Features

Trauma Care Conference considers expanding role of paramedics in subspecialty

The programme started with Dr Minh Le Cong joining the conference from web link to talk about all things pre-hospital ketamine. Le Cong guided the delegates through the various uses and benefits for...

Clinical care in the warm zone: a responder's perspective upon clinical practice in support of UK tactical medical operations

Remaining effective within the tactical environment requires clinicians to assess the effectiveness of their clinical practice, while continuously ensuring that their safety is not being compromised....

The hanging/hanged patient and relevance to pre-hospital care

Hanging can be categorised as judicial or non-judicial, with the former being a legal capital punishment, which usually follows a set procedure in order to cause death. Currently, it is argued that...

What do ambulance service personnel perceive to be the process of and issues with inter-hospital transfers?

The literature review focused solely on works related to the purpose of the study outlined in the previous paragraph. MEDLINE, EMBASE and COCHRANE were the databases used for the four literature...

Critical care paramedics: who's doing what?

‘It is refreshing to see a more balanced, less adversarial and critical appraisal of some of the issues in pre-hospital trauma care’ .

Continuing Professional Development: Understanding paramedic treatment and management of pulmonary embolism

You and a colleague attend an emergency call to Mr Harrison, a 55-year-old teacher. Mr Harrison visited his GP 3 days ago with shortness of breath on exertion. This was causing him to rest after...

Developing the concept of a multi-professional pre-hospital emergency medicine (PHEM) practitioner training programme

The term ‘pre-hospital emergency medicine’ (PHEM) covers a wide range of medical conditions from minor illness and injury to life-threatening emergencies. Pre-hospital interventions therefore also...

Ambulance staff contemplate suicide due to stress and poor mental health

‘It started to manifest itself after a failed resuscitation attempt on a child several years ago. While there were low-level symptoms over the years, and there were certain calls that would affect...

Oxford Brookes faculty take on Turkish Paramedic Rally and International Congress 2015

The rally competition was held one day prior to the conference; it involved four clinical scenarios, during which international and Turkish teams’ practice was assessed during a competition to...

A critical review of NICE Guideline 39—major trauma: assessment and initial management

It is widely recognised that airway management in trauma can be challenging (Deakin et al, 2010). The findings of the NCEPOD (2007) report suggest that one in eight patients arrived at hospital with a...

Cardiac care in SAR helicopter paramedic practice: from mountainside to rehabilitation

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a non-specific phrase used to describe diseases of the heart and circulation. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that CVD is the leading cause of death in...

Using ambulance service PCRs to understand 999 call-outs to older people with dementia

We aimed to understand the use of emergency ambulance services by older people with dementia in two English counties..