innovation

Innovations in preoperative control of exsanguination in major trauma

The commonest and most immediate setting of trauma-related mortality is the scene of the incident. Pfeifer et al's (2019) systematic review of more than 7000 trauma deaths found up to 47.6% of these...

Virtual reality training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in schools

Teaching CPR to children in school in various ways can be effective (Plant and Taylor, 2015), and mandatory CPR training for schoolchildren may provide an opportunity to improve the bystander CPR...

History and experience of a volunteer ambulance first responder scheme in London

Scott Bateman, a Royal Air Force pilot, wanted to explore ways of reducing the time taken for life-saving interventions to reach a patient, having experienced the cardiac arrest of a family member. In...

Paramedic-led acute home visiting services in primary care

First, a brief analysis is required to understand the paramedic profession's journey from their traditional background in ambulance services to working for primary care providers..

Winning in winter with marginal gains: enhancing welfare on the frontline

The welfare van was a resource without an operational call sign and, as such, was a hidden asset in the context of EOC planning and resource availability. Local management were explicit that crews...

Paramedic prescribing: implementation in practice

Expectations were identified in policy papers, published guidance and reports from various organisations with an interest in paramedic prescribing (Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), 1999;...

ParaVR: a virtual reality training simulator for paramedic skills maintenance

Skills development and maintenance for many paramedic emergency procedures are challenging because opportunities to learn and practise are limited. Such procedures may be required in rare and...

The zero point survey and egg-timer model combined for crew management

Paramedic working environments are highly complex, unpredictable and fraught with risk. If paramedics are to arrive safely at their patient's side and deliver high-quality, person-centred care, they...

The paramedic profession: disruptive innovation and barriers to further progress

In the UK, paramedics emerged from ambulance staff in the mid-1970s (Baskett et al, 1976; Briggs et al, 1976). They were trained to provide advanced resuscitation using invasive techniques that were...

Taking a holistic approach to acute mental health crisis

A literature search was carried out using CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases, using key words: ‘ambulance’; ‘paramedic’; ‘pre hospital’; ‘emergency’ and ‘mental health’; ‘mental illness’; ‘mental...

Prehospital use of the traction splint for suspected mid-shaft femur fractures

The introduction of the simulation-based training for all operational paramedics had a positive impact on the management of femur fractures. Post intervention, a total of 69 femur fractures were...

Scoping ambulance emissions: recommendations for reducing engine idling time

With UK NHS ambulance trusts answering more than 10 million 999 calls in 2017, and the average ambulance vehicle travelling 50 000 miles per year (Lord Carter of Coles, 2018), several ambulance...