Research

Spotlight on Research

Following publication of the 2010 American Heart Association-International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (AHA-ILCOR) guidelines, there has been an increased focus on the characteristic components...

What makes clinicians decide to use spinal immobilisation? A review of the literature

‘Quadriplegia resulting from spinal instability missed by a clearance test had enormous impacts on longevity, quality of life, and costs, overshadowing the effects of prolonged collar application,...

Paramedic attitudes to deliberate self-harming behaviour in Ireland

‘On the occasions I have been admitted to an A&E department they have concentrated on medically patching me up and getting me out. Never have I been asked any questions regarding whether this is the...

Essex and Herts Air Ambulance: a focused case series for pre-hospital practice

We report the case of a 2-year-old boy who sustained a scald to the abdomen after pulling a freshly made cup of tea over himself. Following a crew request for analgesia and transfer to a burns unit,...

Paramedics developing rapport with the elderly: a pilot study

‘Instructional methods should not be used in the teaching of communication skills, since they are ineffective in comparison with experiential methods’.

Developing leadership in the UK's ambulance service: a review of the consultant paramedic role

The concept of improved clinical leadership through non-medical consultant roles was first introduced in DH guidance Making a Difference (DH, 1999a), and was part of the wider modernisation agenda set...

Clinical forum: automated chest compression devices

What are the ‘hands-on’ issues that you are aware of in clinical practice and what possible improvements might help from a paramedic's perspective?.

A clinical audit of the pre-hospital paediatric respiratory assessment in London

A retrospective criterion-based clinical audit was undertaken of 253 PRFs collected from the end of June 2011 to the end of July 2011, where the pre-hospital clinician identified and coded dyspnoea...

Is there scope for an observational pain scoring tool in paramedic practice?

Pain scoring and indeed pain management has widely been studied in the pre-hospital environment, with many different aspects explored. These include paramedic perspectives (Jones and Machen, 2003),...

The transnational delivery of paramedic education: the Gibraltar case study

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory with an independent government that is almost entirely autonomous in overseeing it's 30 000 population, despite having a status listed by the United Nations...