Spotlight on Research

Using a qualitative research approach involving Flanagan's Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan, 1954), this paper reports on ambulance staff's experiences of managing pain in people with a suspected hip fracture. Notably the study was undertaken in Sweden where an ambulance crew comprises a pre-hospital emergency care nurse and an emergency medical technician (EMT), both of whom have to recertify every other year.

Despite the differences in health care system, there appear to be some transferable elements in the findings, which should be of interest to UK paramedics, as treating elderly people who have sustained a hip fracture as a result of falling is a regular phenomenon.

In total, 22 people participated (18 pre-hospital emergency care nurses, 4 EMTs) in individual, face-to-face interviews. Eligibility criteria included having worked for more than three years in the ambulance service, and participants must have had experience of managing patients with suspected hip fracture.