Pre-hospital care in the spotlight at national conference

North East Ambulance Service has the pleasure of hosting a national medical conference dedicated to pre-hospital care next month.

The 999 EMS Research Forum is a UK based partnership that brings together academics and health-care providers with a research interest in emergency care with the aim of encouraging and promoting research in 999 healthcare.

The forum holds an annual conference, choosing a different host city each year.

This year, North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) will be hosting the event with the help of funding from the Academic Health Science Network.

The conference, entitled Making it Happen: Delivering Research in Pre-Hospital Care, will be held at The Assembly Rooms, Fenkle Street, in Newcastle on Tuesday, 1 March from 9am-5pm.

Pre-hospital care is defined as any initial medical care given to an ill or injured patient by a paramedic or other person before the patient reaches the hospital emergency department.

With a dedicated team of research paramedics aiming to improve paramedic practice nationally, NEAS is considered one of the best services in the UK for pre-hospital research.

The conference is expecting around 100 medical delegates, including paramedics, doctors, nurses, health service managers, policy makers and academics.

The conference will be introduced by NEAS Chief Executive Yvonne Ormston, and the keynote speaker will be Dr Prabath Nanayakkara from VU University Medical Centre in The Netherlands, who will be talking about research into pre-hospital management of sepsis.

Dr Simon Woods and Dr Chris Price from Newcastle University will also be discussing the ethics and delivery of safe 999 research, while a number of NEAS paramedics will also be presenting their own research posters.

Mrs Ormston said: “We are very proud of the work of our research paramedics, who work extremely hard to improve paramedic practice nationally, thereby improving the care we are able to provide to patients.

“Their efforts, combined with the support of the rest of our dedicated workforce in testing equipment and taking part in research trials, means our Trust is quite rightly considered one of the best in the UK for pre-hospital research, which is something we are very proud of.

“It is a real privilege for us to host a conference like this, attracting attention to pre-hospital research in our region.

“This conference concentrates on making pre-hospital research happen – covering everything from how to get started and getting involved through to results from previous research – and is suitable for anyone with an interest in pre-hospital care.

“With only a limited number of spaces available, anyone interested is advised to register now.”

Registration closes on 28 February. Conference registration costs £50, which includes presentations, workshops, refreshments and lunch.

For more information about the Research and Development Team, and to register for the conference, please visit www.neas.nhs.uk/our-services/research-and-development

Follow @EMS999NEAS on Twitter to keep up to date with the event.