 

Since the introduction of ERICA, there have been no studies concerning 

follow-up questions. The dispatch code, which consists of the dispatch 

the appropriateness of EMS dispatch. That is why this study´s first 

category and the dispatch priority, is automatically generated by the 

objective was to determine the consistency between the priority 

dispatch analysis tool [12]. Although ERICA is a nationwide system, all 

assessments of EMDs and of the EMS by measuring their over- and 

hospital districts can enter their own EMS response into the dispatch 

under-triage, efficiency, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values. All 

EMS dispatches made with ERICA in the Tampere University Hospital 

analysis tool (Fig. 1). This enables the use of the national dispatch 

(Tays) area from 1 August 2021 to 31 August 2021 were analysed. 

criteria while considering the differences in the local EMS systems and 

The second objective of this study was to determine if the priority responses around Finland. 

assessments consistency varies across the dispatch categories. 

EMSs have four dispatch priorities: (A) obvious or strongly suspected 

Methods 

Setting 

This study was conducted in the area of Tampere University Hospital, 

which covers 13,249 km 2 of land and 2301 km 2 of water, with a 

population of 527,478 [17, 18]. It has 38 advanced-care EMS units that 

are staffed by one nurse–paramedic and a paramedic or a firefighter. 

Salminen The EMSs et are al. Scand organised J Trauma by the Resusc Tays Emerg Centre Med of Prehospital (2023) Emergency 

31:8 

Care [19]. In Tays area all emergency calls are handled by the national 

Emergency Response Centre Agency (ERC Agency). 

Fig. 1 Medical emergency call process with the Emergency Response Integrated Common Authorities (ERICA) 

life-threatening incidents, (B) more stable urgent incidents, (C) semiurgent 

incidents that require acute assessment and (D) non-urgent 

incidents. Priorities A and B both lead to an EMS dispatch with lights 

and siren (L&S), priority C requires that the patient be encountered 

within 30 min, and in priority D, within 2 h. In addition, there is a 

non-dispatch category for incidents that do not require an EMS 

response [21]. Besides the dispatch priority, the dispatch category 

also influences the EMS response. Not all A dispatches automatically Page 3 of 10 

involve rescue services or physician-staffed EMSs, but whether or not 

they will depend on the dispatch category. 


6 


Study design 


For the comparison dispatch priorities A and B were 

7

sion priority triaged by the EMD during the emergency 

call was compared with the EMS’s assessment of the 

patient’s priority on-scene. The EMS’s assessment of the 

priority was derived from the pre-set criteria (Table 1). 

FEATURE 

and priority, dispatched EMS unit, EMS time stamps 

(on the way, on-scene, patient encountered, beginning 

of the transportation, at the Emergency Department, 

patient signed over and mission completed), name of 

additional data from the patient’s EMS records (i.e., the 

patient’s medical history, vital signs, and any treatment 

received), which were validated by the authors TS and 

KK. 

parison with other studies that used the same dichotomisation 

[22–24]. The dichotomisation was made in a 

specific order in which the paramedic’s assessment was 

primarily considered (Fig. 2). 

FEATURE 

Table 1 Criteria for the priority assessment of the emergency medical services (EMS) 

Urgent 

A paramedic’s ‘urgent’ priority assessment 

A/B dispatch and the patient was transported with A/B priority 

A/B dispatch and the patient had deceased 

A/B dispatch and the patient received significant treatment 1 (regardless 

of transportation) 

C/D dispatch and no transport but the patient received significant 

treatment 1 

C/D dispatch and transportation with A/B priority 

Non-urgent 

A paramedic’s ‘non-urgent’ priority assessment 

C/D dispatch and the patient was transported with C/D priority or no transport 

C/D dispatch and a deceased person 

A/B dispatch and the patient did not receive any significant treatment 1 and 

was not transported with A/B priority 

A/B dispatch: EMS dispatch with lights and siren. C/D dispatch: EMS dispatch without lights and siren 

1 SpO2 < 95% for which the patient received bronchodilators; convulsion for which the patient received an anticonvulsant; allergic reaction for which the patient 

received epinephrine; any airway management, CPR or blood glucose < 4 for which the patient received IV glucose; SpCO > 5 for which the patient received oxygen; or 

overdosage or poisoning for which the patient received an antidote 


Study design 

This prospective cohort study was conducted based on all EMS 

dispatches registered in the Tays area from 1 August 2021 to 31 

August 2021. All EMS dispatches where EMS had confronted the 

patient were included. Dispatches where mission was cancelled, 

aborted, patient was not confronted, unit served as a first responder, 

or dispatch had unvalid data were excluded (n = 829). The EMS 

mission priority triaged by the EMD during the emergency call was 

compared with the EMS’s assessment of the patient’s priority onscene. 

The EMS’s assessment of the priority was derived from the preset 

criteria (Table 1). For the comparison dispatch priorities A and B 

were deemed urgent, and priorities C and D were deemed non-urgent. 

The data were collected from the national ERC Agency system. Also, 

a copy of all EMS records from study period were collected from EMS 

service providers. The initial information included the incident address, 

time of the emergency call, mission alert time, dispatch category and 

priority, dispatched EMS unit, EMS time stamps (on the way, onscene, 

patient encountered, beginning of the transportation, at the 

Emergency Department, patient signed over and mission completed), 

name of the Emergency Department if transported, transportation 

code and priority or non-transportation code. These records were then 

collected into a Microsoft Excel ® table to which the research assistants 

manually inputted additional data from the patient’s EMS records (i.e., 

the patient’s medical history, vital signs, and any treatment received), 

which were validated by the authors TS and KK. 

The data were also dichotomised into two groups according to EMS’s 

criteria (Table 1)—one where the situation was considered urgent and 

the other where the situation was considered non-urgent. This allowed 

comparison with other studies that used the same dichotomisation 

[22–24]. The dichotomisation was made in a specific order in which the 

paramedic’s assessment was primarily considered (Fig. 2). 

The use of specific reference standards such as the National Advisory 

Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) scale [23–25] or the Medical 

Emergency Triage and Treatment System. Adult (METTS-A), which 

other authors had used [26, 27], was not possible in this study because 

the Finnish paramedics are not accustomed to routinely using any 

severity score. Although the NACA score was not used as a reference, 

the criteria of urgent and non-urgent patients were consistent with 

those in earlier studies [24]. The STROBE checklist was used to guide 

the manuscript preparation. 

Statistics 

The test performance levels of the over- and under-triage levels, 

efficiency, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were measured 

using the crosstabulation of true positive (TP), false positive (FP), 

true negative (TN) and false negative (FN) values and described as 

percentages with 95% confidence intervals. Crosstabulation and the 

chi-square test were used to analyse the consistency between the 

priority assessments. The Kruskal–Wallis H test was used to analyse 

the distribution of the dispatch consistency variable (four groups: TP, 

FP, TN and FN) among the 26 dispatch categories containing more than 

50 dispatches to measure the variation of the consistency between the 

dispatch categories. The Bonferroni-corrected p-values were used in 

the post hoc test of pairwise comparison between dispatch categories. 

Percentages were calculated with Microsoft ® Excel for Mac version 

16.60 (Redmond, WA USA). Statistical analyses and crosstabulation 

were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics for MAC, version 27.0.1.0 

(Armonk, NY USA), with a significance level of p < 0.05. 

Ethics 

This was a prospective register-based study approved by the Tays 

research director (no. R21641). According to Finnish laws, the 

patient consent and the statement from the Ethics Committee were 

not needed, as this study was based on medical records and no 

interventions to patients were made. 

Results 

There were 6416 EMS dispatches included in this study. The priority 

assessments of the EMD and the EMS were consistent in 72% (4637) 

of the dispatches. The priority was most consistent in Cardiac arrest 

(92%) and less consistent in Unspecific symptoms (12%). Table 2 

presents the EMD dispatch priority distribution of all the dispatch 

categories that had more than 50 dispatches and their priority 

according to the EMS criteria. 

EMD’s priority assessment compared with EMS’s 

priority assessment 

There was a difference between the EMD and EMS priority 

assessments (p < 0.001) (Table 3). The EMD’s dispatch priority was 

urgent (A or B) in 2341 dispatches, but only 29% of those were urgent 

according to the EMS criteria. The EMD’s dispatch priority was nonurgent 

(C or D) in 4075 dispatches, and 97% of those were also nonurgent 

according to the EMS criteria. The overall efficiency was 72% 

(95% CI 71.2–73.4); sensitivity, 85% (95% CI 82.0–87.0); specificity, 

Fig. 2 Dataflow and dichotomisation of the emergency medical services’ priority assessment 

71% (95% CI 69.3–71.1); positive predictive value (PPV), 29% (95% The over-triage percentage significantly varied across the dispatch 

CI 27.5–31.2); and negative predictive value (NPV), 97% (95% CI categories, with a range of 8–100%. Ten dispatch categories had 

96.4–97.4). 

an over-triage level of 80% or more, and 21 dispatch categories had 

an over-triage level of over 50%. Unspecific symptoms had the third 

Consistency between the priority assessments across the 

highest over-triage percentage (88%) and currently does not even 

dispatch categories 

have the C or D dispatch priority available. The lowest over-triage 

The whole dataset included 55 dispatch categories, 26 of them percentage was in Cardiac arrest. Hospital transfer had the highest 

containing more than 50 dispatches were compared (Table 4). There under-triage, though its priority was set by a physician instead of the 

was a variation in the consistency between the priority assessments EMD. The undertriage was 0% in six dispatch categories (Table 4). 

among dispatch categories (p = 0.000, Df. 25), for 95% confidence 

intervals, please see Additional file 1. 

Efficiency also had a high variation of 97–12%, with the highest being 

for Nausea, diarrhoea and constipation. Seven dispatch categories had 

In the pairwise comparison of the TP, FP, TN and FN value 

a sensitivity of 100%, and only one dispatch category had a specificity 

distributions, all the dispatch categories had a difference (p < 0.05) of 100%. Sensitivity and specificity both ranged from 0 to 100%. 

with at least one of the other dispatch categories (Additional file 2). Specificity was over 90% for Psychiatric symptom; Nausea, diarrhoea 


8 



9

Salminen et al. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2023) 31:8 

FEATURE 

Page 6 of 10 

Salminen et al. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med (2023) 31:8 

Page 7 of 10 

FEATURE 

Table 2 Differences between the dispatcher’s dispatch priority and the EMS priority assessment 

Table 4 Consistency between the priority assessments of the dispatcher and the EMS among the dispatch categories 

Dispatch category (n) EMD’s dispatch priority % (n) EMS’s dispatch urgent EMS’s dispatch non-urgent 

EMS’s criteria priority % (n) 

Urgent (A or B) Non-urgent (C or D) Urgent (TP) Non-urgent (FP) Non-urgent (TN) Urgent (FN) 

General weakness (984) 14 (139) 86 (845) 19 (26) 81 (113) 98 (827) 2 (18) 

Fall (882) 18 (159) 82 (723) 21 (34) 79 (125) 98 (709) 2 (14) 

Chest pain (631) 82 (516) 18 (115) 20 (105) 80 (411) 96 (110) 4 (5) 

Breathing difficulty (407) 46 (186) 54 (221) 28 (53) 72 (133) 95 (211) 5 (10) 

Psychiatric symptom + (325) N.A 100 (325) N.A N.A 94 (306) 6 (19) 

Rhythm disorder (314) 26 (83) 74 (231) 19 (16) 81 (67) 99 (229) 1 (2) 

Stroke (306) 82 (250) 18 (56) 26 (65) 74 (185) 96 (54) 4 (2) 

Abdominal pain (286) 12 (34) 88 (252) 32 (11) 68 (23) 98 (247) 2 (5) 

Hospital transport (253) 47 (120) 53 (133) 70 (84) 30 (36) 88 (117) 12 (16) 

Poisoning (224) 38 (84) 62 (140) 50 (42) 50 (42) 91 (128) 9 (12) 

Back pain (183) 5 (9) 95 (174) 22 (2) 78 (7) 98 (171) 2 (3) 

Limb pain (144) 6 (9) 94 (135) 22 (2) 78 (7) 99 (134) 1 (1) 

Nausea, diarrhoea, constipation (140) 2 (3) 98 (137) 67 (2) 33 (1) 98 (134) 2 (3) 

Convulsion (137) 62 (85) 38 (52) 36 (31) 64 (54) 96 (50) 4 (2) 

Headache (110) 42 (46) 58 (64) 15 (7) 85 (39) 97 (62) 3 (2) 

Traffic accident, bicycle etc. (109) 40 (44) 60 (65) 32 (14) 68 (30) 100 (65) 0 (0) 

Unconscious + (99) 100 (99) N.A 42 (42) 58 (57) N.A N.A 

Traffic accident, small (97) 56 (54) 44 (43) 17 (9) 83 (45) 98 (42) 2 (1) 

Impact/hit (76) 61 (46) 39 (30) 20 (9) 80 (37) 100 (30) 0 (0) 

Unspecific symptoms + (75) 100 (75) N.A 12 (9) 88 (66) N.A N.A 

Blood glucose problem (75) 25 (19) 75 (56) 32 (6) 68 (13) 95 (53) 5 (3) 

Cut (67) 34 (23) 66 (44) 30 (7) 70 (16) 100 (44) 0 (0) 

Allergic reaction (65) 69 (45) 31 (20) 20 (9) 80 (36) 100 (20) 0 (0) 

Body pain (59) 7 (4) 93 (55) 0 (0) 100 (4) 93 (51) 7 (4) 

Assault (54) 7 (4) 93 (50) 0 (0) 100 (4) 100 (50) 0 (0) 

Cardiac arrest (51) 94 (48) 6 (3) 92 (44) 8 (4) 100 (3) 0 (0) 

TP true positive, FP false positive, TN true negative, FN false negative, N.A. not available 

+ Only A/B or C/D dispatch was available 

Dispatch category (n) Over-triage % Under-triage % Efficiency % Sensitivity % Specificity % PPV% NPV% 

Body pain (59) 100 7 86 N.A 93 0 93 

Assault (54) 100 0 93 N.A 93 0 100 

Unspecific symptoms + (75) 88 N.A 12 100 0 12 N.A 

Headache (110) 85 3 63 78 61 15 97 

Traffic accident, small (97) 83 2 53 90 48 17 98 

General weakness (984) 81 2 87 59 88 19 98 

Rhythm disorder (314) 81 1 78 89 77 19 99 

Chest pain (631) 80 4 34 96 21 20 96 

Impact/hit (76) 80 0 51 100 45 20 100 

Allergic reaction (65) 80 0 45 100 36 20 100 

Fall (882) 79 2 84 71 85 21 98 

Back pain (183) 78 2 95 40 96 22 98 

Limb pain (144) 78 1 94 67 95 22 99 

Stroke (306) 74 4 39 97 23 26 96 

Breathing difficulty (407) 72 4 65 84 61 29 96 

Cut (67) 70 0 76 100 73 30 100 

Abdominal pain (286) 68 2 90 69 92 32 98 

Traffic accident, bicycle etc. (109) 68 0 73 100 68 32 100 

Blood glucose problem (75) 68 5 79 67 80 32 95 

Convulsion (137) 63 4 59 94 48 37 96 

Unconscious + (99) 58 N.A 42 100 0 42 N.A 

Poisoning (224) 50 9 76 78 75 50 91 

Nausea, diarrhoea, constipation (140) 33 2 97 40 99 67 98 

Hospital transfer (253) 30 12 79 84 77 70 88 

Cardiac arrest (51) 8 0 92 100 43 92 100 

Psychiatric symptom + (75) N.A 6 94 0 100 N.A 94 

Over-triage: 100-PPV; Under-triage: 100-NPV; Efficiency: ([TP + TN]/[TP + TN + FP + FN]) × 100; Sensitivity: (TP/[TP + FN]) × 100; Specificity: (TN/[TN + FP]) × 100; 

Positive predictive value (PPV): (TP/[TP + FP]) × 100; 

Negative predictive value (NPV): (TN/(TN + FN]) × 100 

TP true positive, TN true negative, FP false positive, FN false negative, N.A. not available 

+ Only A/B or C/D dispatch was available, which inhibited the calculation of certain variables 

A or B: EMS dispatch with lights and siren. C or D: EMS dispatch without lights and siren 


Table 3 Dispatch priority and EMS priority assessment crosstabulation 

EMD’s dispatch priority EMS’s criteria priority p-value 

Urgent % (n) Non-urgent % (n) Total % (n) 

A (urgent) 55 (188) 45 (153) 5 (341) Overtriage 

71% 

(95% CI 

68.8–72.5) 

B (urgent) 25 (500) 75 (1500) 31 (2000) 

C (non-urgent) 4 (99) 96 (2161) 35 (2260) Undertriage 

3% 

(95% CI 

2.6–3.6) 

D (non-urgent) 1 (27) 99 (1788) 28 (1815) 

Total % (n) 13 (814) 87 (5602) (6416) 

< 0.001 

and a higher constipation; sensitivity Back pain; with Limb moderate pain; Body specificity pain; Assault; when and compared 

with pain the (Table priority 4). assessment of the EMS. Addition- 

Abdominal 

ally, there were significant differences in the consistency 

Discussion between the EMD and EMS priority assessments across 

This the study dispatch examined categories. the consistency between the priority assessments 

of the In the EMD non-urgent and the EMS and priority determined dispatches if such consistency (C and D), varied there 

among was minimal the dispatch under-triage categories. We compared found that the to priority the over-triage 

assessment 

of in the the EMD urgent was much priority more overestimated dispatches than (A and underestimated B). This and phenomenon 

a higher sensitivity is supported with moderate by Dami specificity et al. when and compared Ball et with al., 

had 

the who priority reported assessment similar of the results EMS. [22, Additionally, 23]. Also, there the were over- significant and 

differences under-triage, in the efficiency, consistency between sensitivity, the EMD specificity and EMS priority and predictive 

values across of the the dispatch new categories. Finnish ERC Agency system 

assessments 

are relatively consistent with those in the international 

In research the non-urgent [22–24, priority 26–30]. dispatches (C and D), there was minimal 

under-triage A closer compared look reveals to the that over-triage the proportion in the urgent priority of the urgent 

dispatches cases from (A and the B). EMS This phenomenon perspective is supported in the priority by Dami A et al. dispatch 

and Ball 

was 

et al., 

double 

who reported 

that 

similar 

of the 

results 

priority 

[22, 23]. 

B dispatches. 

Also, the over- 

This 

and 

indicates that the dispatch criteria can recognise the 

under-triage, efficiency, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values 

of the new Finnish ERC Agency system are relatively consistent with 

those in the international research [22–24, 26–30]. 

A most closer urgent look reveals cases that reasonably the proportion well of the and urgent the cases non-urgent from 

the cases EMS with perspective high precision. in the priority The A dispatch remarkably was double low that over-triage 

priority for Cardiac B dispatches. arrest This sheds indicates light that on the dispatch this phenomenon; 

criteria can 

of 

the 

recognise although the all most the urgent patients cases suspected reasonably well with and cardiac the non-urgent arrest 

cases did not with necessarily high precision. suffer The remarkably from such, low they over-triage most for likely Cardiac had 

arrest a critical sheds incident light on this in phenomenon; the background although that all the initially patients led to 

suspected 

the suspicion. 

with cardiac 

This 

arrest 

issue 

did 

is 

not 

two-edged; 

necessarily 

for 

suffer 

the 

from 

EMS 

such, 

unit, 

they most 

correct 

likely 

priority 

had a critical 

of the 

incident 

mission 

in the background 

is paramount, 

that initially 

and an 

led to the suspicion. This issue is two-edged; for the EMS unit, incorrect dispatch category is not essential. Nevertheless, 

an incorrect dispatch category can lead to unneces- 

correct priority of the mission paramount, and an incorrect dispatch 

category not essential. Nevertheless, incorrect dispatch category 

sary dispatches for the physician-staffed EMS unit and 

can lead to unnecessary dispatches for the physician-staffed EMS 

the rescue services whose dispatches depend on the right 

unit and the rescue services whose dispatches depend on the right 

dispatch category. 

dispatch category. 

The low consistency in the priority B dispatches 

increased the over-triage and most likely emanated from 

The low consistency in the priority B dispatches increased the overtriage 

and most likely emanated from the nature of priority B. Priority 

the nature of priority B. Priority B had more cases that 

were unclear, and a dispatch with L&S was more of a precaution. 

Similar results were seen in an interview 

B had more cases that were unclear, and a dispatch with L&S was 

study; 

more of a precaution. Similar results were seen in an interview study; in 

situations where EMDs could not rule out an acute situation, they will 

send an ambulance just as a precaution [31]. The high over-triage level 


10 



11

FEATURE 

FEATURE 


for Unspecific symptoms underlines this issue. Unspecific symptoms 

presents a unique dispatch criterion that complicates the priority 

assessment; despite the name of this category, the definition is that 

the caller is not with the patient or the patient cannot be contacted 

during the emergency call. For that reason, as a safety precaution, this 

category does not even have the C or D dispatch priority available. 

Nevertheless, Unspecific symptoms had the third highest over-triage 

percentage, suggesting that there is a need for a nonurgent dispatch 

option as well. 

Differences in the consistency between the EMD and EMS priority 

assessments across the dispatch categories 

Although some dispatch categories had low frequencies and were thus 

not ideal for the analysis, there was still considerable variation in the 

results of the 26 dispatch categories that were analysed. This indicates 

differences in the overall validity of the dispatch criteria across the 

dispatch categories. The generally more non-critical symptoms (e.g., 

Psychiatric symptom; Nausea, diarrhoea and constipation; Back pain; 

Limb pain and Body pain) had the highest specificities, which indicates 

that the dispatch criteria are accurate when there is no presumptively 

high-risk patient. Controversially critical symptoms such as Chest 

pain, Stroke and Unconsciousness had low efficiency. These incidents 

require high sensitivity to ensure that all critically ill patients will receive 

rapid and adequate dispatch; but at some point, oversensitivity 

eventually decreases specificity and efficiency. 

The PPV was 50% or less in 22 dispatch categories. This is alarming, 

since it means that a guess could be as accurate as the current 

triage of the urgent incidents, and thus, it eliminates the benefits of 

a telephone triage. The ultimate intention of a telephone triage is to 

ensure the responsiveness and efficiency of the EMS process [32]. It 

is not achieved if the dispatch criteria are not efficient, which requires 

adequate sensitivity and specificity. On the other hand, high NPV levels 

indicate that the dispatch system is safe for the patient. 

More time should be taken to clarify the priority of the situation when 

the EMD does not have a reasonable suspicion of a life-threatening 

situation. Nowadays, the Finnish ERC Agency uses solely time intervals 

as the quality indicators. That can create a situation for the ERC 

Agency personnel where a fast dispatch is considered more important 

than an accurate priority assessment. Simultaneously, it is important 

to remember that evaluating the priority of the patient via telephone is 

not the same as doing so face to face with professional expertise and 

instruments [33]. 

Many other factors influence emergency call handling, such as 

interpersonal or communication variables [34–36]. Machine learning 

and video calls are new tools that have been introduced to support the 

EMD’s decisionmaking process [37–40]. Further research is required 

to illustrate what factors cause inaccurate urgent dispatch in certain 

dispatch categories. Criteria leading to priority B should be investigated 

in all dispatch categories to evaluate what causes significant over-triage. 

Strengths and limitations 

The most valuable strength of this study was its precise 

dichotomisation of the priority levels from the EMS’s perspective with 

numerous criteria. This is because comparison of the mere dispatch 

and transportation codes or non-transport rates within the dispatch 

categories would have led to wider bias. The short inclusion period 

and the size of the dataset also led to some limitations. Because rarer 

dispatch categories had only one or a few cases, no conclusion could 

be made regarding the appropriateness of the dispatch criteria in those 

categories. In addition, due to the regional data collection, the general 

applicability of the results to other areas is uncertain. On the other 

hand, the smaller sample size made it possible for us to evaluate the 

data more profoundly. Had we collected national data or had a longer 

inclusion period, the large data size would not have allowed us to 

manually screen all the EMS records to sort out what kind of treatment 

the patients had received from the EMS. 

Finnish EMS system has one unique feature; the transport priority is 

also used to describe the usability of the ambulance for an intercurrent 

dispatch. For that reason, the conveyance priority can be A or B also 

for non-medical reasons. This can cause a minimal risk of bias in case 

where non-urgent dispatch was considered false negative because 

of urgent transport code for non-medical reason. An additionally 

registered conveyance priority does not necessarily mean that there 

was an actual L&S conveyance; it could also have been merely a 

precaution from the paramedic. For the duration of this study, the 

EMS personnel were advised that they could document their priority 

assessment of the situation when the patient was confronted, but this 

was not mandatory. This limited the possibility of a bias caused by an 

inaccurate transport priority. 

Conclusion 

Of all the urgent EMD dispatches, 71% were not urgent according to 

the EMS criteria, which decreased the EMS usability. The non-urgent 

dispatches were recognised with high accuracy; therefore, it is safe to 

dispatch nonemergency units or to keep the non-urgent missions on 

hold. Ten dispatch categories that had the over-triage level of 80% or 

more require immediate and critical appraisal of the dispatch criteria. 

Measures must be taken to ensure efficient use of the EMS resources 

in the future. 

Abbreviations 

EMD 

Emergency medical dispatcher 

EMS 

Emergency medical service 

ERC Agency National Emergency Response Centre Agency 

ERICA Emergency Response Integrated Common Authorities 

FN 

False negative 

FP 

False positive 

L&S 

Lights and Siren 

NACA National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 

METTS-A Medical Emergency Triage and Treatment System-Adult 

NPV 

Negative predictive value 

PPV 

Positive predictive value 

Tays 

Tampere University Hospital 

TN 

True negative 

TP 

True positive 

Supplementary Information 

The online version contains supplementary material available at 

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-023-01072-2. 

Additional file 1: Measured test performance levels and their 95% 

confidence intervals. Test performance levels of over- and under-triage, 

efficiency, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values with their 95% 

confidence intervals among the 26 dispatch categories. 

Additional file 2: All Kruskall–Wallis H test pairwise comparisons 

that had a significant difference. All pairwise comparisons that had a 

significant difference, based on the Kruskall–Wallis H test of TP/FP/TN/ 

FN distribution among the dispatch codes and their significance levels 

(Bonferroni-corrected). 

Acknowledgements 

We would like to acknowledge medical students Heini Kaura and Miina 

Veijanen on behalf of the entire study group for the participation in the 

data processing. 

Author contributions 

TS, KK, MR and SH conceptualised this study. KK, VV and SH 

acquired data. TS analysed data. All authors contributed to the 

interpretation of data. TS drafted the manuscript. All the authors 

contributed major revisions to it and read and approved the 

final manuscript. 

Funding 

Open access funding provided by Tampere University including 

Tampere University Hospital, Tampere University of Applied Sciences 

(TUNI). This study was financially supported by the Competitive State 

Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility area of Tays. The 

funding body had no part in the study design, data collection, analysis, 

interpretation of data or writing of the manuscript. 

Availability of data and materials 

The data that support the findings of this study are available from 

Tays but with restrictions, as they were used under license and so 

are not publicly available. However, the data are available from the 

authors upon reasonable request and with the permission of the Tays 

research director. 

Declarations 

Ethics approval and consent to participate 

Study permission by Tampere University Hospital (no. R21641). 

According to Finnish laws, the patient consent and the statement 

from the Ethics Committee were waived as this was a retrospective 

study based on medical records and no interventions to patients 

were conducted. 

Consent for publication 

Not applicable. 

Competing interests 

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 

Author details 

1 

Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Kuntokatu 3, 33520 

Tampere, Finland. 2 Centre for Prehospital Emergency Care, 

Emergency Medical Services, Wellbeing Services County of 

Pirkanmaa, Satakunnankatu 16, 33100 Tampere, Finland. 3 Health 

Sciences Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Arvo 

Ylpön Katu 34, 33520 Tampere, Finland. 4 Faculty of Medicine and 

Health Technology, Tampere University, Arvo Ylpön Katu 34, 33520 

Tampere, Finland. 5 Emergency Response Centre Agency, P.O. Box 

112, 28131 Pori, Finland. 

Received: 6 October 2022 Accepted: 7 February 2023 

Published online: 16 February 2023 

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EEAST CEO Tom Abell (centre) signs the Dyslexia Friendly 

Workplace Pledge, alongside Justin Honey-Jones (left), 

specialist lecturer practitioner (wellbeing and inclusion) and 

Dyslexia champion, and Dr Hein Scheffer, Director of Strategy, 

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EEAST becomes first 

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workplace 

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Ambulance service 

holds wreath laying 

ceremony for 

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Service NHS Trust (EEAST) 

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On Friday, 10 November, 

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EEAST has also re-signed the 

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Terry Hicks, armed forces 

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“We are also a Veterans Covenant 

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The Trust has also installed 

unknown Tommy statues at 

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funding from the East of England 

Ambulance Service Charity. 

Terry commented: “The choice 

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on the links we have with many 

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veterans. The statue remembers 

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and suffering in the many years 

since and we will continue, once 

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on our ambulance fleet.” 

Airfield team’s 

training saved a 

life when medical 

emergency struck 

In addition to saving lives at 

accidents and emergencies, 


Service NHS Trust (EEAST) 

helps to ensure everyone can 

save a life in those minutes and 

seconds while our crews are 

on their way. 

Our training wing, TrainEEAST, 

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Care courses and regular first aid 

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two of the airfield team we trained 

responded to a cardiac arrest 

and saved the patient’s life. 


14 

15 


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North Weald Airfield Accountable 

Manager, Darren Goodey said: 

“On May 19th Ken Waylett 

travelled from his home in Wales 

to the Airfield to attend a 

“After an enjoyable morning 

Ken, who is the chairman of the 

Lotus Drivers Club, was suddenly 

taken ill. “As part of the Airfield 

Fire & Rescue team Mike and 

I responded to the emergency 

call and on arrival found Ken in 

cardiac arrest. “They immediately 

removed him from his vehicle and 

proceeded to perform CPR. The 

defibrillator was attached, and a 

shock administered. Following 

further CPR it became apparent 

that Ken had started to breathe – 

we had got him back! 

“The air ambulance doctor and 

critical care paramedic were on 

scene within 10 minutes and Ken 

was transferred into their care. 

“Ken was stabilised on-scene 

then transported to hospital 

where after nine days and made a 

full recovery.” 

Ken later returned to the airfield 

with his family to say thank you to 

the teams that had saved his life. 

He said: “I think it is worth 

stressing that the time lapse from 

arrest to receiving assistance was 

only a couple of minutes. 

“The close proximity of the 

Emergency Services, and the 

prompt action of the Driver 

Training Owner, Andy Walsh, 

resulted in an unbelievably short 

time passing before I received 

attention. 

“Following discussion with other 

patients that have suffered a 

cardiac arrest I seem to be the 

only one that ‘just bounced 

back to life’ with no rehabilitation 

programme. 

“When the rehabilitation nurse 

rang me to arrange my recovery 

plan nine days after the arrest 

she found that I was already 

significantly better than most 

patients after three months. I 

put this down to the really quick 

response from the Emergency 

response team. 

“Words alone cannot thank these 

gents enough. Every day I now 

have is down to them. Thank 

you, Darren, Mike and of course 

your trainers!” 

TrainEEAST and CFR Training 

Manager Mark Hayes said: 

“This was such a proud moment 

for the TrainEEAST team. The 

Airfield crew remembered their 

training and did exactly what was 

needed to bring the patient back. 

“Every year we train thousands of 

people in emergency pre-hospital 

care, and this is not the first time 

a patient’s life has been saved by 

someone we trained.” 

To find out about life-saving 

training for businesses contact: 

traineeast@eastamb.nhs.uk 

Photo Caption: 

Ken Waylett; Cllr. Darshan 

Sunger, Chairman of Epping 

Forest District Council; Andrew 

Walsh, AW Driver Training (This 

is who Ken was training with at 

the time of the incident). 

Outstanding 

contributions 

from disabled 

and neurodiverse 

staff recognised at 

awards ceremony 

Staff at East of England 

Ambulance Service NHS 

Trust (EEAST) who identify as 

disabled or neurodiverse have 

been celebrated at an awards 

ceremony for their outstanding 

contributions. 

The event was organised to 

recognise and celebrate those 

who have completed the Calibre 

Leadership Programme, a unique 

course for people working in the 

NHS, Higher Education and the 

wider public sector. The talent 

development and leadership 

programme is designed for those 

who identify as neurodiverse 

or disabled, or who have a 

long-term physical or mental 

health condition. 

The programme has been 

developed and is delivered by 

Dr Ossie Stuart, an international 

disability consultant and 

“Compassion and support should 

be the bedrock, encouraging us 

to be mindful of the challenges 

each of us faces and reminding 

us to make sure that no one is 

left behind. 

Developing a more inclusive and 

equitable leadership landscape 

means we need to dismantle 

existing barriers, whether they 

are physical, systemic or founded 

in attitude. 

“We have to provide 

accommodations, create 

accessible environments, and 

give everyone equal opportunities 

to advance.” 

The ceremony took place on 12 

October at The Waterfront Hotel, 

Wyboston Lakes Resort, which 

was chosen with accessibility 

in mind. There were hearing 

loops, British Sign Language 

interpreters and a quiet room for 

people if they needed a break 

during the event. 

Graduates also included non- 

EEAST Calibre programme 

colleagues from other sectors, 

with the Trust’s Equality, Diversity 

and Inclusion Team acting as 

hosts for the day. 

Partner working 

ensures fast 

response when 

seconds count. 

When cardiac arrest strikes, 

the seconds and minutes 

before resuscitation starts are 

vital to the long-term survival 

and recovery of the patient. 

In addition to its network of 

over 1,000 civilian Community 

First Responders, the East of 

England Ambulance Service 

NHS Trust works closely with 

specially trained Fire and Rescue 

colleagues and military coresponders 

across the region 

who will step up to emergency 

calls for those minutes until our 

crews arrive. 

There are 14 fire stations in the 

EEAST region where crews 

respond to predominantly cardiac 

arrest calls (in Bedfordshire crews 

also attend other categories of 

urgent calls). 

There are also four military coresponse 

teams based at RAF 

Henlow, RAF Marham, RAF 

Wyton and RAF Honington. 

Since April this year, these 

collaborative teams have 

attended 912 calls including 54 

cardiac arrests. 

Chief Executive of EEAST Tom 

Abell said: “Having specially 

trained volunteers like our 

Community First Responders, our 

colleagues from the Fire Service 

and from the military can make 

a real difference when someone 

has stopped breathing. 

with EEAST colleagues as part 

of our Emergency Medical 

Response (EMR) programme. 

Crews have received training 

from EEAST enabling them to 

assist ambulance colleagues 

in responding to members of 

the public over the age of eight 

suffering cardiac arrests in the 

community. 

Other fire stations in Norfolk 

which are part of the scheme are 

Sheringham and North Walsham. 

The stations agree to mobilise 

within a 10-minute radius 

of where EEAST crews are 

responding and always 

attend with an EEAST crew to 

perform lifesaving interventions 

including basic life support 

and defibrillation. 

Area Manager Paul Seaman said: 

“We can already see our efforts in 

this voluntary aspect of our work 

making a real difference to our 

communities by helping to save 

lives, which is what our service is 

all about. 

“Our fire stations, especially in 

more rural parts of the county, are 

in a unique position to play a vital 

role in improving the survivability 

rate of cardiac arrests in our 

community.” 

The next co-responder station 

due to join the programme this 

autumn will be Dereham. 


academic. Its aim is to transform 

how disabled staff think about 

themselves and their disability, 

and to show them how to take 

control of the discussion in a 

constructive way. 

Caroline Nwadu, head of culture 

and inclusivity at EEAST hosted 

the ceremony. She said: “This 

ceremony is testament to the 

hard work and dedication of all 

those who are working to create 

a more inclusive society. 

The RAF Wyton co-response team 

“We value the contribution they 

make in situations where seconds 

count – especially in rural areas 

where it is often more difficult 

for us to get ambulance crews 

on-scene as quickly as we 

would wish.” 

Cromer Fire and Rescue 

becomes the latest coresponder 

station 

Cromer Fire Station is now the 

third in Norfolk to take on coresponding 

duties in partnership 

Pioneering stroke 

schemes see 

significant reduction 

in treatment times. 


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The success of two specialist 

stroke schemes at East of 


NHS Trust (EEAST) was 

celebrated ahead of World 

Stroke Day on Sunday, 

29 October. 

The two schemes have seen a 

significant reduction in treatment 

waiting times for patients who 

have been diagnosed with a 

stroke, a life-threatening medical 

condition that happens when 

blood supply to part of the brain 

is cut off. 

The first pathway involves the use 

of video triaging, which enables 

ambulance clinicians to connect 

via FaceTime to senior stroke 

registrars and consultants, while 

on scene with patients. Both 

clinicians will agree a pathway 

for the patient, which has seen a 

reduction in the time it takes from 

hospital arrival to being scanned 

from 22 minutes down to 2 

minutes and the time taken from 

hospital arrival to treatment from 

66 minutes to 9 minutes in the 

fastest case. 

The scheme launched in August 

2022 and has one pilot site 

in north Cambridgeshire and 

a second in west Essex. An 

expansion is being planned 

with stroke centres across the 

region, and a further bid for use 

in Basildon, Broomfield, Lister, 

Southend and Watford hospitals 

has been successful. The Trust 

is also working with Queen 

Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, 

with the aim of launching there 

next month. 

The second scheme is the use 

of a Mobile Stroke Unit, which 

is a specialist ambulance with 

advanced medical equipment 

on board. 

The pilot scheme is a study run 

in partnership with Saarland 

University in Germany and 

East Suffolk and North Essex 

Foundation Trust. It means 

patients can have blood samples 

analysed and a CT scan in the 

ambulance, which identifies 

what type of stroke the patient 

is having. 

The advanced unit is assigned 

at random to patients with a 

suspected stroke, alternating with 

a standard ambulance to form a 

balanced study of 850 patients, 

who can choose to opt-in. 

Daniel Phillips, clinical lead and 

advanced paramedic, said: 

“Strokes are the third largest 

cause of deaths and one of the 

leading causes of disability. 

Two-thirds of people who survive 

one will live with some kind of 

disability after. 

“Lots of things look like strokes 

and strokes look like many 

things. The mobile unit with 

the sophisticated technology 

on board means we can take 

less patients to hospital and 

the patients we do take will get 

treatment quicker than through 

other pathways.” 

Specialist care 

pathways improve 

the chances 

of surviving 

cardiac arrest 

The minutes and seconds 

taken to restart a heart are 

vital to someone’s chance 

of survival. 

Quick action bystanders to 

perform CPR, defibrillation and a 

fast ambulance response are key 

factors in survival, but each link in 

the chain impacts on the patient’s 

outcomes - including access to 

specialist cardiac care. 

The NHS has defined a 

package of post-cardiac arrest 

management called a ‘care 

bundle’, which is aimed at 

addressing the cause of the 

cardiac arrest, includes providing 

optimal support for circulation 

and breathing, and preventing 

further neurological damage. 

The East of England Ambulance 

Service Trust (EEAST) is leading 

the way in ensuring patients 

get this ‘bundle’- more than 

97% (April 2023) of cardiac 

patients received this package 

of care following successful 

resuscitation, over 20% more 

than the national average. 

One of the key aspects of the 

‘care bundle’ is delivering the 

patient to a reconised centre 

of care. 

In Essex, EEAST and the Essex 

and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance 

Trust (EHAAT), together with the 

Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon 

Hospital are piloting a scheme 

to get cardiac patients specialist 

care faster. 

The pilot scheme uses a triaging 

algorithm, based on guidance 

from the British Cardiovascular 

Intervention Society (BCIS), which 

helps pre-hospital clinicians 

decide which patients can gain 

the most from direct access to a 

heart attack centre. 

These patients are taken directly 

to the Essex Cardiothoracic 

Centre for assessment and 

treatment, rather than to accident 

and emergency. 

Chief Executive of EEAST, 

Tom Abell said: 

“Helping us take patients to the 

right place first time, gets patients 

to the specialist care they need 

faster and, because it reduces 

need for secondary transfers and 

handing patients over at A&E, it 

frees our paramedics to attend 

more of our sickest patients.” 

Great Western 

Air Ambulance 

Charity appoints 

Tim Ross-Smith 

in new Operations 

Officer role 

On 2 October 2023, Great 

Western Air Ambulance Charity 

(GWAAC) appointed Tim Ross- 

Smith to a brand-new role that 

was created in collaboration 

with South Western Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation Trust 

(SWASfT). 

As GWAAC’s Operations 

Officer, Tim is line-managing 

the Advanced Practitioners and 

Specialist Paramedics in Critical 

Care. He will be leading on the 

operational, rather than the 

clinical side, of the crew’s work. 

Anna Perry, GWAAC’s CEO, 

said: “The GWAAC crew have 

an incredibly difficult job to do, 

and it is imperative that they 

have excellent management 

and leadership support to 

help them be the best they 

can be and to cope with the 

challenges. So, when it came 

to recruiting a new manager for 

our Specialist Paramedics this 

year, we broke with tradition 

and worked with SWASFT to 

appoint a professional operations 

manager with a strong history 

of managing and leading teams, 

rather than a clinical leader. We 

were able to do this because we 

already have excellent clinical 

leaders in our other roles - our 

Advanced Practitioner and our 

Medical Director.” 

Tim is responsible for the crew’s 

welfare and making sure they 

stay up to date with training and 

appraisals. He is also responsible, 

along with GWAAC’s Operations 

Manager Sean Coles, for the dayto-day 

running of the airbase; he’ll 

be making sure the crew has all 

the medication and kit they need, 

and that the cars have been 

serviced. Last, but not least, he is 

the primary point of contact at the 

airbase for the charity staff. 

GWAAC believes it is the first 

air ambulance charity in the 

South West to have worked 

with SWASfT to create a role 

focused solely on the operational 

leadership of the crew. Anna said, 

“We are delighted to have Tim 

on board. He is a longstanding 

professional Operations Officer 

within SWASFT and already 

knows most of the crew well from 

working with them at incidents.” 

Tim Joined Avon Ambulance in 

the Patient Transport Control 

Room in 2004 and worked his 

way up to Operations Officer at 

South Western Ambulance NHS 

Foundation Trust in 2016. His 

move to GWAAC in 2023 seemed 

a natural progression: 

“Having worked alongside the 

team at critical incidents, it 

was the team ethos and the 

way they worked together that 

impressed me and I thought I 

could bring my skills from both 

an incident management and line 

management perspective and 

have a positive impact on the 

team here. The new challenge for 

me is working with a charity but 

a new challenge is always good. 

I’m excited to be part of such a 

well-known and respected team 

and brand.” Tim Ross-Smith, 

Operations Officer, Great Western 

Air Ambulance Charity 

GWAAC wants to wish Tim every 

success in his new role. 

“Exceptional” 

ambulance medic 

wins Mayor’s top 

work award 

A man who was inspired to join 

London Ambulance Service by 

the paramedic who saved his 

life has scooped a prestigious 

award from the Mayor of 

London at a ceremony on 

2 November. 

Ben Lees, 48, was left fighting 

for his life after a devastating car 

crash in his teens. His neck was 

broken and his head injuries were 

so severe he fell into a coma. 

He eventually recovered but the 

brain injury left him suffering from 

seizures. He was just 19. 

His injuries meant he lost his 

driving licence. 

He said: “It was heart-breaking. 

Not only was I still reeling from 

the physical and mental effects 

of the crash, but I had to come 

to terms with not being able to 

pursue a career as a paramedic 

– something I was inspired to do 

after surviving the crash.” 

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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 


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. 


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“The teamwork, quick escalation 

and decision making ensured 

that the mother and baby got 

specialist support as quickly 

as possible which led to the 

good outcome.” 

Dr Graham Pluck, a prehospital 

Care doctor at Essex 

and Herts Air Ambulance, said: 

“On arrival we were reassured 

to find a well-coordinated and 

expertly managed scene by 

the EEAST crews who had 

arrived first. We were also very 

grateful for specialist support 

by phone from the maternity 

unit for advanced techniques in 

delivering an obstructed footling 

breech baby. 

“Subsequent post-partum care 

and neonatal resuscitation was a 

whole team effort from everyone 

on scene and we were very 

happy we could contribute to 

a good outcome for the baby 

and mother.” 

The award ceremony, which is 

organised by the UK’s leading 

maternity safety charity, Baby 

Lifeline, was held at The Royal 

College of Obstetricians and 

Gynaecologists in London on 

Thursday 5th October and 

hosted by television presenter 

Nick Owen. 

The previous day a private 

reception was held at 

Downing Street for those 

nominated where EEAST was 

represented by Medical Director, 

Dr Simon Walsh. 

Paramedic students 

get hands-on in 

critical care training 

exercise 

University of Wolverhampton 

Paramedic students were given 

an opportunity to take part 

in some critical care training 

recently – and it was a case of 

being positively hands-on! 

Thirteen second and third year 

students studying for a degree 

in Paramedic Science at the 

University’s Telford and Walsall 

Campus, took part in a Pre- 

Hospital Advanced Surgical & 

Trauma Emergency Resuscitation 

(PHASTER) course which 

involved inter-agency personnel 

from various organisations across 

the blue-light spectrum. 

The course was facilitated by 

the West Midlands CARE Team 

(WMCT) who have been working 

closely with the University to offer 

students real-life experiences to 

enhance their learning. 

The teams included WMCT, 

Midlands Air Ambulance (MAA), 

The Air Ambulance Service 

(TAAS), West Midlands Fire 

Service, Hereford and Worcester 

Fire and Rescue Service 

and West Midlands Firearms 

Operations Unit. 

The training exercise was held 

at West Midlands Fire Services’ 

Safeside Training Centre which is 

equipped with full size immersive 

training environments including 

various buildings, a bus, train 

and canal. 

Stephanie Jones, Senior Lecturer 

in Paramedic Science at the 

University and Clinical Support 

Paramedic for WMCT, said: “This 

was a really exciting opportunity 

for students to get some real life, 

hands-on experience of working 

with emergency services from 

across the region. 

“The training exercise is designed 

to test enhanced care skills 

whilst providing Crew Resource 

Management challenges by 

setting up realistic scenarios 

including penetrating trauma, 

road traffic accidents, rail 

and drowning incidents and 

emergency childbirth. 

“The students were able to 

work alongside critical care 

teams from the West Midlands 

providing the initial pre-hospital 

care that would be provided by 

ambulance crews attending this 

type of incident. This allowed the 

students the opportunity apply 

theory to simulation in cases that 

are not an everyday occurrence. 

It also allowed insight to how 

the critical care teams work and 

what they can offer in these time 

critical situations.” 

“Also supporting on the day 

included Faculty experts from 

within the Prehospital Emergency 

Medicine Arena (PHEM) to make 

this an amazing opportunity for 

the students to be involved with.” 

Emily Waldron, 29 from Stourport, 

said: “Prior to the day I didn’t 

really have any expectations, I 

just expected to be helping out 

as possibly first crew on scene. I 

really felt part of the team and felt 

like the advanced clinicians made 

the most of our skills. It was really 

good to see the skills that the 

advanced clinicians can bring 

us, and the kit they carry. I think 

this was an amazing opportunity 

and think if it was available to 

more students it would be really 

beneficial for trauma training. 

Personally, I have taken a lot away 

from this day, as it has renewed 

my interest in trauma and the 

possibility of further training in 

the future.” 

South Central 

Ambulance Service 

staff member 

receives prestigious 

national award 

Luci Papworth, Director 

of Operations - Clinical 

Coordination Centres at 

South Central Ambulance 

Service NHS Foundation 

Trust (SCAS), has received a 

prestigious national award in 

recognition of her outstanding 

contribution and commitment 

to the ambulance service 

and her positive impact on 

local patients. 

The award was presented at the 

Ambulance Leadership Forum 

(ALF), a national ambulance 

sector event organised by the 

Association of Ambulance Chief 

Executives (AACE), which was 

held at Celtic Manor, South 

Wales, on 2-3 October. 

David Eltringham, Chief Executive 

Officer at SCAS, said: “We 

are incredibly proud of Luci 

for winning the prestigious 

‘Outstanding Service Award’ 

at the Ambulance Leadership 

Forum. Luci is a qualified nurse 

who has worked in the NHS for 

36 years. Her clinical background 

and knowledge are vital 

components in her day-to-day 

success as director of operations 

for the clinical coordination 

centres at SCAS. 

“Luci is a real asset for the 

trust and despite challenges 

faced within her role, she 

conducts herself with complete 

professionalism and keeps 

others going. This is a thoroughly 

deserved award in recognition 

of her outstanding service, and 

I am delighted to pass on the 

congratulations of everyone here 

at SCAS.” 

Anna Parry, Managing Director 

at AACE, said: “The AACE 

outstanding service awards give 

ambulance trusts the opportunity 

to pay tribute to one member of 

staff from each of our seventeen 

member services who have 

demonstrated exceptional 

commitment to their work during 

the past year. 

“Whether they are frontline 

clinicians, control centre 

operatives, volunteers or working 

in support teams, this year’s 

recipients have really done 

themselves, their patients and 

their colleagues proud, with each 

person highly deserving of this 

recognition by their peers.” 

South Central 

Ambulance Service 

wins prestigious 

award for CPR 

and defibrillator 

communications 

campaign 

South Central Ambulance 

Service (SCAS) has won a 

Chartered Institute of Public 

Relations (CIPR) award for a 

pioneering cardiopulmonary 

resuscitation (CPR) and 

defibrillator communications 

campaign. 

Entitled Defibrillators: A deadly 

game of hide and seek, it was 

named best healthcare campaign 

at the CIPR PRide Awards 

2023 in the Anglia, Thames and 

Chiltern region at an event in 

Cambridge last week. 

The campaign was centred 

around the launch of new 

international resuscitation 

guidelines designed to improve 

survival from cardiac arrest 

with a specific focus on 

automated external defibrillator 

(AED) signage. 

The guidelines were formed 

following research and 

recommendations made by 

Professor Charles Deakin, 

divisional medical director and 

resuscitation lead at SCAS, who 

had warned the public was left 

playing “a deadly game of hide 

and seek” when it comes to 

locating AEDs. 

Prof Deakin and his colleagues’ 

recommendations included 

ensuring that signs are illuminated 

at night, visible at all times, 

identifiable from a distance, 

that the direction and distance 

is indicated and that there are 

annual routine checks of all 

signage and AEDs. 

The communication team at 

SCAS developed templates and 

a guidance pack for download 

on the new international signage 

guidelines and selected a school – 

Stowe School in Buckinghamshire 

– to be the first in the world to 

implement the new AED signage. 

SCAS has a rich history in 

supporting cardiac arrest and 

CPR awareness, including 

launching the first defibrillator 

finder app ‘Save a Life’, and this 

campaign was tied in with the 

annual World Restart a Heart 

Day event which occurs on 16 

October every year. 

Alongside press releases on 

Prof Deakin’s research and the 

downloadable pack, the project 

involved a 24-hour ‘CPR-a-thon’ 

challenge led by South Central 

Ambulance Charity and US 

technology company Tanium, 

which has a UK headquarters 

in Reading. 

Meanwhile, the community 

engagement and training team 

at SCAS worked with more than 

20 schools across the region 

to arrange for paramedics 

and volunteers to teach CPR 

and defibrillator awareness to 

students during the week of 

Restart a Heart Day. 

The aim of the combined 

campaign was to ensure regular 

communication throughout the 

year to raise awareness and 

interest, secure national media 

coverage and significant social 

media engagement, raise funds 

for South Central Ambulance 

Charity – all with the ultimate 

goal of increasing out of hospital 

cardiac arrest survival. 

The campaign saw widespread 

national and international 

coverage of Prof Deakin and his 

team’s research and guideline 

development, live CPR events 

which involved more than 10,000 

people and £12,000 raised 

for South Central Ambulance 

Charity to go towards training 

and equipment following the 

‘CPR-a-thon’. 

A week-long social media 

campaign via Twitter, Facebook, 

Instagram and YouTube resulted 

in around 50,000 interactions 

with members of the public 

and hundreds of members of 

the public received CPR and 

defibrillator training at an event 

held in the Westquay Shopping 

Centre in Southampton. 

After unveiling Stowe School as 

the first in the world to introduce 

the new signage based on 

international guidelines, SCAS 

worked with the Resuscitation 

Council UK, the Association of 

Ambulance Chief Executives 

(AACE) and the British Heart 

Foundation to rollout templates 

and guidance to more schools. 

“While publicly available AEDs 

have saved countless lives they 

remain underused, so many 

individuals who may potentially 

survive die because a defibrillator 

is not available to them,” said 

Prof Deakin, a professor of 

resuscitation and pre-hospital 

emergency medicine. 

“Therefore, we must continue 

to break down the barriers to 

AED use while simultaneously 

continuing to raise awareness of 

the importance of CPR and both 

the guidelines and work such as 

this wide-ranging campaign is 

vital to making change.” 

The entry was also shortlisted for 

the CIPR’s Excellence Awards 

held in London earlier in the year, 

while it is the second year running 

SCAS has received a CIPR 

PRide Award for its work to raise 

awareness of CPR and AEDs 

and improve engagement with 

the public. 

Gillian Hodgetts, director of 

communications, marketing and 

engagement at SCAS, said: “We 

are delighted this work has been 

recognised for its impact and 

success with such a distinguished 

industry award. It is a great 

reflection of the dedication and 

desire right across SCAS to keep 

pushing forward with CPR and 

defibrillator awareness to help 

save more lives.” 

Brighton man 

reunited with lifesaving 

crew 

A Brighton man, who suffered 

a cardiac arrest in October last 

year, has been reunited with 

some of the South East Coast 

Ambulance Service (SECAmb) 

team who helped save his life. 


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Steven Hawkes, 45, visited 

Brighton Make Ready Centre 

with his wife, Tracy and daughter, 

Sophie, on the eve of the 

anniversary of his collapse. 

Steven, also father to Yasmine, 

Howard and Olivia, met and 

thanked some of the team 

who came to his aid when he 

collapsed at the wheel of his 

vehicle in Eaton Place, close to 

Royal Sussex County Hospital on 

14 October 2022. 

Paramedic, Amy Brooker and 

Student Paramedic, Alex Carter, 

were in the same road close to 

coming clear from another patient 

when they heard a crash, as 

Steven, who was driving home 

from working away in Bath fitting 

hospital medical equipment, 

crashed into parked cars. 

Alex’s GoodSam app and 

Emergency Operations Centre 

colleagues alerted the pair that 

the RTC involved a cardiac arrest 

and they were quickly on scene, 

along with a nearby Patient 

Transport Service crew. 

Support arrived from paramedic 

colleagues Emily Payne and 

Paul Ellis, Operational Team 

Leader, Tom Graves, Paramedic 

Practitioner, Sarah Gilby 

and Critical Care Paramedic 

Andy Hitt. 

Together the team were able to 

resuscitate Steven delivering four 

shocks with a defibrillator. He was 

amazingly already attempting to 

speak before his arrival at the 

nearby hospital. 

Steven spent two weeks at Royal 

Sussex County Hospital and 

was fitted with an Implantable 

Cardioverter Defibrillator, (ICD), 

which will deliver a shock to his 

heart if required in the future. 

Steven said: “It was great to see 

some of the team in person and 

thank them for saving my life. 

Meeting Alex, Amy and Emily was 

a really positive experience for me 

and my family. They made me feel 

so at ease and made it easy for 

me to understand and fill in lots of 

gaps in my memory. 

“I’m so grateful for everything 

every single person did to ensure 

I am still here today. It’s been 

a really tough year but I’m now 

looking forward to the future 

much more positively – the 

meeting has been a big part of 

that. I’ll be forever grateful.” 

Alex said: “It was an absolute 

pleasure to welcome Steven 

along to the station. On behalf of 

the whole team, it was lovely to 

see him doing so well and really 

touching to see how grateful he 

and his family are. 

“Responding to Steven was a real 

team effort to ensure he received 

the care he needed almost 

immediately. He is the perfect 

example of why early CPR is so 

vital to a patient’s survival.” 

Chairman announces 

decision to step 

down after more 

than 50 years’ in NHS 

Following a career in the NHS 

which has spanned more than 

half a century, South East 

Coast Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), 

Chairman, David Astley, has 

announced his decision to 

step down from his role in May 

next year. 

David, who joined SECAmb as 

Chairman in 2018, is coming to 

the end of his final three-year 

term. The process to appoint a 

new Chair has started, with the 

aim being to have a successor in 

place by May 2024. 

Looking ahead, David said: 

“In May, I’ll have completed an 

association with the NHS of more 

than 50 years. It’s been a hugely 

positive experience and I am 

immensely proud to have served 

the public and worked with so 

many talented colleagues.” 

David first worked in the NHS, 

aged just 17, as a hospital porter 

at Walton Hospital, Liverpool. 

He continued to work as a 

porter during his university 

vacations. After graduation he 

joined Chesterfield Hospitals in 

Derbyshire as a higher clerical 

officer before progressing 

through various hospital 

management roles. 

He was appointed Chief 

Executive of Greenwich Hospitals 

in 1994. He was then appointed 

CEO of the newly formed East 

Kent Hospitals in 1999 and of 

St George’s Hospital, Tooting in 

2006. That same year he was 

awarded an O.B.E for services 

to the NHS. 

From 2011 to 2015 David led the 

Tertiary Hospitals Group of the 

Hamad Medical Corporation in 

Qatar. On his return to the UK 

and on retirement from fulltime 

executive duties, he was 

appointed as a non-executive 

director of Liverpool Women’s 

Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 

before joining SECAmb. He 

remains a Trustee of Yoakley 

Care, a charity based in Margate, 

Kent, which manages alms 

houses and a care home. 

David said: “Throughout my 

career I have been privileged 

to work with a huge variety of 

colleagues in a wide variety of 

roles, both clinical and support 

– all of which are vital for good 

patient care. 

“The way in which SECAmb 

responded to the pandemic gives 

me a deep sense of pride as our 

staff and volunteers continued 

to respond while also doing 

everything possible to protect 

themselves and our patients. 

“I would also like to thank the 

senior team and our Council of 

Governors at SECAmb for all their 

support during the time I have 

served as chairman. Leadership 

roles in the NHS have become 

increasingly more challenging as 

services face greater demands. 

“I remain fully committed to my 

role for the remainder of my term. 

There remains a lot of work to 

be done and I look forward to 

SECAmb continuing to progress 

in the coming months.” 

SECAmb Chief Executive, Simon 

Weldon said: “I would like to 

take this opportunity to thank 

David for everything he has done 

for SECAmb. He has enjoyed 

a full and varied career over so 

many years. 

“While I have only worked with 

him at SECAmb for a relatively 

short time, I understand 

and clearly see his passion 

and commitment for making 

improvements for our patients 

and colleagues alike. I look 

forward to continuing to work 

closely with him for the remainder 

of his term.” 

SECAmb Lead Governor, Leigh 

Westwood, said: “On behalf 

of the Council of Governors, I 

would like to thank David for 

his commitment to SECAmb 

since his appointment in 2018. I 

know that his focus will remain 

steadfast in the months ahead 

and we look forward to continuing 

to work closely with him as the 

Trust begins the process of 

selecting a new Chair.” 

Focusing on 

changing patient 

needs to develop a 

new clinically-led 

strategy 

Using a detailed level of 

analysis not previously seen 

before in the ambulance 

sector, South East Coast 

Ambulance Service NHS 

Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is 

developing an ambitious new 

clinically-led strategy. 

Members of the public are 

being invited to get involved 

in shaping the new strategy 

which will use detailed activity 

data to ensure the Trust is best 

placed to respond to changing 

demographics and also re-define 

the role it plays in an evolving 

healthcare environment. 

SECAmb data shows that: 

• more than half of calls (54%) 

come from the over 65s, who 

make up 20% of the population 

in our region 

• one of every 10 hours spent 

with patients is on scene with 

someone who’s fallen 

• 20% of calls received are 

cardiac related 

• Mental health is the sixth 

most common reason we 

attend patients 

• 50% of our patients take five or 

more prescription medications 

• Patients who’ve called 

SECAmb five times or more 

account for 17% of calls 

Chief Medical Officer, Rachel 

Oaten said: “By using the 

wealth of data we have available 

to us, we are developing our 

strategy to ensure we’re better 

placed to meet the needs of 

our communities in the years 

ahead, while continuing to ensure 

we can respond to our most 

critically-ill and injured patients in 

a timely manner. 

“Our patients have diverse needs, 

spanning the spectrum from 

social care to critical care but only 

a small proportion truly require 

emergency or critical care. 

Despite this changing variety 

and increasing complexity, we 

typically respond to all patients in 

an undifferentiated, time-driven 

way. This one-size-fits-all model 

does not always meet all our 

patients’ needs or support our 

workforce.” 

The Trust will continue to 

consult with colleagues, partner 

organisations, and patient 

representatives to develop its 

strategy, building on the feedback 

already received from our 

people on what they feels needs 

to change. 

For further details on the 

development of the new 

strategy, visit: Our Vision and 

Strategy - NHS South East 

Coast Ambulance Service 

(secamb.nhs.uk). 

“Wales Air 

Ambulance has given 

us the greatest gift 

of all this Christmas, 

they’ve given our 

little boy a future” 

Christmas will be extra 

special for Jess and Jamie 

Howells this year, as they 

celebrate their son Jack’s third 

Christmas – something they 


24 

25 



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NEWSLINE 


feared they would not see nine 

months ago. 

Jack had suffered a large bleed 

on the brain and had fractured 

his skull and required emergency 

neurosurgery. 

At first, his parents Jess and 

Jamie put it down to a typical 

toddler accident and thought 

he would feel better after a few 

kisses and cuddles. Jess’s 

intuition told her that something 

was wrong, and soon after, 

Jack became disorientated 

and tired, so they immediately 

decided to take him to A&E to get 

checked over. 

Unfortunately, while on route, 

Jack took a dramatic turn for the 

worse and he started vomiting, so 

they pulled over and immediately 

dialled 999. His condition 

deteriorated rapidly, and Jack 

continued being sick and became 

pale, floppy, and unresponsive. 

Llanelli First Responders and 

paramedics were called, and due 

to the severity of Jack’s condition, 

called for the support of Wales 

Air Ambulance. The adverse 

weather that day meant the 

critical care teams were operating 

out of the Charity’s fleet of rapid 

response vehicles, instead of the 

helicopters. 

Jack was taken to the University 

of Wales Hospital, Cardiff, where 

he was operated on and spent 

time in intensive care. 

Thankfully, Jack’s operation was 

successful and fast forward nine 

months he is continuing to thrive 

and is reaching all his milestones. 

Jess said: “It is going to be a 

busy and emotional December. 

We have Jack’s birthday and 

several Christmas activities 

planned as well as a special 

family Christmas - which is going 

to be extra special this year. 

“To think we may not have 

been able to celebrate Jack’s 

second birthday and Christmas 

doesn’t bear thinking about. It 

could have been so different 

for us, and we are so lucky we 

still have our little boy here. We 

will forever be indebted to the 

Wales Air Ambulance. “Wales 

Air Ambulance has given us the 

greatest gift of all this Christmas. 

They have given us Jack and 

have given him a future. 

“From now on, every Christmas 

Eve, when Jack is looking up 

at the sky for Santa and his 

reindeers, he’ll be looking for the 

Wales Air Ambulance helicopter 

too, knowing they helped save 

his life.” 

If you would like to support 

the Charity and help them 

save more lives like Jack’s this 

Christmas, you can donate by 

visiting walesairambulance.com/ 

achristmaswish. 

Welsh Ambulance 

Service launches 

new ‘Welcome Pack’ 

THE Welsh Ambulance Service 

has launched a helpful new 

resource for patients whose 

first language is not English. 

The virtual ‘Welcome Pack’ 

explains in simple terms how the 

ambulance service works and 

when is appropriate to call 999. 

It describes what to do if you 

need an interpreter on a 999 call, 

the questions a call handler will 

ask, how calls are prioritised and 

what ambulance workers will do if 

they come to see you. 

WHY NOT WRITE FOR US? 

Ambulance UK welcomes the submission of 

clinical papers and case reports or news that 

you feel will be of interest to your colleagues. 

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

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

All submissions should be forwarded to 

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

info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

info@mediapublishingcompany.com 

An online translation tool enables 

users to access the resource in 

their own language. 

Matt James, Patient Experience 

and Community Involvement 

Coordinator, said: “It is extremely 

important to us at the Welsh 

Ambulance Service that people 

from all communities across 

Wales have fair and equal access 

to the services we deliver. 

“Our team actively engages 

with communities across Wales 

to help us understand the 

barriers people are facing to 

accessing and using our services 

appropriately. 

“The engagement carried out 

with people seeking sanctuary 

here in Wales and other 

communities for whom English or 

Welsh are not their first language 

told us that people need more 

information about health services. 

“It’s how the idea for the 

Welcome Pack came about, 

and we hope it will be a helpful 

resource to those who need it.” 

The Trust collaborated with the 

Ethnic Minorities and Youth 

Support Team Wales (EYST) to 

develop the resource, which is 

hosted on the NHS 111 Wales 

website and which launched 

yesterday at an event in Swansea. 

Helal Uddin, Co-Director 

and Head of Services and 

Partnerships at EYST, said: “We 

at EYST Wales are delighted 

to support the launch of the 

Welcome Pack from the Welsh 

Ambulance Service. 

“Access to healthcare is a 

fundamental right, and language 

should never be a barrier to 

receiving the care one needs. 

“This innovative pack and the 

availability of a translation tool is a 

significant step towards ensuring 

that everyone in our diverse 

communities can access critical 

medical assistance in times 

of need. 

“At EYST Wales, we believe in 

fostering inclusivity, and this 

initiative aligns perfectly with 

our mission. 

“We commend the Welsh 

Ambulance Service for their 

dedication to serving all residents, 

regardless of their language or 

background.” 

Visit the Welcome Pack: 

NHS 111 Wales 

Farmer raises £9,000 

to thank Charity that 

helped save his life 

Calfyn Jones hands over a 

cheque for £4,500 to the Wales 

Air Ambulance crew 

A young farmer who was given 

critical care following a crash 

has raised £9,000 to thank the 

Charity that helped save his life. 

Calfyn Jones, 24, from Dihewyd, 

Aberaeron, organised a classic 

car and tractor convoy event 

followed by a charity auction, 

with the help of his girlfriend Erin 

Thomas and their families. 

The event raised £9,000 which 

was split between the Wales 

Air Ambulance and the High 

Dependency Neuroscience Ward 

at the University Hospital of 

Wales in Cardiff. 

The two organisations delivered 

lifesaving care to Calfyn when 

he suffered a traumatic brain 

injury, following an accident on 

6 February 2022. 

Two air ambulances came to 

Calfyn’s aid, and he was airlifted to 

hospital in Cardiff where he spent 

the next 17 days recovering. 

Calfyn’s mum, Anwen Jones, 

said: “He wanted to do something 

to say thank you to the Wales Air 

Ambulance crew that helped him 

and the hospital who helped with 

his recovery. 

“Calfyn was really lucky. Thanks 

to Wales Air Ambulance, he had 

critical care on the side of the 

road, which I believe helped him 

to make a full recovery. We will be 

forever grateful for the help and 

support he received.” 

The event was held at Dihewyd 

Village Hall and the local 

community rallied around to 

provide donations for the auction. 

There were also food stalls and 

entertainment available, making it 

a fun family day out. 

Calfyn, who works as an 

agricultural contractor and steel 

fabricator, has had an interest in 

classic cars and tractor events 

for years and knew it would be a 

good way to raise money. 

He posted adverts on Facebook 

and in the local community and 

was overwhelmed by the support. 

He said: “When I was recovering 

from my accident, I decided I 

wanted to put on an event and 

do something to help the Wales 

Air Ambulance. I have taken 

part in tractor runs before and 

it is something I enjoy, and we 

also extended it to classic cars. 

I couldn’t believe the positive 

response; everyone came 

together to help out. 

“We had 45 tractors and about 

60 cars and had volunteers from 

the community watching the 

roads and helping traffic flow. I 

don’t think our small village has 

seen anything like it before! 

“It was the first event I have ever 

organised, and everybody was 

so kind in giving up their time and 

donating auction prizes, from 

hampers, restaurant vouchers, 

MOT’s, cakes and so on. There 

was something for everyone. 

“I was totally surprised to raise 

£9,000 for the Charity, I couldn’t 

believe it when we were totalling 

everything up. We may be 

small villages around here, but 

everyone comes together to 

support each other.” 

Speaking about his accident, 

Calfyn said he was incredibly 

grateful for everyone who 

helped him and despite a slow 

and steady recovery, he is now 

making the most out of life. 

He said: “I have always supported 

the Wales Air Ambulance; it is a 

lifeline especially for farmers in 

rural communities. It is charity 

very close to my heart and it 

forever will be. If it wasn’t for 

them, I wouldn’t be here today. 

“I have been given a second 

chance and am thankful I am able 

to put on events like this and raise 

money for the Charity as it could 

have been a lot different.” 

Calfyn is already planning another 

event next spring. 

The air ambulance service in 

Wales is delivered via a unique 

Third Sector and Public Sector 

Partnership. The Wales Air 

Ambulance Charity relies on 

public donations to raise the £11.2 

million required every year to keep 

the helicopters in the air and rapid 

response vehicles on the road. 

The Emergency Medical Retrieval 

and Transfer Service (EMRTS) 

supplies highly skilled NHS 

consultants and critical care 

practitioners who work on board 

the Charity’s vehicles. 


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Construction 

Of Midlands Air 

Ambulance Charity’s 

New Airbase and 

Headquarters Now 

Complete 

The construction of Midlands 

Air Ambulance Charity’s 

new combined airbase and 

headquarters facility was 

recently completed following 

a four-year project period, 

that included feasibility 

research, ground works and 

overall development of the 

new building. 

The new facility, constructed 

by Morris Property, and based 

in Shropshire near the borders 

of Staffordshire and the West 

Midlands, will help future-proof 

the advanced pre-hospital 

emergency service operated by 

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. 

It houses the charity’s head office 

function, airbase and clinical 

operations and community 

education zone. The building 

is equivalent to the size of two 

football pitches, with the whole 

site sitting on 22 acres. 

The combined headquarters and 

airbase also houses a state-ofthe-art 

training simulation suite 

which is part of its centre for 

clinical excellence. The suite, 

kindly supported by The Kildare 

Trust, enables the charity’s critical 

care clinicians to practice their 

specialist skills in an immersive 

environment. The fully interactive 

room uses virtual reality and realworld 

content to create a diverse 

range of situations that can be 

used to simulate accidents or 

incidents specific to the prehospital 

environment. 

As part of the charity’s 

commitment to sustainability, 

the new facility will see the 

organisation offset part of 

its carbon footprint, as the 

construction has energy efficient 

features including solar panels 

across parts of the roof and air 

source heat pumps. The charity 

has also committed to planting 

10,000 trees in the local area to 

further offset its footprint. 

Hanna Sebright, chief executive 

officer for Midlands Air Ambulance 

Charity, said: “Our new airbase 

and headquarters is a significant 

milestone in our charity’s 32- 

year history and is critical to us 

achieving our mission to continue 

to provide patients of the Midlands 

with outstanding pre-hospital care 

and lifesaving intervention. As well 

as making our organisation more 

resilient to the changing economic 

landscape, our new facility 

will also allow us to realise our 

ambition to become a pre-hospital 

centre of clinical excellence. 

“We are delighted that our 

clinicians and non-clinical staff 

are now able to work out of the 

same building, as one team, in 

this wonderful new facility.” 

Glyn O’Hara, senior contracts 

manager for Morris Property, 

which oversaw the build added: 

“It’s been a privilege to work on 

this pioneering new airbase and 

headquarters. Projects like this 

are incredibly rare and our team 

is very proud of the part it has 

played in its construction.” 

Initial funding for the new 

development was secured 

through major grants from 

organisations like the County Air 

Ambulance Trust HELP Appeal, 

the Denise Coates Foundation 

and The Kildare Trust. In addition, 

the charity undertook specific 

fundraising campaigns to secure 

funding for specific areas of the 

new airbase, with support from 

Aico, Baylis & Harding, Ibstock 

Brick, and M6toll. 

The building has been 

constructed from 90,000 bricks, 

one third of which were donated 

by local firm, Ibstock Brick. It 

has taken 2,000 litres of paint 

to decorate the internal areas 

of the new building. More than 

1,000 people have been directly 

involved in the construction of this 

new facility. 

For more information on the 

build project, and the facility’s 

founding partners, visit 

midlandsairambulance.com/ 

airbaseheadquarters. 

Find out more about Midlands 

Air Ambulance Charity by visiting 

midlandsairambulance.com and 

following the organisation on 

social media. 

Ambulance service 

goes live with new 

incident messaging 

technology 


Service NHS Trust is going 

live with a new messaging and 

incident update system after a 

successful pilot phase. 

The Mobile Data and Vehicle 

Solution (MDVS) programme is 

part of a national scheme across 

the whole NHS replacing existing 

on-ambulance technology 

(such as Sat Nav) with a new 

system that secures critical 

communications in vehicles. This 

replaces obsolete technology 

and will support the LIfeX Control 

Room Solution that will come into 

use in 2024. 

Rollout has commenced 

across EEAST’s fleet of 

over 600 Ambulances and 

response vehicles. 

EEAST is the fourth Ambulance 

Trust to go live on MDVS after 

Yorkshire, North West and Welsh 

Ambulance Services. 

Chief Information Officer 

Stephen Bromhall said: 

“The Trust is excited to start 

the Digital communication 

technology modernisation. 

This will provide our front-line 

staff better communication and 

data technology to support our 

patients while on the move. 

Our ability to respond quickly to 

the developments and shifting 

trends of technology continues to 

be a key aspect of our Digital and 

Data transformation programme, 

where we are considered a 

technology leader.” 

MP praises progress 

on new £10 million 

ambulance hub 

for Bury 

Jo Churchill, MP for Bury, has 

praised the progress that the 


Service (EEAST) is making 

on constructing its new 

multimillion pound ambulance 

station near Bury St Edmunds. 

She joined EEAST CEO Tom Abell 

and Chair Mrunal Sisodia OBE 

on a visit to the site on Friday 

4th November. 

The £10 million project will create 

a new station with a dedicated 

vehicle workshop and ‘make 

ready’ areas so that ambulance 

crews can respond to incidents 

faster. There will also be improved 

health and wellbeing facilities for 

staff, as well as training rooms. 

The construction is due to be 

completed in Summer 2024. 

Ms Churchill also joined Tom and 

Mrunal on a visit to the existing 

Bury ambulance station, to meet 

frontline staff and discuss how 

ambulance response times are 

continuing to improve in the Bury 

St Edmunds area. 

Ms Churchill said: “It was great 

to be on-site at the new Bury 

ambulance station to see how 

construction is progressing. 

I know that residents across 

the area will welcome this £10 

million investment in our local 

ambulance services. 

“I also got the chance to meet 

and thank the dedicated frontline 

staff at Bury’s existing ambulance 

station, who work in a very 

challenging environment to 

provide the best possible care 

to patients.” 

Tom Abell, EEAST CEO, said: 

“I was delighted to welcome Jo 

Churchill MP to the site of our 

new ambulance hub for Bury, 

which will make a huge difference 

to how we deliver ambulance 

services in the area. 

“Once opened, it will allow 

paramedics to spend more time 

out on the road treating patients, 

and provide better wellbeing 

facilities for them as well.” 

Photo caption (from L-R): 

Nicholas Timms, EEAST project 

manager, Mrunal Sisodia OBE, 

Chair of EEAST, Jo Churchill MP 

and Tom Abell, CEO of EEAST. 

Two new additions 

make Essex & Herts 

Air Ambulance’s fleet 

of RRVs totally hybrid 

In a further step in its 

commitment to make the 

very best choices for the 

environment and reduce its 

carbon impact, Essex & Herts 

Air Ambulance (EHAAT) has 

completed its move to a totally 

hybrid fleet of rapid response 

vehicles (RRV), by purchasing 

a further two Volvo XC90 

Recharge plug-in hybrid SUVs. 

The new additions join the two 

existing hybrid SUVs which were 

purchased by the life-saving 

charity in February 2022, when 

it became the first air ambulance 

in the UK to use Volvo plug-in 

hybrids as part of an emergency 

response fleet. 

Again, purchased by EHAAT from 

Volvo UK, the new vehicles have 

been adapted by conversion and 

maintenance specialist, Halls 

Electrical Ltd, ready for life as an 

RRV. As well as being wrapped 

with EHAATs distinctive and 

highly reflective branding, the 

vehicles encompass the latest 

blue light system to enhance 

visibility and safety. A Woodway 

Legacy lightbar has been added 

along with additional forwardfacing 

ION lamps and a Swedish 

Police specification low level 

front lightbar, making the lighting 

output and traffic clearing 

performance of these vehicles 

second to none. 

Scott McIlwaine, Head of Aviation 

and Operations at EHAAT, has 

been leading on the acquisition 

process and said: “EHAAT’s 

decision to continue with the 

Volvo XC90’s was based on how 

they have continually proven 

themselves as high performing, 

reliable and safe vehicles. 

“The continued positive feedback 

from all our crew since our move 

to Volvo, together with the stats 

showing that the Volvo XC90 

continues to be one of the safest 

cars on the road, made things 

easier when deciding to take the 

step of moving to a totally hybrid 

RRV fleet.” 

As well as having operational 

advantages with regard to 

familiarity and spares, the move 

has started a trend, in which 

EHAAT is leading the way. 

“Since integrating them into our 

fleet in 2018, a number of air 

ambulance trusts and ambulance 

services have approached us 

to enquire about the Volvos 

and have since followed suit,” 

Scott explained. 

Rob Hughes, Technical Director 

at Halls Electrical said: “The 

XC90 T8 has been an extremely 

popular choice for the emergency 

services and based on this, 

the equipment available to 

convert these vehicles has been 

enhanced by the suppliers over 

the last few years. 

“As well as what’s branding and 

blue light system, the control 

systems are integrated into the 

Volvo OE screen via Standby 

RSGs Central Stack Display 

System, negating the need the 

clutter the dash with keypads and 

the various mounting solutions 

required. Auxiliary Power is 

provided and maintained by 

Victron systems in the rear load 

area of the vehicle, to maintain 

protective lighting whilst the 

clinicians are at scene or during 

protracted incidents. 

“These RRVs are a visually 

stunning and high specification 

conversion, and our thanks go 

to EHAAT for the opportunity 

to work on these mission 

critical vehicles.” 

The RRVs are crewed by a 

Pre-hospital Care Doctor and 

a Critical Care Paramedic and 

carry the same life-saving 

equipment as the helicopters. 

They are used once the aircraft 

shift is completed, or when the 

helicopter is unable to fly because 

of poor weather or maintenance. 

With quick and easy access to 

the new charging points that 

have been installed, the hybrid 

RRVs will now take up residence 

at EHAAT’s airbases at North 

Weald and Earls Colne, where 

they will serve the communities 

of Essex and Hertfordshire, 

providing advanced life-saving 

pre-hospital care directly to the 

side of patients with a sudden 

life-threatening injury or medical 

emergency. 

HELP Appeal funds 

Critical Care Car for 

Wiltshire AA 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance has 

unveiled its brand-new Critical 

Care Car, which has been fully 

funded by a grant from the 

HELP Appeal. 

The BMW G5X X5 xDrive30d (call 

sign CC23) has arrived at the 

Semington airbase and is mission 

ready to take the charity’s critical 

care paramedics and doctors to 

emergencies across Wiltshire, 

Bath and surrounding areas. 

The new car replaces an 

older Volvo model, which had 

previously been funded by the 

ambulance service. Once that 

agreement ended it would have 

cost the charity substantial sums 

to take it on themselves – until the 

HELP Appeal stepped in. 

The HELP Appeal is the only 

charity in the country dedicated 

to funding lifesaving helipads at 

Major Trauma Centres and key 

A&E Hospitals across the country 

including at Southmead Hospital 

and the Bristol Royal Infirmary. 

Since its creation in 2009, it has 

funded 45 helipads, which have 

seen over 26,000 landings. 

Operated by the County Air 

Ambulance Trust, the HELP 

Appeal also provided the funds 

for the helipad installation at 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s airbase 

when it opened in 2018, including 

its underfloor heating. 

Wiltshire Air Ambulance deputy 

chief executive Barbara Gray 

said: “Once again the HELP 

Appeal has very kindly supported 

our charity with vital funds to 

secure the purchase of our 

brand-new Critical Care Car. 


28 

29 



NEWSLINE 

Medical Training Solutions Ltd 

Snetterton, Norfolk, NR16 2JU 

info@mtscourses.co.uk 

www.mtscourses.co.uk 

+44 (0)1603 486448 

SAVING MEDICAL TRAINING FROM UK PARAMEDIC 

TEAM IN AFRICA 

The course was delivered over an intensive 5-day period and qualified staff to provide 

life saving medical care across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. 

COMPANY NEWS 


”Wiltshire Air Ambulance now 

has two fully branded cars with 

state-of-the-art technology 

and equipment which our 

crews can use to respond to 

emergencies when the helicopter 

is unavailable, when an incident is 

particularly close by or if we need 

to send a second crew by road.” 

Richard Miller, Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance’s safety and 

operations manager, said: “The 

new Critical Care Car comes with 

the latest BMW safety technology 

and an enhanced emergency 

navigational system to allow our 

clinicians to reach the scene of 

the incident quickly and safety. 

“The boot compartment is big 

enough to carry an exact match 

of the medical equipment used 

on-board the helicopter, allowing 

us to deliver all of the critical 

care skills we would as if on the 

helicopter.” 

HELP Appeal chief executive 

Robert Bertram visited the 

airbase recently to see the new 

Critical Care Car in action. 

He said: “The HELP Appeal 

focuses on saving time and 

saving lives, including funding 

helipads at NHS hospitals, 

helipads at Air Ambulance bases 

and, in this case, a much-needed 

critical care car for Wiltshire Air 

Ambulance. The impact of this 

car to critically ill patients in the 

region is a game changer and we 

are delighted that, thanks to our 

supporters, we could help.” 

Paramedic sworn 

and spat at by 

patient relives ordeal 

‘This felt personal’ – Paramedic 

sworn and spat at by patient 

relives ordeal 

A PARAMEDIC who was called a 

‘c**t’ and spat at by a patient has 

relived his ordeal. 

Geoff Williams, who is based 

in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, 

needed hospital treatment after 

an attack by the man he was 

trying to help. 

The 34-year-old describes feeling 

‘dirty’ after the incident, which left 

him unable to work the remainder 

of his shift. 

Geoff said: “An assault on one of 

us is an assault on all of us. 

“I come to work to help people, 

not to be assaulted. 

“This felt personal – there was so 

much malice.” 

Geoff and his colleague Matt 

Baker, an emergency medical 

technician, were responding to a 

medical emergency in Cwmbran 

in August. 

Geoff said: “When we got there, 

the man was in an agitated 

state, heavily intoxicated and 

behaving erratically. 

“We got him onto the back of 

the ambulance, and the police 

arrested him for being drunk and 

disorderly in the process. 

“I got him onto the stretcher but 

he was becoming aggressive and 

lashing out. 

“The next minute, he said ‘You’re 

a c**t’ and spat in my face. 

“The only way I can describe how 

I felt is dirty – just really dirty.” 

Geoff and Matt took the man 

to hospital, where Geoff had 

his eyes flushed and a round of 

emergency bloods. 

A second round of bloods later 

this month will determine whether 

Geoff has developed an infection. 

He said: “With any assault 

involving bodily fluids, the risk 

is huge. 

“You have to be careful about 

things like hepatitis, tuberculosis 

and Covid-19. 

“Having my eyes flushed meant 

I couldn’t drive, which in turn 

meant I couldn’t finish my shift, 

and when an ambulance is taken 

off the road, that can have a 

huge impact on service delivery, 

especially in a small community. 

“My wife Hollie is a paramedic 

in Newport, and she had the 

call that we both dread, which 

was to say that the other had 

been assaulted. 

“It was a difficult time.” 

Geoff, who lives in 

Gloucestershire, started his 

ambulance career as a volunteer 

community first responder, later 

qualifying as an emergency 

medical technician and a 

paramedic. 

In his eight-year career, this was 

his third assault. 

“It definitely makes you more 

conscious of things,” he said. 

“This experience will always be at 

the back of my mind now when 

I’m treating other patients.” 

At Newport Magistrates’ Court 

on 13 October 2023, Curtis 

Card pleaded guilty to assault by 

beating of an emergency worker, 

being drunk and disorderly in a 

public place and possession of a 

Class B controlled drug. 

He was ordered to pay £100 

compensation to Geoff and was 

also given a community order, 

including a three-month curfew 

and a 10-day rehabilitation 

requirement. 

New guidelines to help courts 

determine how to sentence 

those who assault an emergency 

worker came into effect in 

July 2021. 

The Sentencing Council 

guidelines help courts in England 

and Wales to make a balanced 

assessment of the seriousness 

of the offence and impose a 

proportionate sentence. 

It is the first time that judges and 

magistrates have had specific 

guidance for sentencing assault 

on emergency worker offences, 

which reflects legislation that 

increased the PRESS maximum CONTACT 

sentence 

for common assault when the 

Harrison Young Dip HE, MCPara, ASET 

victim is an emergency worker. 

HCPC Registered Paramedic 

Jason Killens, h.young@mtscourses.co.uk 

Chief Executive of 

the Welsh Ambulance +44 (0)1603 Service, 394981 

said: “This +44 incident (0)7715 not only 306213 

affected Geoff, but the whole 

community 

PRESS 

paid the price 

KITwhen 

that ambulance was taken off the 

road and no Available longer available at: to 

respond, and bit.ly/mtspresspack 

that – frankly – is 

unacceptable. 

“We would encourage judges and 

magistrates ABOUT to use the MEDICAL 

full extent 

of their sentencing TRAINING powers SOLUTIONS 

when 

sentencing assault on emergency 

Medical Training Solutions is a 

worker offences, ensuring that 

sentences 

multi-award 

are proportionate 

winning 

but 

medical 

also reflect training the hurt and provider pain who are on a 

inflicted by mission offenders. to empower 

individuals and organisations 

“Being assaulted with is the not knowledge – and and skills 

never should necessary be – ‘part of to provide excellent 

the job.’ medical care for any person, in 

any place, at any time. Based 

“Our ambulance at crews their are there state-of-the-art 

to help people, training but they venue can’t in Snetterton, 

fight for someone’s life if they’re 

Norfolk, Medical Training 

fighting for their own.” 

Solutions are proud to have 

worked with a variety of multinational 

clients across the 

globe providing industryleading 

medical training and 

consultancy. Find more 

information about how Medical 

Training Solutions are shaping 

the future of medical training 

at www.mtscourses.co.uk. 

Global Humanitarian 

Charity receives 

life-saving medical 

training from UK 

Paramedic team 

in Africa 

and promote healthcare 

The newly qualified staff will now 

Medical Training Solutions, a leading "We’re delighted to have had the 

awareness in the region. 

be ready to provide emergency 

provider of medical training, are pleased opportunity to collaborate with Mercy 

medical care support to 

to announce the successful delivery of a Corps in delivering this vital training," 

The course equipped staff humanitarian aid missions across 

intense 5-day emergency medical care said Harrison Young, MD of Medical 

Africa and the Middle East. 

course to Mercy Corps; a humanitarian 

members with essential Training skills Solutions. "By equipping their 

charity dedicated to relieving and suffering, 

knowledge required staff to members with emergency medical 

For more information about 

poverty and oppression across respond the world. effectively to skills, medical we believe that Mercy Corps will 

Mercy Corps including their 

emergencies. It covered be a better wide prepared to handle medical 

was delivered 

history, current projects and how 

The course, which was delivered range of by topics UKincluding emergencies basic and provide immediate 

over an intensive 5-day period 

to help support their vital work 

Paramedics to their staff in Kenya, assistance to those in need." 

and qualified staff to provide life support, management of please visit www.mercycorps.org. 

marked an important collaborative effort 

life saving medical care major bleeding and wounds, 

to enhance emergency response The newly qualified staff will now be 

across Europe, Africa and the emergency response protocols 

capabilities and promote healthcare ready to provide IPRS MTS emergency Expands medical 

Middle East. 

awareness in the region. and much more. care support Services to humanitarian with New aid 

missions across Africa and the Middle 

Medical Training Solutions, a 

Stafford Office 

“We’re delighted to have had 

leading The course provider equipped of medical staff members with East. 

training, essential are skills pleased and to knowledge the required opportunity to to collaborate 

IPRS MTS, a division of IPRS 

announce respond the successful effectively delivery to with Mercy medical Corps in For delivering more information Aeromed, is a specialist about Mercy 

of emergencies. a intense 5-day It emergency covered a wide this vital range training,” of said Corps Harrison including 

patient 

their 

transport 

history, 

service 

current 

medical topics care including course to Mercy basic life support, projects and how to help support their 

Young, MD of Medical Training provider who is celebrating 

Corps; management a humanitarian of charity major bleeding and vital work please visit 

Solutions. “By equipping their a significant milestone in 

dedicated wounds, to emergency relieving suffering, response protocols www.mercycorps.org. 

its journey of delivering 

poverty and oppression across staff members with emergency 

and much more. 

exceptional care. Just five 

the world. 

medical skills, we believe that 

months after launching, IPRS 

Mercy Corps will be better 

The course, which was delivered 

MTS has opened a new office 

prepared to handle medical 

by UK Paramedics to their staff 

in Stafford, reaffirming their 

emergencies and provide 

in Kenya, marked an important 

commitment to providing toptier, 

patient-centred collaborative effort to enhance immediate assistance to those 

services 

emergency response capabilities in need.” 

across the UK. 

Launching in June 2023 in 

Gatwick, their rapid growth has 

led to this expansion, which 

positions IPRS MTS to better 

serve communities in Stafford 

and beyond. 

Their new office, located at 

Dunston Business Village just 

outside of Stafford, will serve as 

a control centre, enhancing their 

capabilities and reach. 

IPRS MTS specialises in a range 

of patient transport services, 

including high dependency 

transfers, repatriation, secure 

mental health transfers, and 

bariatric transfers with all 

services delivered by HPAC 

registered clinicians. Their 

dedication to patient well-being, 

safety, and quality care has 

been pivotal in driving their 

rapid growth. 

Director, Phil Bayliss stated, “Our 

journey has been nothing short 

of remarkable. We are thrilled 

to have opened our new office, 

a testament to our hard work 

and dedication. It reinforces 

our commitment to providing 

exceptional patient transport 

services to those in need.” 

Martyn Jackson, CEO of 

IPRS Group, expressed his 

excitement, “This is a testament 

to our unwavering commitment 

to delivering top-tier services to 

our patients. We are thrilled to 

expand our presence to Stafford 

and continue our mission of 

making a difference in the lives 

of those we serve.” 

Find out more about IPRS MTS 

over on their website 

www.IPRSMTS.com. 


30 



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 December 2023

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