Matters: What matters:
Matters Matters
Issue: Issue: 01 04
Autumn Autumn2009 2010
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Inside this issue: A message from our Chair p.03 / Patient transport crew are lifesavers too p.04 / All through the night courtesy of EMAS p.05 / Your health: Winter health p.06 / Your health: first aid basics p.07 / Meet the EMAS team p.08 / Meet an EMAS member p.09 / Our response to 999 calls p.10 / Help us to help you: Our patient transport service p.11 / Membership update p.12 / Listening to our members p.13 / Engaging with our communities p.14 / A bit of fun p.15
About FT Matters FT Matters is the quarterly magazine for all of our Foundation Trust members. FT Matters is here to keep you informed about East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) – from interesting news to helpful features about our services. As a member, we want to keep you up-to-date on your local ambulance service and encourage you to get involved. On the cover: Our emergency crews work together with the police, fire and rescue and our air ambulance to help a critically injured woman following an accident on the M69 in Leicestershire. Image used courtesy of Leicester Mercury Newspaper.
Produced by: EMAS Foundation Trust Team t: 0115 884 5254 e: ftmembers@emas.nhs.uk Edited by: Thom Hall, Assistant Communications Manager t: 0115 884 5131 e: thom.hall@emas.nhs.uk This is your magazine, so please get in touch with your ideas and feedback.
A greener EMAS FT Matters is printed on 120gsm uncoated papers, which is made from 100% recycled paper manufactured using only post-consumer waste. When you have finished with this issue, please recycle it.
Help us get greener FT Matters is also available electronically to reduce the need for printing. If you would rather receive an electronic copy then please let us know.
Alternative formats available If you would like this information in another language or in large print or audio then please call us on 0115 884 5254. The information contained in FT Matters was correct at the time of going to press. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect official service policy.
ft Matters Welcome
A message from our Chair Welcome to FT Matters The cover of this issue features a dramatic image following a crash on the M69 in Leicestershire this summer – showing our emergency crews working together with the police, fire and rescue and our air ambulance to help a critically injured woman. The image conveys exactly what we do as an emergency ambulance service – helping those in need – no matter who, where or at what time – every day of the year. This was one of the images that our Chief Executive Paul Phillips used to highlight the essential services we provide at our recent Annual General Meeting. The meeting also saw the launch of our latest Annual Review – a document
that outlines the past year at EMAS. Take a look at the back cover to find out how you can get hold of a copy. Since we published this review, we have heard that our ‘extenuating circumstances’ application to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been successful and they have recognised the impact of the harsh winter on our performance in 2009/10. As a consequence, our response time performance figures have been amended to 74.946% for Category A calls (the most serious and life
threatening) and 95.284% for Category B calls (serious but not immediately life threatening). You can find out more about our response to 999 calls on page 10. I hope you enjoy reading this Autumn issue of FT Matters. As ever, we welcome your comments and suggestions so that we can keep on improving the magazine for you. Best wishes
Chris Faircliffe Chris Faircliffe, Chair chris.faircliffe@emas.nhs.uk Pictured: Chris Faircliffe Picture credit: Red Cat Images
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ft Matters Good News
Patient transport crew are lifesavers too Lincolnshire staff revive heart attack victim mouth resuscitation until our emergency crew arrived on scene. Dr Woods - a consultant at Lincoln General Hospital and responder for LIVES also arrived at the scene having heard about the collapse on his radio.
EMAS Patient Transport Service (PTS) crew members Nigel Pellatt and Kevin Johnson were undertaking their normal day-to-day duties of transporting patients home after their hospital appointments when they came across a crowd of people on Hykeham Road, Lincoln. They saw that a member of the public was resuscitating a lady who had collapsed and so stopped to assist - taking with them
their defibrillator, oxygen and kit bag - which most PTS ambulance vehicles carry. Kevin explains: “When we got to the lady her face was dark purple and she wasn’t breathing – we knew we had to act fast.” Nigel then operated the defibrillator which told him to shock her straight away – after which her heart came back into a normal rhythm. He then continued to give mouth to
The lady was then stabilised and transferred to Lincoln General Hospital and Kevin and Nigel carried on with their usual patient transport duties. Nigel added “We had the opportunity to meet the lady a few days later when she had made a full recovery. It was very satisfying knowing that we had helped to save her life”. Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk Pictured: Ambulance Care Assistants Nigel Pellatt and Kevin Johnson Picture credit: Annie Palmer
ft Matters Good News
All through the night, courtesy of EMAS Out of hours home visiting service in Leicestershire and Rutland Extensive staff consultation has led to improvements in our Patient Transport Services (PTS) contract with the Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust (PCT) - helping us work together to provide out of hours GP care. PTS provide 4x4 response vehicles, driven by an Ambulance Care Assistant (ACA), to transport out of hours GPs to urgent calls from patients at home. They are trained in resuscitation as well as in the administration of some therapies and are able to take basic observations, whilst the doctor is consulting with the patient and deciding on the best treatment. The response vehicles – Honda CRVs – provide all weather, county wide cover from their bases at Loughborough,
Hinckley and Oakham Community Hospitals as well at The Meridian Business Park just off the M1 at Junction 21. The new arrangements are possible thanks to new longerterm staff rota arrangements which allow improved planning of the service and were decided upon after a period of extensive staff consultation and one-to-one meetings. The staff recognised the need for longer term and more consistent rotas and suggested the new processes themselves
during the consultation. The new rotas allow EMAS to work in partnership with the service to provide essential cover to the people of Leicestershire and Rutland. Sally Thearle Communications Manager sally.thearle@emas.nhs.uk Pictured: Dr Nicholas Willmott of Castle Mead Medical Centre, Hinckley and EMAS ACA Jo Moore. Picture credit: Hollis Photography
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ft Matters Your Health
Winter Health Useful tips to help your body deal with cold weather this winter: Colds and Flu You can help prevent colds by washing your hands regularly. This destroys bugs that you may have picked up from touching surfaces used by other people, such as light switches and door handles. It’s also important to keep the house and any household items, such as cups, glasses and towels, clean, especially if someone in your house is ill. Vulnerable people such as those aged 65 and over and people with long-term health conditions including diabetes and kidney disease are particularly at risk of seasonal flu. The best way to prevent getting flu is to have the seasonal flu jab. It gives good protection against flu and lasts for one year. Look out for jabs available from your local GP.
Pictured: Our ambulance crews respond in all weathers.
Norovirus Also known as the winter vomiting bug, Norovirus is an extremely infectious stomach bug. It can strike all year round, but is more common in winter and in places such as hotels and schools. The illness is unpleasant but it’s usually over within a couple of days. When people are ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, it’s important to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
increase blood pressure and put more strain on the heart. Your heart also has to work harder to maintain body heat when it’s cold. Stay warm in your home. Keep the main rooms you use at 21C (70F) and use a hot water bottle or electric blanket to keep warm in bed. Wrap up warm when you go out and wear a hat, scarf and gloves.
Keep warm, keep well
For more information on winter please visit www.nhs. uk/livewell/winterhealth
Heart attacks are more common in winter. This may be because cold snaps
Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk
ft Matters Your Health
First Aid Basics Helpful advice that could make all the difference Every year in the UK, thousands of people die or are seriously injured in accidents. Many of these deaths could have been prevented if first aid was given at the scene before our emergency crews arrive. The priorities when helping a casualty following an accident can be remembered as DRAB: Danger: First check that you and the casualty are not in any danger and, if so, make the situation safe. When safe, assess the casualty and if necessary dial 999 for an ambulance. Response: If the casualty looks to be unconscious, check this by asking them loudly if they are OK and if they can open their eyes. If there is a response then you can leave the casualty in the position they are in until help arrives. If there is no response, leave the
casualty in the position they are in and open their airway. If this is not possible in the position they are in, gently lay the casualty on their back and open the airway. Airway: If you need to open the airway, this can be done by placing one hand on the casualty’s forehead and gently tilting the head back, then lifting the chin using two fingers. This is to move the tongue away from the back of the mouth. Breathing: To check if a person is still breathing, look to see that the casualty’s chest is rising and falling, listen for breathing and see if you can feel breath against your cheek for 10 seconds. If they are breathing, place them into the recovery position so the airway remains clear of obstructions. Remember, as soon as you notice that a casualty has stopped breathing,
dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service. We offer a range of first aid training courses which will help you know what exactly what to do when someone has an accident or in an emergency situation. Visit www.emas.nhs.uk/ training or call 0115 919 3409 to find out more. Thom Hall Assistant Communications Manager thom.hall@emas.nhs.uk Pictured: EMAS First Aid Tutor demonstrates CPR to student. Picture credit: Thom Hall
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ft Matters People
EMAS
Meet the EMAS team In this section of FT Matters, we meet a member of EMAS staff. This time we chat to David Patrick, who has worked at EMAS for three years as a Patient Transport Driver. Can you tell us a bit about your role in EMAS? I transport patients to hospital and back home for their appointments at hospital or a treatment centre. I have regular patients who are having dialysis as they come to hospital three times a week. On an average day I’ll do six runs picking up 18 people per day. I also occasionally transport patients from the East Midlands to their appointments in other parts of the country. What is the best part of your role? That no two days are the same. Each morning I’m
given my ‘planned’ routes for the day but that doesn’t guarantee that this is what I will have done by the end of the day. For example a patient may be discharged from hospital in the day and need taking home so my routes will be amended to accommodate this. I like meeting different people and love listening to people’s life stories. If you could improve EMAS services to patients in one way, what would that be? I would like more comfortable vehicles for the patients. Also, I’m not sure if this would be possible, but some how if the council could
let us know when they are digging up a road. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to pick a patient up and being delayed again when you get a diversion which takes you miles out and adds more time to the journey - which can affect you for the rest of the day. What do the EMAS values mean to you? I think Respect is important – it has to be a two-way thing for both staff and patients. Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk
ft Matters People
Meet an EMAS member In this section of FT Matters, we meet one of our public members. This time we chat to Sarah Elphick from Kings Mill Hospital, Nottinghamshire Pictured: Sarah Elphick
How did you hear about EMAS membership? I was at the Ashfield Health Day last year and saw the display by EMAS. I wanted to find out more and so signed up. What attracted you to becoming a member of EMAS? As I work in the NHS I was interested in learning about another aspect of the health service and the developments within the ambulance service. Have you ever needed to use the ambulance service? Although I’ve not used the ambulance service,
my grandma is a regular user. She suffers from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) - a chest condition - which means she regularly uses the patient transport service to go to her appointments at hospital. The staff always look after her and they are so helpful and friendly towards her. For us as her family it’s reassuring to know that she is safe whenever she has an appointment. On occasion when her condition is bad we’ve had to call upon the emergency side too and again the service that she’s received
has been amazing. This is why I wanted to be involved and support the service. Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk Picture credit: Annie Palmer
“As I work in the NHS I was interested in learning about another aspect of the health service and the developments within the ambulance service.”
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ft Matters Your ambulance service
Our response to 999 calls How many do we get and how quickly do we respond? We received 692,936 calls for help in 2009/10 - on average, one request every 45 seconds, 24/7 and 365 days of the year. EMAS takes 999 calls from the general public and also calls and requests from healthcare professionals such as family doctors (GPs). We categorise the calls we receive in the following way (this categorisation is shared across all ambulance service NHS trusts in England): Category A The patient’s presenting conditions may be immediately life-threatening and so he/she should receive an emergency response within 8 minutes in 75% of cases throughout the Trust over a full year. Presenting conditions which require a fully equipped ambulance
vehicle to attend the incident must have the vehicle arrive within 19 minutes of the request for transport being made in 95% of cases, unless the EMAS control room determines that an ambulance is not required. Category B Here, the patient’s presenting conditions though serious are not immediately life-threatening, and so he/ she must receive a response within 19 minutes in 95% of cases. Category C The patient’s presenting conditions are neither life threatening nor immediately serious and require a response within four hours. Urgent cases In addition to emergency 999 calls, EMAS is required to take patients to hospital where a doctor, midwife or
other healthcare professional identifies the need as “urgent.” These calls are prioritised and classified in the same way as emergency 999 calls. To find out more about our service visit www.emas.nhs. uk/our-services Robert Walker Assistant Director Communications and Community Relations robert.walker@emas.nhs.uk Picture credit: Our 999 control room in Nottingham Picture credit: Hollis Photography
ft Matters Your ambulance service
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Help us to help you:
Our Patient Transport Service Taking you to your appointment: We aim to collect patients no more than 90 minutes prior to the appointment. If patients live a long way from the hospital, or are travelling out of the county, this may vary. Simple steps you can take to help Every year our vital nonemergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) takes people with a medical need to and from NHS healthcare premises throughout our area. Most journeys are booked in advance of the day of travel. We have a fleet of 220 PTS vehicles and in 2009/10 we undertook just under 1.2million journeys and covered 10million ‘patient miles’. If you ever need to use the service, there are simple steps you can take to help us:
Ready or not? Please be ready to leave when we collect you. Any additional time you take may mean that you and your fellow travellers may be late for your appointments. Important things to take with you: Remember to bring your appointment card or referral letter, any current medication, keys to your house and money for a drink or sandwich. If you are being admitted, remember your overnight bag. Here to help you: Our staff will escort you into the hospital or clinic when
you arrive and if needed, will help you to the appropriate waiting area. You will only be allowed to bring someone with you if you have a medical need and it is pre-booked and authorised by your clinic or GP. Taking you home: Our crew will collect you from the clinic waiting area for your journey home so please report there when you are ready. Please note that we are only allowed to transport you between your home and the relevant hospital treatment centre - we are not able to drop you off at an alternative location. Next Issue: Seeing ambulance services in a different light Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk Pictured: One of our PTS vehicles Picture credit: Hollis Photography
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ft Matters Members
Membership update With FT Membership Manager Annie Palmer In October we held our first members engagement event along with Kettering General Hospital (KGH). EMAS General Manager for Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire Richard Clayton was on hand to talk to members about the ambulance service, while Dr Angela Dancock gave a talk about life in an A&E department. KGH Membership Manager Donna Hunnings said: “The event was well attended and we received excellent feedback from attendees with an invitation to go again next year”. While Richard added “It was certainly a worthwhile event and it was lovely to have the opportunity to talk directly to our members.” Over the winter months we will be arranging more events for you to come along to – so look
out for more details in our next issue of FT Matters.
We would like to hear from you Would you like to share your experience of using the ambulance service? If you have used either our emergency or patient transport services we would love to know more about your experience so that we can share them in future issues of FT Matters. We would also like to know what type of articles you would like to see covered in future issues. Please email us at ftmembers@emas.nhs.uk or call 0115 884 5253. Annie Palmer FT Membership Manager annie.palmer@emas.nhs.uk Picture credit: Annie Palmer Pictured: Richard Clayton at our first members engagement event
ft Matters Members
Listening to
our members Here are some extracts from some of the many letters we’ve received from our members recently: Mrs T
Mrs P, Lincoln
I would like to commend three members of your staff. Paramedics were called to our house by my husband as he thought I was having problems with my heart. The first paramedic arrived swiftly and was calm and reassuring. I believe his nickname was “Foggy”. He was great! Next to arrive was the ambulance driver Rachel, she was very competent. The superstar of the evening was Michelle. She was confident, reassuring and so good at her job. She was with me in the ambulance as we went to hospital. I would like to say “thank you” to them. They probably don’t remember as it was a while ago. Thank you once again. Keep up the great work!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the two male paramedics who came to my aid after a fall at Bransby. They took me to Lincoln County Hospital and they were both very nice and helpful. Mrs B, Lincoln On a number of occasions I have needed to call for help on behalf of my husband. I found the ambulance arrived promptly and the staff were kind, professional and helpful. In fact I can’t really praise them enough. I hope that the new NHS Foundation Trust status will enable you to continue delivering this excellent service.
Rebecca Meats FT Support Officer rebecca.meats@emas.nhs.uk
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ft Matters Involvement
Engaging with our communities Meeting the needs of our communities is central to all we do at EMAS. We have just launched our new five year strategy to help us to do more work with the community, including patient groups. We do a lot of community engagement work, for example, school visits, taking stalls to festivals and events, outreach work with groups, Foundation Trust membership activities and falls and accident prevention work. The good thing is that everyone in the Trust has the opportunity to be involved – lots of people already are – and the strategy will help us to do even better. On 1 - 2 November we held two ‘Community in Unity’ events in Nottinghamshire - a joint engagement initiative between local
NHS organisations which was an opportunity to meet communities to discuss issues that matter to them and provide an opportunity for dialogue and debate. We received many interesting ideas and views and we are now looking at how we can action some of them. We are going to hold similar events to this in each of the counties EMAS covers within the next few months. Look out for further news on our events in the next issue. If you would like to find out more, have any ideas for engagement and wish to be involved please contact Kay Smith on kay.smith@emas. nhs.uk or 0115 884 5002 Kay Smith, Community Engagement Officer kay.smith@emas.nhs.uk
“We do a lot of community engagement work – school visits for example, taking stalls at festivals and events, outreach work with groups, our Foundation Trust membership work, falls and accident prevention work.”
ft Matters A bit of fun
A bit of fun
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Down
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Find ParaTed
Have a go at our NEW crossword!
1 2 3 5 6 8 12 16 17 18 19 20 23 25 26 27 29 30
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ParaTed hides in every issue of FT Matters‌ did you spot him? ParaTed is our cuddly 999 recruit who helps take away some of the fear children can experience when they need emergency treatment and care. Visit www.emas.nhs.uk/ft to let us know where ParaTed was hiding!
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FT Matters Magazine
What matters:
We hope you have enjoyed our magazine. We’re always looking for new ways to improve the way we communicate with, engage and involve our members and would love to hear your thoughts. Please getipsum in touch: Lorem / Dolor sit
Matters
Email us at: ftmembers@emas.nhs.uk Call us on: 0115 884 5254 Visit us at:
Issue: 01
www.emas.nhs.uk/ft
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Autumn 2009
Contacting EMAS
In the event of an emergency – always call 999 An emergency situation could include: chest pain, difficulty in breathing, loss of consciousness, severe loss of blood, choking, severe allergic reactions, fitting/convulsions, road traffic accidents.
Main headline to go here. Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Confidential help, advice, support and information on health-related matters to patients, their families and their carers who are using any aspect of the ambulance service. Call: 0845 299 4112
Email: pals.office@emas.nhs.uk
Lorem dolor sit Ouripsum Annual Review 2009/10 amet, consectetur. Our latest Annual Review provides an outline of the EMAS year – highlighting our priorities, our care and our achievements. Such as how many calls for help we received, how many patient transport journeys we made and details of how we are continuing to improve services for the people of the East Midlands. It also includes viewpoints from some of our front line staff who are out there caring for our patients all day, everyday. If you would like a copy of the new review, or a batch to give to a local community group you are involved with, please call us on 0115 884 5254 or email ftmembers@emas.nhs.uk
design & concept by Fresh* Communications t: 0116 2541351
T h e m a g a z i n e f o r o u r s t a fe:falf@freshcom.co.uk and community