Cleveland expand innovative life-saving trial
A new six-month trial scheme which sees North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and the region’s four Fire and Rescue Services work together to save more lives has now expanded in Cleveland.
The Emergency Medical Response (EMR) trial began in January in Cleveland, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham and Darlington.
Cleveland Fire Brigade has been co-responding to the most serious calls with NEAS for a number of years. The trial will extend the geographical response area to include Redcar, with plans to roll it to other stations throughout the year. Responders will now also be called to attend more patients with serious and potentially life threatening conditions.
Since the innovative trial began, Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) have attended more than 1,200 incidents across the North East, working alongside Emergency Care colleagues at NEAS.
NEAS Director Caroline Thurlbeck said: “NEAS receives a new 999 call every 65 seconds, and in an emergency, seconds count.
“Figures show that, although a quarter of all cardiac arrests attended by NEAS have a return of spontaneous circulation, just over three per cent of patients survive to be discharged from hospital. Evidence also shows that an early intervention with a defibrillator or CPR can not only improve survival chances, but the patient’s quality of life afterwards.
“Our ambition for this trial is to improve the survival rate for those people who suffer from a life-threatening illness or injury in the community. The location of EMRs within local communities could mean they are nearer to the scene and can deliver lifesaving care in those first critical minutes of the emergency until an ambulance clinician arrives, enhancing the usual emergency medical response from NEAS.”
Demand on the Ambulance Service has increased by nearly 20 per cent since 2007. During the past ten years, firefighters nationally have been attending fewer fires, thanks to their successful programmes of community safety work. At the same time the variety and complexity of rescue incidents firefighters respond to has broadened along with the specialist skills needed to meet these challenges. These changes in activities have resulted in demand for FRS services remaining extremely high.
The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is not funded to provide response to medical emergencies, however it is already carried out in some FRSs by employees on a voluntary basis. The trial is part of a review of the terms and conditions of firefighters by the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services, looking at the current and future demands on the service and profession.
EMRs are dispatched at the same time as an ambulance and attend high priority calls such as patients suffering from chest pain, difficulty in breathing, cardiac arrest and unconsciousness not due to trauma.
They have been trained to enhance their existing medical care knowledge, including basic life support by managing a patient’s airway, giving oxygen therapy, including assisted ventilation, delivering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation using a semi-automatic AED and controlling blood loss.
They are equipped with a kit which includes oxygen and an automated external defibrillator (AED) to help patients in a medical emergency such as a heart attack, collapse or breathing difficulties.
Chief Fire Officer Ian Hayton from Cleveland Fire Brigade said: “The scheme involves trained firefighters attending incidents in areas where we can reach a casualty and maintain life or reducing suffering and anxiety until a paramedic arrives.
“This really is a lifesaving partnership; Cleveland Fire Brigade staff can complement and work alongside the professional healthcare staff at North East Ambulance Service to improve patient care outcomes.
“Cleveland Fire Brigade’s ethos is to make a difference to the lives and safety of our local community. This critical partnership with NEAS allows our firefighters another opportunity to demonstrate how they can achieve that goal.”
Caroline added: “At NEAS we are already supported by Community First Responder volunteers who work tremendously hard and do a fantastic job in their local areas. The addition of EMRs will further strengthen our response in these communities and the two models will work side-by-side to save more lives.”
The trial will run until 30 June 2016 and is monitored on a daily basis by all parties to ensure it remains an effective scheme offering a level of quality patient care in the local community.
Data is being gathered throughout the trial to allow for a full evaluation following its completion.
ENDS
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,500 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS 111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2014/15 the service answered 1.107 million emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, responded to 302,687 incidents that resulted in a patient being taken to hospital, treated and discharged 18,144 patients with telephone advice and treated and discharged 81,990 patients at home. In the same year, emergency care crews reached 134,745 incidents within the national target of 8 minutes.