South Central Ambulance Service
NHS Foundation Trust
Wo rkin gto ge
ther
SCAS HELPS DELIVER VISION OF A PAPERLESS NHS
Summer Twenty Nineteen
Summer 2019
KIRSTEN AND MARK R HONOURS 10
Delivery on a 999 call 14
Healthwatch Report SOS Service
18
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RECEIVE THEIR
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise 26
Volunteers Week 42
Summer 2019
SCAS HELPS DELIVER VISION OF A PAPERLESS NHS
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In April, SCAS became the first ambulance service in the country to ensure all its private provider partners were using an electronic patient record system.
Summer 2019
This delivered on the Trust’s long held commitment that all patients should receive the same level of care and experience, whether treated by a SCAS team or a team from one of the Trust’s private provider partners.
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The new system was developed by Doc-works, a Bedfordshire-based company with expertise in ambulance software as well as having considerable experience and knowledge in the processes, documents (paper and electronic), and audit requirements needed for compliance and reporting to staff, managers, CQC and commissioners. The brief to Doc-works was to create a simple, easy-to-use electronic system that would replicate all the various forms and their 400+ fields that were on the old paper-based patient record system, and that would require minimal training for private provider staff to become experts in the system’s use.
The rollout enables Jigsaw to keep up with the increasing call volumes and significantly improve the care and treatment received by patients in their region. The Scribe ePCR system is used by Jigsaw ambulance crews to complete patient records electronically using a ruggedized mobile tablet. The introduction of this innovative system helps Jigsaw reduce the company’s carbon footprint as the base operation managers will no longer spend up to 16 hours on the road delivering paper versions of the patient records that the ePCR system replaces.
Barry Clark, Director at Doc-works, said: “We have utilised our 10 years plus NHS software experience to create an ePCR system that is accurate, intuitive and provides a paramedic with everything they need when responding to a time critical incident. We have worked extremely closely with SCAS to help them provide the best possible patient care with an ePCR system that improves the quality of their services and patients’ experiences due to their ability to now be able to securely hold patient data, share timely information with other healthcare providers and facilitate a seamless hospital handover experience.” The first private provider to go live with the new system was Jigsaw Medical Services, who equipped all their vehicles with the Scribe Electronic Patient Clinical Record solution (ePCR) from Doc-works following a successful pilot with SCAS. Jigsaw Medical is one of the UK’s leading medical services providers. Divided into three clear entities – Clinical Services, Training and Education, Events – the company is committed to delivering clinically-focussed and commerciallyharmonised solutions to both the NHS and private clients.
With an intuitive user interface which accurately models the layout of the existing SCAS paper form, Scribe ePCR has been designed in consultation with ambulance crews to help them capture real-time clinical information and provide them with better data, better reports, better audits and ultimately better patient care.
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Vince Almond, Private Provider Manager at SCAS, summed up the system-wide benefits the new Scribe ePCR system brings; “There are a number of benefits, not least the ability of clinicians to view a patient’s medical record when and where they need it. The new system should bring benefits for patients and staff, as well as ambulance, hospital and other organisations as a whole. Our private provider crews can now provide a prompt transfer of patient care to hospitals and other health organisations, improve the security of patient records, increase data accuracy on the forms and create more legible records – and do so saving both their own time and reams of paper.”
Jigsaw Managing Director, Julie Mercer, added: “At Jigsaw we’re always looking at ways to deliver the best possible service and the Scribe ePCR solution from Docworks will help us achieve this. It enables us to streamline the handover process with hospital emergency departments at the same time as reducing the amount of paper used and reinforces our position in the marketplace as an innovative leader and a company renowned for adopting new technologies where possible.”
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The Doc-works ePCR back-end system uses standard Windows server technologies and client applications and can run on iOS devices, both iPad and iPhone, in addition to Android devices such as Samsung Galaxy tablets. But what’s the system like to use? Elliott Forman is a Paramedic Clinical Mentor at Jigsaw; “With the old system, one patient treatment might mean we would need to fill in anything from six to a dozen or more forms. And each time we’d have to re-input the same fields of information – patient name, address, DOB, etc. With the new ePCR system, we input those patient details once and then for every subsequent ‘form’ we need, they are automatically carried across. The hospitals we take a patient too can now see live readings, such as ECGs, and any safeguarding forms that we would normally have had to keep and fax once back at base at the end of our shifts, can be completed online and are automatically sent securely to the right departments.” With the roll out of Scribe ePCR across all SCAS’ private provider partners now complete, user groups are being set up with representatives from the private providers, SCAS and Doc-works to ensure that the system captures all feedback and learning from users’ experiences to drive a programme of continuous improvement and development.
Summer 2019
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KIRSTEN AND MARK RECEIVE THEIR HONOURS
Summer 2019
Mark Ainsworth-Smith
Head of Operations in West Berkshire, Kirsten Willis, and Consultant Pre-Hospital Care Practitioner, Mark Ainsworth-Smith (Mas), were earlier this year awarded The British Empire Medal (BEM) and The Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) respectively in The Queen’s New Year Honours List. On 22 March, MaS attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle and received his MBE from Her Majesty The Queen. “Whilst it is an incredible privilege to receive the award, I hope that the honour draws attention to all the amazing people who I work with in the NHS who are working 24 hours a day dealing with patients who have been injured or unwell.” “I would like to make special mention of my wife and three children who have put up with all the long working hours and have stuck with me through thick and thin. They deserve the award much more than I do.” MaS was awarded the MBE for his services to the NHS, in which he has worked since 1987, and particularly for his work in emergency care and major trauma.
Kirsten received her BEM on 4 April in Windsor from the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Her Majesty The Queen’s representative in the county. Mark Ainsworth, Director of Operations at SCAS, said: “Kirsten is a true ambassador for the ambulance service, delivering excellent leadership to her staff as well as ensuring she maintains her clinical skills to enable her to deliver the most effective care as a paramedic. She is also the Chair of the national LGBT network and always ensures the ambulance sector is promoting equality and diversity at a national level. As a qualified counsellor providing this service voluntarily for a charity, Kirsten has been instrumental in developing SCAS’ own Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) system and is one of three lead TRiM practitioners in the Trust.” Kirsten was awarded the BEM for services to NHS Leadership. Congratulations to you both on your welldeserved awards.
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Kirsten Willis
Summer 2018 2019
BABY CHLOE BECOMES DAWN’S 8TH DELIVERY ON A 999 CALL
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To the old adage that ‘time and tide wait for no man’, Emergency Call Taker, Dawn Seaman, is more than qualified to add ‘and babies’, having recently just delivered her eighth baby over the phone from her desk in our clinical co-ordination centre in Bicester. And in her most recent delivery, the time from answering the 999 call to the arrival of the baby was less than seven minutes! Dawn was over half way through her night shift early on Sunday, 24 March, when she answered a 999
call from The Perch and Pike Pub in South Stoke, Oxfordshire. On the other end of the line at just after 1am was the pub’s landlord, Simon Duffy. Simon and his partner, Sofie Hjelte, were expecting their second child and things were moving overnight a lot faster than they had expected. Simon said: “Once we knew Sofie was going to have the baby fairly soon, I ran the hospital bag out to the car, came inside to get her and said ‘Right, we’re going to go!’
Summer 2019
She replied, ‘Oh, I don’t think there’s going to be time – I can feel the baby coming now.’! "
So, that’s the point we phoned 999.” Simon thought that once he dialled 999, spoke to Dawn and an ambulance was sent, then that would be the end of his involvement. Baby Chloe, however, had other ideas. The nearest available ambulance was NA228 crewed by Joshua Wood and Prezemek Miozga; they were about 17 miles away to the north of the pub just passed Abingdon and heading south back to their Didcot base for a meal break. The guys were contacted by Emergency Dispatcher Thomas Ball, given the details of the urgent call and made their way as quickly as they could to South Stoke.
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However, due to the distance it was just over twenty minutes before they arrived and by that time, Simon had completed his unexpected midwifery role. Three pushes was all it took from Sofie and Chloe was born at 1:07am – less than seven minutes after Simon had dialled 999. “Dawn thankfully talked me through everything that needed to be done to deliver the baby”, says Simon. “She was so calm and so precise with her instructions – just an absolute star to have on the end of the phone.” “I panicked to start with”, remembers Sophie, “but managed to tell myself there’s no point, I know this is happening right now and I need to calm down and just get on with it basically. I think it would have been a slightly different story if it was just me and Simon and nobody talking him through it.” Once Baby Chloe had arrived, a midwife from The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading also came to the couple’s home and after carrying out some initial checks on Chloe and Sophie to confirm everything was as it should be, they were then both taken in the ambulance to hospital.
The couple were very keen to get Dawn some well-deserved praise and got in touch with BBC Radio Berkshire initially to let them know about their amazing helper on the end of the phone. The radio station subsequently got in touch with SCAS, and in early April – before starting another night shift later in the day – Dawn arrived at The Pike and Perch to meet the proud parents, and baby Chloe – now the most famous resident of South Stoke! Dawn was just as pleased to see everyone too. “A lot of the time, once the call’s finished we don’t always get much of an update so it’s really nice to meet Chloe and meet Mum and Dad and see the baby that I’ve helped bring into the world.”
Summer Summer 2019 2018
OXFORD SOS SERVICE IS FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE COST EFFECTIVE Healthwatch Oxfordshire has confirmed that the SOS Service, operated by SCAS, provides faster, more efficient and more cost-effective treatment to people using Oxfordshire’s night time economy. The local Healthwatch team goes on to recommend that the SOS Service is such a valuable community resource that it should receive funding to run all year –
and not just during the peak period of late November into early January. The findings and recommendations are contained in the Enter and View Report that Healthwatch Oxfordshire published following a visit to the SOS Service on 31 December 2018. The Health and Social Care Act allows local Healthwatch authorised representatives to observe
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service delivery and talk to service users, their families and carers on premises such as hospitals, residential homes, GP practices, dental surgeries, optometrists and pharmacies. Enter and View visits can happen if people tell their local Healthwatch there is a problem with a service but, equally, they can occur when services have a good reputation – as is the case with SCAS’ SOS Service in Oxford. The Healthwatch Oxfordshire Team spent 4½ hours with the SOS Service on New Year’s Eve 2018 and collected information by talking to patients, their friends, SCAS clinicians and any referring parties, e.g. Thames Valley Police. Patients told the Healthwatch team that the SOS Service was a wonderful service run by friendly and professional staff. Local police officers highly valued the SOS Service as it freed up their time to focus on criminal concerns as opposed to medical ones. Craig Heigold is a Paramedic Team Leader at SCAS and also the Oxford SOS Project Lead:
“I’m delighted that the Healthwatch Oxfordshire report confirms what a valuable addition the SOS Service has become. Not only can we reduce the demand on A&E at the John Radcliffe Hospital during peak Friday and Saturday evenings, but our colleagues from Thames Valley Police are also very appreciative of how we can reduce their workload in the city centre too.” “I would like to thank all my colleagues, along with our great team of volunteer community first responders, who all helped deliver the SOS Service this winter and Christmas. It’s this sort of appreciation and praise, along with the thanks we received
from patients that came to us and their friends and family, that makes all those night shifts worthwhile.” In its most recent phase of operation (from 9 November 2018 to 6 January 2019), 54 patients presented themselves at the SOS Service, located in the Cornmarket, for treatment. Of these, only 16 required further treatment and/ or assessment at the John Radcliffe Hospital; meaning that the SOS Team was able to deal with over two-thirds of those patients at the scene who might otherwise have gone to A&E or called 999. Despite a widely held perception that these types of city centre weekend services were nothing more than ‘drunk tanks’, nearly half of the patients that used the SOS Service last winter did so due to injuries sustained in an assault or fall, or for medical reasons. The Healthwatch Oxfordshire Enter and View Report is available online: èè https://healthwatchoxfordshire.co.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SOS-BusEnter-and-View-Report-.pdf What is the SOS Service? ¤¤ The SOS Service operates from a dedicated Jumbulance vehicle (large ambulance) every Friday and Saturday night (10:45pm-5:00am) in Oxford city centre from early November to early January. ¤¤ An additional service is run on New Year’s Eve (if that does not fall on a Friday or Saturday). ¤¤ The service launched in November 2014 and each operational shift is delivered by two SCAS paramedics, along with an emergency care assistant or associate ambulance practitioner, as well as the valuable support from local community first responders.
Summer 2019
SCAS PLAYS MAJOR ROLE IN NATIONAL
D-DAY 75
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Staff from across SCAS supported in the planning and delivery of the focal point of the UK commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings which were held in Portsmouth on 5 June, from where much of the landing force sailed in 1944. Portsmouth welcomed dignitaries and heads of state from around the world to honour the veterans of the D-Day landings, including HM The Queen and the US President, Donald Trump. SCAS was working closely in partnership with Hampshire Police and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service in order to ensure that local residents and the thousands of visitors were able to safely enjoy the celebrations. The SCAS team even had a visit from the outgoing Prime Minister, Theresa May. The D-Day 75 Voyage of Remembrance on board the MV Boudicca saw over 250 D-Day veterans, accompanied by their families and carers, complete an emotional return to the northern France coast. The trip was organised by The Royal British Legion and amongst those on the boat was Wexham-based Paramedic, Luke Mortimer. “I travelled with the veterans on the Voyage of Remembrance from 2-9 June, helping to look after those on board. During this time, I attended the televised ceremonies in Portsmouth and Bayeux, France, as well as visiting the landing beaches including Juno, Sword and Gold. It was a very emotional experience, especially as one of the veterans I was looking after hadn’t been back to those landing beaches since 1944.”
“I am so proud to have had the opportunity to accompany these special people on their very important commemorative trip, remembering everything they did for us and our country.”
Summer 2019 2018
GOVERNORS ELECTION SCAS is holding elections to its Council of Governors later this year. The elections will ensure members of the public can join the Council to represent the following constituencies: ¤¤ Berkshire two governors ¤¤ Buckinghamshire
one governor
¤¤ Hampshire
three governors
¤¤ Oxfordshire
one governor
“
Governors have an important role to play in representing the voice of patients and citizens in helping shape our services”, says SCAS Chair, Lena Samuels. “Therefore we are keen to hear from people who are passionate about delivering highquality healthcare and who enjoy engaging with, and seeking the views of, people in the communities we serve.
”
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To be eligible for election, you must be aged 16 or over, be a member of the Trust and a resident in the county you wish to represent. Membership is free and you can quickly and easily apply online at www.scas.nhs.uk/get-involved/become-a-member. Interested members of the public can self-nominate to stand in the forthcoming election; nominations open on 30 September and close on 21 October. SCAS is holding two workshops in Newbury, Berkshire, on 29 July and 30 September which are open to anyone interested in becoming a governor to allow you to find out more about the role and talk to existing SCAS governors.
If you would like to book on to one of the workshops, or find out more about the governor role, contact ègetinvolved@scas.nhs.uk è for more details.
Summer 2019
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
MAGNIFICENT M A R AT HON
SEVEN
Amongst the more than 43,000 runners who set off on the 26.2 mile course around London this year were a magnificent seven from SCAS. Whilst they didn’t quite manage to keep up with Men’s Elite Race Winner, Eliud Kipchoge – who won the event in a course record time of 2:02:37 – they all did brilliantly to complete the course and raise an amazing amount of money for the charities they ran for.
The Magnificent Seven in Numbers Miles run on the day:
Runners
7
183.4
TOTAL Miles run in training:
2,450
£8,078.42
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SCAS and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Paramedic, Dave Zaple, completed the course in 4 hrs 12 mins and raised £1,122.42 for Blind Veterans UK (£1,395.53 including Gift Aid). Dave was inspired to run for the charity by his Grandad, who became registered blind last year through macular degeneration and has benefited enormously from the support of Blind Veterans UK. HART Team Leader Darryl Toogood, ran for Cardiac Arrest in the Young (CRY), a cause close to his partner Amy’s heart as she lost her cousin Matthew aged just 17. Sadly, three weeks before the marathon, Amy – who also had a place at London to run for CRY – picked up an injury which meant she had to defer her place till 2020. Darryl went to complete the course in 5 hrs 41 mins and raised £2,065.00 (£2,474.75 with Gift Aid) for CRY. Didcot-based Clinical Mentors Rachael Floyd and Rob Gilley ran for the Mind – Blue Light Programme and the Samaritans; raising a total of £1,000! Rachael completed the run in 4 hrs 38 minutes whilst Rob sadly sustained a knee injury at mile 14, but soldiered on and painfully completed the run in 6 hours.
Emergency Care Assistant, Claire Denny, from our Nursling base in Southampton ran for Leukaemia UK and completed her TENTH marathon in 5 hours and 3 mins. She raised an amazing £1,956 for her charity! Clinical Education Manager, Jane Reid, just ran it for fun! Finishing in an impressive 5 hrs and 13 mins.
Oxford City Specialist Practitioner Lotti North’s Dad had a ballot place at the London Marathon 2018 but had to defer it to 2019 as he battled pancreatic cancer; very sadly it was a courageous battle he lost in August last year. The London Marathon organisers allowed Lotti to take her Dad’s place in this year’s event and she completed the course in 5 hrs 11 mins, raising an impressive £1,935 for Pancreatic Cancer Action along the way. Lotti’s fundraising and physical feats for her charity hasn’t stopped with London however! This September she is also taking on the London to Paris Bike Ride and can be sponsored at èè https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/lottinorth
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EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE SCAS staff regularly train with our emergency services colleagues, and others, to be able to respond to a wide range of challenging, real-life scenarios should they occur.
Exercise INVICTUS This took place in Portsmouth’s Guildhall on 10 May in order to raise awareness amongst security staff, trained first aiders and members of the public in what they should do in the event of a large-scale acid attack occurring in a public venue. SCAS teams, led by Clinical Operations Manager for South East Hampshire, Jodie-Lea Phillips, were also involved in the exercise as training for a multi-agency response to such an incident. The exercise scenario was an acid attack on the packed dance floor of a nightclub, resulting in a number of people affected by chemical burns. Security staff at the venue would undertake initial triage and provide immediate first aid, after which SCAS staff along with colleagues from
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service would then take over the care and management of the patients following the national Remove, Remove, Remove guidance.
REMOVE the casualties from the immediate area and the source of the danger REMOVE outer clothing affected by the substance REMOVE the substance from the skin using dry absorbent material
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Summer 2019
Exercise DRAKE On 15 May, a multi-agency exercise was held at Hurst Castle on the Hampshire coast, a Tudor artillery fortress built by Henry VIII to guard the Needles Passage, the narrow western entrance to the Solent and gateway at the time to the trading port of Portsmouth and the new naval base at Southampton. As well as SCAS staff, teams from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Hampshire Constabulary and the RNLI were all involved – as well English Heritage and Hurst Marine who jointly manage the castle site. Ambulance service colleagues from South Western Ambulance Service also joined the exercise as they could end up supporting SCAS should a major incident like this occur. Those involved were set a series of challenging exercises around the rescue and treatment of a range of patients, including those with burns, people who had collapsed or were suffering a suspected heart attack, as well as less mobile patients trapped on the top floor of the Castle Keep due to fire. Hurst Castle is at the end of a long shingle spit, so there were immediate obstacles to be overcome in terms of getting essential people and equipment to the site of the emergency. Once there, staff were confronted with further challenges of operating in a challenging, medieval environment of narrow stairways and 16th Century door and window openings and access points.
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Summer 2019
JAMIE THANKS AMBULANCE STAFF WHO HELPED SAVE HIS LIFE AT THE GREAT SOUTH RUN On 21 October 2018, Jamie Williams collapsed 400 metres from the finish of The Great South Run; an annual 10 mile race held in Southsea, Hampshire.
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Summer 2019
Having completed the race twice before with a personal best of 1 hour 40 minutes, Jamie and his running partner, Dean, were on course to finish in an impressive 1 hour and 25 minutes. “Training had gone really well”, says Jamie. “Dean is a Physical Training Instructor in the Army, so obviously he’s a fit lad, and I thought I was in pretty good shape too. In fact, I was probably fitter then in my early 30s than I had been in my mid-20s. It had been a hot day and from quite early on, I was dripping! There is a photo of Dean and I at about Mile 3 – I look as if I should be at the end of race, not a few miles from the start.”
Unbeknownst to Jamie, as he continued running he was becoming more and more dehydrated and his body temperature was rising; with the finishing line and his wife, Gemma, and children in sight, he collapsed.
Jamie adds, “I don’t remember too much about what happened but apparently I turned to Dean and said, ‘I really don’t feel well’ and then went down. Luckily he caught me and put me in the recovery position. Dean thought I’d had a stroke. Gemma came running down the course and I was taken to the medical tent where, thank goodness, Dave and Chris from SCAS were waiting.” Paramedic, Dave Gardiner, and Emergency Care Assistant, Chris Addoo, had been stationed at the medical centre at the end of the Great South Run and it had been a quiet shift for them. “There had, I think, only been one person brought in to the medical centre all day”, recalls Chris, “but then Jamie was brought in and it was obvious he was seriously unwell.”
Left: Dave Gardiner Right: Chris Addoo
Dave adds, “Most people think that hyperthermia is when your body is affected by cold temperatures, but heat stroke is also a form of hyperthermia and can be just as deadly. When Jamie came in he had overheated so much, he was in a very bad way.”
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When Jamie collapsed his body temperature had reached 40°C and without immediate emergency treatment, he might have died. In hospital later on it was discovered that his creatine kinase level was causing his vital organs to shut down, starting with his kidneys. Normal levels are less than 500 but Jamie’s was well in to the tens of thousands; with the kidneys unable to cope these were then leaking into his bloodstream and causing all his life-threatening problems. Recognising the seriousness of Jamie’s condition, Dave and Chris contacted the emergency department at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth to prealert them that they would be arriving very soon with a patient in a life-threatening condition. “By pre-alerting the hospital”, explained Dave, “they would be able to get a team ready in Resus with the skills, equipment and tools required to give Jamie the best possible chance of surviving.” Jamie’s condition further deteriorated en route to hospital which meant that Dave and Chris had to pullover and stop the vehicle so that they could administer more treatment. There was genuine concern
on board that Jamie’s condition was so bad that he wasn’t even going to make it to the emergency department, despite everything the guys were doing. On arrival at the emergency department, the Resus Team also struggled to get Jamie’s temperature down. He was surrounded in ice packs and placed in an induced coma for 26 hours to try and stabilise his temperature. When he was woken up, Jamie remembers feeling as if he was paralyzed. He was then told that due to the acute heatstroke he had suffered, he may have done lasting damage to his kidneys, liver or heart – and possibly all three. After eight days in hospital, Jamie was finally able to return home and was given the good news that he had suffered no permanent damage to any of his organs. “I feel very lucky”, says Jamie, “and incredibly thankful and forever indebted to Dave and Chris for getting me to the QA Hospital so quickly. I also want to say a huge thank you to Dean for all his help, for Gemma and my sister Sarah who didn’t leave my side until I woke up from my induced coma and my brother
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Lee, who was also running The Great South Run that day and was with me for most of the time I was in hospital.” The fact I survived is also down to the teams in the emergency department, intensive care unit and on the ward who ensured I also made a full recovery. Nurse Helen Green on the intensive care unit looked after me brilliantly and I’ll never forget her great sense of humour. I’m back at work now, back playing golf and football (badly), but as far as running goes, my wife has said those days are over!”
T A E N H O I T S U A T H A EX D HE N E A K O R ST
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With the summer months in full swing, here is some useful advice around heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is not usually serious if you can cool down within 30 minutes. If it turns into heatstroke, it needs to be treated as an emergency. Signs of heat exhaustion can include: èè Headache èè Dizziness and confusion èè Loss of appetite and feeling sick èè Excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin èè Cramps in the arms, legs and stomach èè Fast breathing or pulse èè Temperature of 38°C or above èè Being very thirsty
How to help someone with heat exhaustion cool down 1. Move them to a cool place 2. Get them to lie down and raise their feet slightly 3. Get them to drink plenty of water (or sports/hydration drinks) 4. Cool their skin – spray or sponge them with cool water and fan them. Cold packs around the armpits and neck are good too. The person should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes
Call 999 if the person: èè Is no better after 30 minutes èè Feels hot and dry èè Is not sweating even though they are too hot èè Has a temperature that’s risen to 40°C or above èè Has rapid or shortness of breath èè Is confused èè Has a fit or seizure èè Loses consciousness èè Is unresponsive While you wait for help, keep giving first aid and put the person in the recovery position if they lose consciousness
Summer 2019
GRADUATION SUCCESS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF PARAMEDICS
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It was Graduation Day at Oxford Brookes University in June for both our internal Foundation Degree graduates and also to those students studying a Bachelor of Paramedic Science Degree who have been on placement with SCAS for the last three years.
Summer 2019
FdSC Paramedic Emergency Care Graduates ¤¤ Mark Appleton
¤¤ Richard Smith
¤¤ Daniel Haines
¤¤ Lisa-Jayne Morris
¤¤ Peter Elsmore
¤¤ Christopher Hook
¤¤ Robert Marsh
¤¤ Keshia Adams
¤¤ Nichola Turner
¤¤ Luke Mortimer
¤¤ David Worsfold
¤¤ Helen Landrum
¤¤ Carole Henry
¤¤ Caroline Adams
¤¤ Hannah Dyer
¤¤ Daniel Gant
¤¤ Matt Lemon
¤¤ Jonathan Askew
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BSc Paramedic Science Graduates ¤¤ Jasper Andrews
¤¤ Harriet Render
¤¤ Holly Hambleton
¤¤ Elvey Craig-Dennis
¤¤ Robyn Ayers
¤¤ Alejandro Reyes
¤¤ Beth Harvey
¤¤ Christina Cummins
¤¤ Lara Barresi
¤¤ Ellie Rousen
¤¤ Lydia Harwood
¤¤ Miriam De Quay
¤¤ Richard Baxendale
¤¤ Bethan Sowden
¤¤ Rebecca Kill
¤¤ Liam Ealing Mills
¤¤ Lauren Caiger
¤¤ Chloe Walsh
¤¤ Kenneth MacLennan
¤¤ Christopher Eyton-Jones
¤¤ Michael Carter
¤¤ Cerys Watson
¤¤ Samina Miah
¤¤ Jennifer Galuszka
¤¤ Sophie Clee
¤¤ Nicholas Wender
¤¤ Hazel Mitchell
¤¤ Craig Gilbert
¤¤ Jordan Clements
¤¤ Esme Williams
¤¤ Joseph Pigott
¤¤ Benjamin Goddard
¤¤ Antonia Cook
¤¤ Erika Winch
¤¤ Elizabeth Pottle
¤¤ Amber Gomme-Legard
¤¤ Bryony Cooke
¤¤ Caroline Wood
Summer 2019
NEW EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AT WEXHAM PARK HOSPITAL OPENS
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Following months of collaborative working between SCAS and Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, the new Emergency Department at Wexham Park Hospital went live in the early hours of Wednesday 3 April 2019.
The Emergency Department at Wexham is now housed within a modern purpose built Emergency Assessment Centre that covers three floors with a view that patients who are staying no longer than 72 hours will not need to transfer into the main hospital site. SCAS Team Leaders Babs Mudge and Steve Nelson provided support to the hospital and our crews throughout the night. With Team Leader Adam Laubser and Clinical Mentor Julia Cole continuing this through the following day we were able to support the hospital to keep things running as smoothly as possible during the transition from the old department to the new. As is always the case with any major plan, there were teething problems with high patient numbers and technical glitches. In the early stages, as expected, we saw handover and clear times increase as both SCAS and hospital staff got to grips with the new unit. However, we have now started to see improvement in both of these areas and would encourage staff to continue this positive trend of improvement. We would like to thank all staff for their support and good humour during this time. Charlie McGurk Interim Clinical Operations Manager, East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire
Summer 2019
CELEBRATING OUR AMAZING VOLUNTEERS
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Volunteers Week takes place every year from 1-7 June and gives SCAS the opportunity to spend a week highlighting the amazing contribution our volunteer car drivers, community first responders, co-responders and Charity supporters and fundraisers make to our Trust and the communities we serve. This year we ran a campaign across our social media channels that was seen by over 100,000 people online and highlighted a few of the amazing people, successes and stories that have occurred over the last 12 months. We’re always on the lookout for more people who would like to volunteer to make a real difference to the people in their local community. Interested in finding out more about becoming a volunteer car driver? èè Visit www.scas.nhs.uk/getinvolved/volunteer-car-drivers Could you make a lifesaving difference to your community as a community first responder? èè Visit www.sca-charity.org.uk/ volunteer/community-firstresponders/
Time to c
elebrate
Summer 2019
Charity round up
Our charity team, staff, community first responders, volunteers and supporters work tirelessly all year round raising much needed funds for the South Central Ambulance Charity and other causes, as well as develop and strengthen the Trust’s relationship with the local communities we serve. Here’s a small selection of what they have been up to between April and June 2019.
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GOLFERS CLUB TOGETHER TO RAISE £4,000 FOR SCAS CHARITY Wokefield Park Golf Club, under the Captaincy of Andy Clark, raised an incredible £4000 for South Central Ambulance Community First Responders (CFR). The Burghfield and Mortimer CFR team along with SCAS Paramedic and Community Engagement and Training Officer, Ben Westley, joined Andy Clark and Jamie Anton at the Wokefield Club on 28 April to receive the fantastic donation.
WEXHAM WARRIORS GET PRETTY MUDDY On 1 June, Wexham Resource Centre staff Mo, Lesley, Maria, Izzy, Mike, Clive, David, Christine, Michelle – along with two family members, Claire and Cheryl – successfully completed the Cancer Research UK Pretty Muddy Race at Windsor Racecourse. The team conquered A-frames, mud pits, spiders’ webs, tunnels and finished on a giant mudslide!
Summer 2019
FOR A FUN DAY, IT HAS TO BE ASDA The ASDA store in Wheatley, Oxfordshire, was the location for a Fun Day on 1 June, organised by the SCAS Charity, local CFRs and membership and engagement team – and featured an appearance from 999 Ted. Over £250 was raised for the Charity and the team also carried out blood pressure checks and gave CPR lessons to members of the public.
SCAS LGBT LEADS PRIDE CELEBRATIONS SCAS staff were out in force at both Oxford Pride and Portsmouth Pride this summer. Celebrations in Oxford kicked off on 1 June with a procession from Radcliffe Square through the city centre and finishing in Westgate’s Leiden Square. In Portsmouth, record numbers attended the procession on 22 June, wending their way along the seafront to finish with a party in Castle Field, Southsea.
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STRIKING A POSE AT FAIRISLE JUNIOR SCHOOL SCAS team members Helen, David and Mike visited Fairisle Junior School in Southampton on 14 June, with the school staff adding: "It was a real success and the children got a lot from the day. Helen, David and Mike were brilliant ambassadors for SCAS - the way they explained what they were showing and the demonstrations they provided were well-suited for the children and kept them fully engaged. We could have hosted them for a whole week!" The children signed off in style on the day too with their 'Phoning 999 Pose'!
NEW RESPONSE VEHICLE FOR SOUTHAMPTON EAST CFRS Thanks to the support of local residents, businesses and grant makers, as well as their local Dacia and Renault dealership, Southampton East CFRs took delivery of their new scheme response vehicle in May. The fully marked up car allows the volunteer CFRs to respond to more types of calls, such as people who have fallen at home, as they can take more equipment with them out on the road.
Summer 2019
BIG SHAVE AT ADDERBURY Staff at Adderbury Resource Centre undertook The Big Shave on 9 April, along with a BBQ and raffle to raise money for Cancer Research UK and show support for one of their colleagues. It was a fantastic event and the team raised over ÂŁ3,000!
LOCAL MAYORS SUPPORT OUR CHARITY South Central Ambulance Charity is one of three charities that have been chosen as the official charities of the new Mayor of Reading for 2019/20, as well as the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and the Mayor of Winchester. Over the coming year there will be some fantastic events and opportunities as a result of the mayors’ support to raise awareness of the Charity and the work of our community first responders in each area.
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STUDENT PARAMEDICS GO BACK TO SCHOOL In April, former pupil and now Student Paramedic, Mark Campling, went back to The Forest School in Winnersh, Berkshire. Along with fellow Oxford Brookes University Student Paramedics, Charlie Bee, Luke Prout and Dylan Evans, Mark visited the school over two days and delivered CPR training and how to use a defibrillator to around 300 of the school’s current pupils in Years 7, 8 and 12.
FREEDOM OF ENTRY PARADE WINDSOR On Saturday 18 May, our staff – supported by St John Ambulance – enjoyed providing medical cover at the Freedom of Entry Parade by The Household Cavalry in Windsor. The event marked a “goodbye” to Windsor for The Household Cavalry which have been based at Combermere Barracks for over 200 years. Later this year they will move to new barracks on Salisbury Plain. Around 10-15,000 spectators attended the event.
Summer 2019
How are we doing? Ambulance Response Programme
Apr - Jun 2019 What does it mean? Category 1 – life-threatening calls. Responded to in an average (mean) of seven minutes and at least nine out of ten times within 15 minutes (90th percentile).
Category 3 – urgent calls. Responded to at least nine out of ten times within 120 minutes. You may be treated by ambulance staff at the scene.
Category 2 – emergency calls. Responded to in an average (mean) of 18 minutes and at least nine out of ten times within 40 minutes (90th percentile).
Category 4 – less urgent calls. Responded to at least nine out of ten times within 180 minutes. You may be given advice over the phone or referred to another service, such as a GP or pharmacist.
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Category 2
Category 1 Mean
Mean
07:01 (target 07:00)
17:19 (18:00)
Incidents 7,228
Incidents 69,781
90th Percentile
90th Percentile
34:48 (40:00)
12:39 (15:00)
Category 3
Category 4
90th Percentile
90th Percentile
02:03:56 (02:00:00) Incidents 43,345
Target achieved
02:56:54 (03:00:00) Incidents 2,558
Target missed
Summer 2019
Summer
Twenty Nineteen Please send articles, or ideas to communications@scas.nhs.uk along with any photos or images.
Wo rk
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Copy deadline for the next issue of Working Together is Friday 27 September 2019
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