Working Together April 2015

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

A DAY LIKE NO OTHER APRIL 2015

Team work

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Innovation

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Professionalism

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Caring

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HOW SCAS IS SUPPORTING TOBY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH - AN AED

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SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH VISITS SCAS

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LIFE CHANGES...

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SCAS HART CELEBRATES 4TH BIRTHDAY 3

SCAS LABOUR LINE WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE 4

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The Labour Line – a phone line for women in labour launched a year ago by South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) NHS Foundation Trust and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – won the prestigious Royal College of Midwives Excellence in Maternity Care Award at a national ceremony held earlier this month.

The 24 Hour Labour Line – the first of its kind in the country – allows pregnant women to call a midwife at any time of day or night should they go into labour. The Labour Line, based at the SCAS Emergency Operations Centre in Otterbourne, Hampshire, is staffed 24-7 by experienced midwives.

Any pregnant mum-to-be who is booked in for a birth at one of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s three hospital sites in Andover, Basingstoke or Winchester, can speak to a midwife directly by calling the Labour Line. Previously, they would have telephoned their community midwife, Maternity Centre, Delivery Suite, Day Assessment Unit or Labour Ward. Thanks to the Labour Line, they now only need to call one number to speak to a midwife.

The service now receives on average around 35 calls per day, but at peak times can take up to 60 calls a day. Over the last year, the Labour Line has diverted 18,000 calls that would have been made to labour wards at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and also reduced unnecessary 999 calls to SCAS.

Tony Peters, Head of Emergency Operations Centre at Otterbourne, said: “I’m delighted that this innovative partnership between SCAS and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised by the Royal College of Midwives. “Staff on the Labour Line are looking forward to telling ITV Meridian viewers more about the invaluable reassurance and service they provide at a time that can understandably be quite fraught for pregnant women, their partners and families.”

“The Labour Line has been a great success and shows how forward thinking and close partnership working between different parts of the NHS can create real benefits for both organisations, but more importantly, for patients too. Should we receive calls relating to pregnancy or women in labour that come in via our own NHS111 or 999 services, we can pass these directly to the experienced midwives on the Labour Line. This provides reassurance for the caller that they are speaking to an expert who knows exactly the right questions to ask and can advise on the most appropriate and safe response.

It allows our emergency operations centre staff, and frontline paramedics, to have more time to respond to other non-pregnancy related emergency and non-emergency calls that come in.”

The success of the Labour Line, together with the national award it won from the Royal College of Midwives, was also featured in March on ITV Meridian. The broadcaster visited Southern House on Monday 16 March meeting and filming staff working on the Labour Line, as well as talking to women who have used the service about the real difference it makes to them.

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH - AN AED 6

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Sam Mangoro with Andy Burnham, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Gillian Hodgetts, Deputy Director of Communications and Marketing at South Central Ambulance Service.

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APRIL 15 South Central Ambulance Service was delighted to be invited by our colleagues at the North West Ambulance Service to attend a special event held at the House of Commons at the end of January 2015.

The event was hosted by Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, and was designed to raise awareness at Westminster of the importance of having more people with life-saving skills and more life-saving equipment in the community; doing so would undoubtedly save more lives from those who suffer a cardiac arrest.

With up to 175,000 heart attacks in the UK each year, every three minutes in this country someone, somewhere is suffering a heart attack1. Only one in ten of those people who suffer a cardiac arrest out of a hospital environment survive.

Whilst there is legislation in the UK covering the provision, placement and use of fire extinguishers, no such provision exists in relation to Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) or Basic Lifesaving Skills (BLS).

Speakers at the event outlined the need to make cardiac screening available to all children, to ensure that children leave school with simple life saving skills, to make it a requirement to have public access AEDs in all areas of high footfall, to raise awareness in communities and to ensure NHS ambulance services lead the campaign to develop and implement a national strategy for community resuscitation and resilience.

Sam Mangoro was one of those speaking at the event and had a very poignant story to tell the assembled audience. When Sam was 16, he suffered a cardiac arrest at The Mountbatten School in Southampton, in March 2014 during a PE lesson.

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His teacher began CPR on him before being joined by colleagues who were able to give Sam shocks from the school’s recently installed defibrillator.

SCAS crews quickly arrived on the scene and continued to treat Sam and stabilise him before he was transported to Southampton General Hospital where he spent several weeks. He was initially put into a medically induced coma before being treated in intensive care and a cardiac ward. Sam has since had an internal defibrillator fitted to help prevent another cardiac arrest.

At the end of the event the pledge boards were littered with support from MPs and VIP guests and Andy Burnham described it as the best event he had attended, going on to say:

“IT’S GREAT TO MEET PEOPLE ON THE GROUND THAT ARE REALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE, FULL OF PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON HOW PARLIAMENT CAN SAVE THOUSANDS OF LIVES. IT WILL BRING FORWARD MUCH NEEDED CHANGE WHICH IS THE KEY TO MAKING THE COUNTRY MUCH SAFER.”

Source: British Heart Foundation, Cardiovascular Disease Statistics Factsheet, Updated 13 February 2015

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SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH VISITS SCAS 10

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SOUTH CENTRAL AMBULANCE SERVICE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (SCAS) WAS PRIVILEGED TO HOST A VISIT FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JEREMY HUNT ON THURSDAY 5 MARCH. MR HUNT SPENT TIME WITH THE NHS 111 SERVICE IN NORTHERN HOUSE AND VISITED EOC. During his visit Mr Hunt met with members of staff from the NHS 111 service and took time to listen to calls and talk to them about the service they provide.

His visit culminated in an opportunity to meet with Will Hancock, Chief Executive, Sue Byrne, Chief Operating Officer, John Black Medical Director and Lynda Lambourne, Assistant Director of 111.

Chief Executive, Will Hancock said “Jeremy Hunt was interested in our views of how we can further extend our services to help patients access the services they need and to most effectively manage demand across the system.

“He was very impressed by what he saw and the staff he spoke with.”

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the organisation of this visit.

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ePR REFLECT AND PROGRESS 12

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6 MONTHS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FIRST ELECTRONIC PATIENT RECORDS (EPR) IN MILTON KEYNES AND THEREFORE A SIGNIFICANT THRESHOLD HAS BEEN REACHED TO REFLECT AND PROGRESS REFLECT 45,000 electronic patient records have been completed and ePR is now ‘live’ at 14 out of 23 Resource Centres. 1,300 calls now feature on the ePR Helpdesk Issues Log. These are currently being analysed to drive and populate some FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for future Staff Matters publications. But the key themes appear to be around: èè Printing èè Connection èè Downloading patient and incident details èè Referrals.

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PROGRESS In addition to these key query trends some best-practice themes have emerged as we progress towards Trust-wide ePR compliance by June 2015. èè Remember to sign before closing – the record cannot be reopened once signed unless, for example, an ECP has been requested and will attend later in which case they can reopen once despatched èè Information is more useable if a CAD look-up/PDS (Personal Demographic Search) is conducted rather than entering information manually. If connectivity is not available for this it can be done later once the vehicle has moved to create a purer medical record. Having a NHS number will also help when looking up previous ePRs in the future for a patient and accessing the summary care record. èè Use the Helpdesk rather than ‘asking around’ as this provides better collation of the trends and empowers a more satisfactory resolution èè The Clinician that signs must be the Clinician that is logged in.

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Some of these best-practice themes will help as the project progresses to accessing the Summary Care Record (SCR) which includes past medical history and medications. We will be the first Ambulance Trust accessing this information through an electronic patient record device.

Furthermore there are some key changes on the horizon to improve delivery: èè Camera functionality enabled (March 2015) - Guidelines are already in draft form èè Access to previous ePRs through the device (May 2015) èè New forms (March 2015) èè The option to print advice leaflets if absolutely necessary èè Version 4.2.3 has recently been released resolving a number of the glitches identified through the Helpdesk, demonstrating the effectiveness of this work-flow

SUMMARY The introduction of the ePR was ‘billed’ as one of the most significant changes to clinician practice we might encounter during our career, the one piece of equipment we use on every patient, and was the source of great anxiety to some. In that context transition has gone relatively smoothly and is a credit to the leadership of the project but mostly the willingness of staff to adapt to and positively develop this integrated patient care platform.

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NHS FRIENDS AND FAMILY TEST TO EXPAND 18

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THE NHS FRIENDS AND FAMILY TEST (FFT) IS SET TO EXPAND FROM 1 APRIL 2015.

All NHS organisations providing acute, community, ambulance and mental health services are required to implement the Friends and Family Test (FFT) and report responses nationally.

BACKGROUND The Prime Minister announced the introduction of the FFT in May 2012, with two broad aims of: èè Encouraging improvements in service delivery – by “driving hospitals to raise their game”. èè Increasing transparency by enabling patients and the public to readily access and compare scores for different providers and services – to “give everyone a really clear idea of where they can get the best care”.

The introduction of the FFT was based on recommendations from the Nursing and Care Quality Forum after consulting frontline nurses, care staff and patients.

The FFT is a simple feedback tool which allows patients and staff to give their feedback on the NHS services provided. The FFT asks how likely patients and staff are to recommend the services they have received, or work in, to friends and family who need similar treatment or care to that which they have received or deliver.

Participants respond to FFT using a response scale, ranging from “extremely unlikely” to “extremely likely”.

However, the FFT is much more than just a score. It strengthens staff and patients voices and acts as a catalyst to ask ‘Why’?

‘Why have we been awarded this score?’ and ‘What does this feedback tell us?’ which in turn enables us to improve the services we provide to our patients.

EXPANSION The FFT has now been operating for two years in some healthcare settings and has so far received over five million pieces of feedback from patients. SCAS already surveys PTS patients.

The FFT will be implemented in the following service areas across England from 1 April: èè Ambulance services èè Patient Transport Services (PTS) èè Acute outpatients, day-case patients, walk-in centres and minor injury units èè Dental practices Feedback to NHS England is indicating that the FFT is having a positive effect on the morale of hard working healthcare professionals.

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HOW SCAS IS SUPPORTING TOBY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY 21

DRAVET SYNDROME IS A LIFE LIMITING GENETIC CONDITION THAT CAUSES SEIZURES ALONGSIDE OTHER CONDITIONS SUCH AS LEARNING DISABILITY, ATAXIA (UNSTEADINESS) AND AUTISM. Until their son Toby was two months old, Tim and Kim O’Grady from Olney in Buckinghamshire, had not heard of Dravet Syndrome, never mind be able to explain what such a diagnosis meant. However, all that changed at bath time one evening when Toby completely unexpectedly had a seizure.

“Up till that point”, says Tim, “he’d been a normal baby boy so when the seizure happened it took Kim and I completely by surprise. He’d come out of it relatively quickly – though of course it seemed like a long time for us – so we dialled 111 and they passed us over to a paramedic who advised we should attend A&E. I can imagine there must have been an element of ‘neurotic first parents’ especially as when we got there Toby seemed to be completely back to normal.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a one-off and was the first in a regular series of seizures that had SCAS attending the O’Grady’s home on a frequent basis. Initially the drugs that Toby had been put on were given to him as it was thought he may be suffering from a form of epilepsy. However, the medication made his seizures worse and meant more paramedics from SCAS’ MK and Bletchley Resource Centres coming out to treat Toby and, depending on the severity of the attack, more trips to the A&E department at Milton Keynes Hospital.

After further tests and following a referral to a neurologist at The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Toby was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome in June 2014. Tim had begun keeping a note of the medicines and treatments that had been tried with Toby and didn’t work, or made him worse, along with those that helped him through each seizure.

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“WHEN THE SEIZURE HAPPENED IT TOOK KIM AND I COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE”

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The frequency of the seizures, along with Tim and Kim’s growing understanding of the condition and which actions and medicines Toby best responded to, helped develop a close bond between the family and one of the Milton Keynes Resource Centre leaders, Paul Evans.

“I first became aware of Toby after a few crews had attended him and were reporting back to base”, recalls Paul. “Toby’s condition was something we had no familiarity with so one of the team undertook some independent study and research into Dravet Syndrome and helped disseminate this around the station to all crews so that we began to become more aware, and better prepared, as to how to help the family when they needed us.”

The MK and Bletchley Resource Centres partner to ensure optimal coverage across Milton Keynes. As a result, Paul works within in a team of over 100 and can, at any one time, have up to 10 ambulances and three rapid response vehicles available for emergencies. It has been a concerted effort by Paul and his colleagues across both Resource Centres therefore to ensure that all paramedics, emergency care assistants and technicians in both stations have been briefed on Toby’s condition and how to respond on arrival at the O’Grady family home.

“Most of the drugs and medication that Tim and Kim give to Toby in an emergency are not known to us”, says Paul.

“They’re not something we would routinely carry or be able to administer. Therefore, it was important for us, bearing in mind the distance Olney is from our area, that we did something more to ensure that we gave Toby the best possible care, and his parents the best possible support, that we could.”

Working with the notes Tim and Kim had already been compiling for Toby, Paul and his colleague, Emma Hildrew, a Clinical Mentor, developed those into a more robust treatment and care plan, based on advice from Toby’s neurologist. The information was added as a feature to the family’s address on the Emergency Operations Centre system.

“There wasn’t complete reluctance to listen to us obviously” says Tim, “but turning up in any A&E department as a parent with a list of ‘does and don’ts’ in terms of medicines and treatments, well, let’s just say that there was some scepticism from some of the people that we dealt with. That’s why we’re so grateful for the time that Paul put in with us to turn our information in to an authorised care plan that now goes in with Toby every time he ends up at A&E.”

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APRIL 15 The care plan, on SCAS letterhead paper, details Toby’s medical notes, identifies the emergency care plan drugs he can have and, just as crucially, those that he must not be given, along with key contact details for the family, his GP, paediatrician, neurologist, complex needs nurse and social worker. It also lists all his current medication and the drugs that have been tried historically.

“We don’t have to repeat ourselves now at A&E and the SCAS care plan has that authority with all doctors and nurses that perhaps our previous notes didn’t with some of them. It’s made such a difference to how we approach each emergency trip and is, thankfully, one less thing we have to worry about”, says Kim. The O’Grady’s home is at the very edge of the MK and Bletchley Resource Centre area meaning response times can be 15-20 minutes, especially when Toby has a seizure during the evening rush hour when the single carriage way into Olney from Milton Keynes is usually nose-to-tail traffic. Toby’s parents are also both able to administer Toby’s emergency medication in a number of ways and have a range of other medical equipment to hand at home when needed.

“We’ve obviously seen a lot of the SCAS team from Milton Keynes”, says Kim, “and they are all brilliant. We’ve been looked after in A&E by members of the team who have been booked on a break but have taken the time to look after us as ‘Mum and Dad’. When something new or different happens with one of Toby’s seizures, the SCAS paramedics don’t take over, instead they advise us as we’re treating Toby.

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On one occasion after Toby had recovered from one of his earliest seizures, the paramedic took Tim out to his car and went through all the information the station had on our address and re-wrote it until it was 100% correct. This made it much easier for subsequent call outs both for SCAS and for us. These and numerous other incidents just increases the confidence we have as parents that Toby is getting absolutely the best care and support possible. We feel that everyone in the MK Ambulance Station knows Toby well and that sort of reassurance for us is incredible.”

Since Toby’s seizures started the level of trust and understanding shown by all the SCAS paramedics that have attended in emergencies has been greatly appreciated by his parents.

“They always do the right thing – they know what to say, they know how to approach us. Kim and I administer Toby’s drugs for his emergency care as it’s often stronger than the paramedics are allowed to carry or give. They tend to always come in, talk to us on the same level and let us lead in that part which I really admire them for”, Tim adds. “When Toby has a seizure that affects his breathing and is life-threatening then that’s when we need their skills and expertise to make sure they get Toby quickly and safely into hospital.”

The O’Grady’s have set up Toby’s Trust – a fund where the donations from fundraising events that family and friends have held can be channelled. The decision to set up the fund was taken in order to ensure that the family would be able to call on additional financial resources to help Toby make the most of his life as he grows up.

Dravet Syndrome can affect different children in different ways in the long-term. Toby’s Trust ensures that in the future the family will have the funds, if needed, for things like specialist equipment, alternative therapies or house adaptations to make Toby’s life as rich and fulfilling as possible.

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“Most of us, fortunately, have very little if any involvement with the emergency services”, says Tim. “It’s very scary the first time you have to call them because you’re faced with a situation that is dangerous and there isn’t anyone else who can help. When SCAS turn up at the door – it doesn’t matter who it is – we get a real sense of relief. What they do is not just fantastic medical support, but they listen to us as parents and take a lead from us. They understand that there isn’t an automatic default every time for Toby to be taken to hospital. With his age and condition, there is a higher risk that every time he goes in to hospital he might acquire an infection which could lead to an even longer stay. Not only have we found the SCAS team very professional, but they are extremely caring. They, like us, want to do the best for Toby and – having experienced emergency medical situations in other hospitals and ambulance services – we know that whoever is at the door from SCAS they will always go above and beyond what we expect.”

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YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TOBY AND DRAVET SYNDROME AT WWW.TOBYSTRUST.ORG

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M40 INCIDENT Saturday 14 February was a day like no other for the emergency crews of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS).

At 7.48am SCAS’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Bicester, Oxfordshire, began receiving 999 calls detailing a multi-vehicle collision on the M40 northbound between junctions 9 and 10.

Information given by callers soon made it clear that this collision involved at least 30 vehicles–including cars and lorries.

Staff in Bicester EOC immediately started despatching a range of resources to the scene including ambulances, Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs), ambulance officers, the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, BASICS Doctors, PTS vehicles, SCAS’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) as well as mutual aid from South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT).

Following protocol, SCAS quickly declared the situation a Major Incident (MI) given its scale and severity.

SCAS resources arrived at scene and worked quickly and effectively alongside other emergency services – Thames Valley Police (TVP) and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS) to assess and treat all patients.

Sadly, one person, a male in his sixties, lost his life in the accident.

Yet the caring nature and professionalism of SCAS crews was at the fore whilst they worked tirelessly for the injured. One person sustained critical injuries, six were in a serious condition, another six sustained minor injuries and 49 further individuals were assessed and treated at the scene.

Once patients were assessed, treated and stabilised at the scene, they were conveyed to the nearest hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital and Horton General Hospital – according to their clinical needs.

Not only did the teamwork amongst SCAS crews act as a strength that day for best patient outcome, but this was underpinned

by SCAS crews working brilliantly in partnership with fellow emergency service colleagues.

Tony Heselton, Tactical Commander at the incident from SCAS commented: “Despite the challenging and distressing situation that unfolded SCAS crews, in partnership with colleagues from Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, worked efficiently and effectively to release and treat all those patients who had been affected by this serious incident ensuring that patients received the most appropriate care as quickly as possible.

“We commend all our crews who attended for their professionalism throughout.

In addition, we would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public at the scene who assisted those injured.”

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LIFE CHANGES

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APRIL 15 I have been in the ambulance service for just over 22 years, currently working as a Team Leader in North Hampshire. We all have challenges in life and this is my tale. Hopefully it will be of interest to those that know me and maybe a little for those that don’t.

Back in the later months of 2008 I experienced some symptoms my doctor attributed to an acute back injury. The symptoms changed as the weeks went on and to cut a long story short I eventually attended Southampton A&E with a referral from my GP with query cauda-equina compression. I was sent for an emergency MRI scan which they warned me would take about 15-20 minutes I was told to be prepared for the enclosed environment, not something I relished. I went into the machine and listened to music through the headphones, trying hard not to think of the metal confined space I was encapsulated in. I imagined being at the front of a boat with my arms stretched out like the iconic titanic scene and it worked pretty well up until when the music changed and into my ears played “Under Pressure” by Queen! At that point I realised I had been in the MRI for substantially longer than 20 minutes. After something like 45 minutes I was released and returned to the A&E department. I was put into a side room and visited by the A&E doctor who apologised for the lengthy MRI but they had detected ‘plaques’ on my spinal cord that they had not expected. I didn’t have cauda-equina, I had evidence of multiple sclerosis. I was floored by the revelation, thud……….

In the early part of 2009 what then ensued was a series of tests and examinations that, to put it mildly, were not all that pleasant. I was discharged from neuro and visited the consultant a few weeks later to be given the results of all the tests and a definitive diagnosis. I already knew the answer; the weird symptoms I had experienced over several years could now be explained. So there it was, is, I have MS, what now I thought? A life of misery and the inevitable prospect of life in a wheel chair? The thoughts I’m sure some of you may be having now as you read this. But my consultant was pretty straight talking and said “your symptoms are very mild so go from here and live life as normal because if you think too much about what might happen it probably won’t and you’ve then wasted your life!” So no wallowing in self-pity, I would just get on with it. Thinking that one way to do that was not to tell everyone in my world, I decided to only tell my family and close friends.

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Over the years the numbers in the know have expanded a little; thank you to my managers that have remained confidants of my situation for many years. People say that there’s no secrets in the ambulance service but when it counted my wishes were respected and so I thank you.

So why now declare my life situation to everyone? I don’t intend to be a crusader for the MS society and I have had no sudden urge to start running, something a friend asked me when I told her about the MS. “So does this mean you will start climbing mountains and running marathons for charity?”

No, it’s simply because I don’t feel I have a situation so why not? When I was first diagnosed I did think this was the end of my career but now, nearly seven years later I am living proof that MS is not the end. MS is chronic, meaning it’s there for life, it doesn’t mean it should be the end of life, I consider myself very fortunate.

If I can change any one person’s perception and expectations of MS then it’s worth it. It’s a little known fact that only 15% of people with the disease end up in a wheelchair, also there are different types of MS not all of which have the same symptoms or outcomes. As it goes the only activity I have personally had to give up is skiing, a big one for me but the only one. I have had this disease for several years now and it hasn’t hindered my ability to do my job and I hope it won’t for some time to come. I like to think the MS hasn’t carved my future but in many ways it has; I enrolled on my ECP degree back in 2011 to give me options for the future and the recent HALO post has given me a respite or ‘HALO holiday’ as I like call it! I am able to do my TL job but I just wanted to step back and re-evaluate my future in the ambulance service, something I’m sure many of you have done at one point or another?

So there it is, you may have known I was a ‘bit special’ but now you know just how much!

If you feel you want to run a marathon or climb a mountain please consider the MS Society as a charity, they provide valuable support guidance and research for people much worse off than me.

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Clare Hindley North Hampshire Team Leader Emergency Care Practitioner

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“SO THERE IT IS, YOU MAY HAVE KNOWN I WAS A ‘BIT SPECIAL’ BUT NOW YOU KNOW JUST HOW MUCH!”

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SCAS HART CELEBRATES 4TH BIRTHDAY 34

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On 31 January 2015 SCAS the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) celebrated their 4th birthday and the launch of their very own twitter feed @SCAS_HART. Since the inception of HART in 2011 the team have gone from strength to strength seeing more applicants being interested in the role of HART operative than ever before.

It has been a very exciting year in HART, and during this financial year we expect them to have to attended over 1000 across our four counties of Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire. The top three types of incidents they are dispatched to include Road Traffic Collisions, domestic fire related calls requiring medical assistance and providing support to frontline ambulance crews at emergency incidents. In the last 12 months they have worked in partnership with frontline crews at many high profile incidents such as the floods and adverse weather of early 2014. In February 2014 they attended a seafront restaurant where they rescued and treated 20 casualties who’d become trapped in the restaurant by the dangerous storm raging on the south coast.

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They set up a medical unit at Wraysbury during the floods which saw the team responding in the village around the clock providing medical cover and response to those stranded by the flood water and more recently their attendance at a spate of fires in Oxfordshire. The team have also been called to assist outside of the SCAS area including providing support to patients in Dorset, Wiltshire, Surrey, Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

During the last year the teams have been asked to be involved in more training sessions with frontline staff, with requests coming from other organisations to train / educate their staff in the capabilities of HART. We are really pleased that the success of this training has shown itself through continued requests for training and multiple nominations in last years AMBIES awards.

SCAS HART now have their own twitter feed, and in its first month they have seen over 400 people / organisations follow them. If you’re interested in knowing more about SCAS HART and their work just follow them on Twitter at @SCAS_HART.

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HART FACTS AND FIGURES èè SCAS HART launched on 31 January 2011 èè Currently 40 staff work for SCAS HART – of the 40 staff 7 are women èè Staff work 12 hour shifts èè They work across 7 close knit teams, each team has a Team Leader, Team Educator and HART Operatives èè HART have a selection of specialist vehicles e.g. the Polaris is a 6 wheel all terrain vehicle which is most often used to get personnel and treatment to patients injured in remote locations e.g. in the middle of the New Forest èè In order to become a HART operative staff have to undergo approximately 12 weeks training. This includes training across the various HART specialisms: ›› Responding to incidents involving hazardous chemicals ›› Providing Paramedic care during Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear incidents ›› Safe working at height ›› Confined space e.g. providing care in collapsed buildings ›› How to effect safe rescue & patient care in / around water incl, responding safely during times of flooding

èè Emergency driving & vehicle familiarization èè Every 7 weeks each team have a training week during which they are required to facilitate over 200 training competencies to ensure that their skills are kept up to date èè In addition to responding as HART they also respond to medical emergencies in Rapid Response Vehicle providing additional resources to compliment frontline operations èè Take part in multi-agency exercises and training èè SCAS HART regularly supply staff to work as instructors at the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) Education Centre at Winterbourne Gunner training new and existing ambulance staff èè In the last 12 months the top for reasons that HART were called were: ›› RTCs ›› Requests for assistance from crews ›› Domestic fires ›› Incidents involving hazardous materials èè During the last year they have seen an increase in SCAS staff observing the team to find out more about their work.

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INCREDIBLE BRAVERY OF SCAS’ PRIVATE PARTNERS 38

APRIL 15 Media stories and campaigners against the use of private ambulance providers to augment NHS 999 services often suggest that the practice jeopardises patient safety.

The argument put forward is that such private firms are focused too much on delivering a commercial profit than providing a safe, patient-focused service.

Like ambulance services across the country, SCAS uses private ambulances to help meet demand for emergency services during peak periods and to provide cover for the Trust’s own 999 service when needed. The Trust takes its responsibilities in entering such arrangements very seriously and only uses high-quality, reliable and experienced private ambulance providers.

One such partner is UK Specialist Ambulance Service (UKSAS), which is one of the largest private ambulance services operating today and provides a wide range of urgent and non-urgent services from its fleet of specialist vehicles both here in the UK and abroad. An example of the dedication and professionalism of the people at UKSAS was evident earlier this year.

James Watson works for UKSAS and was off-duty when he came across a serious road traffic collision that had occurred between two cars, both of which were smoking heavily with a small fire already breaking out on one.

With little thought for his own safety, James managed to get a passenger out from one of the vehicles but was unable to find any signs of life. When returning to try and remove the driver unfortunately the smoke and heat had intensified and he was unable to get the driver out before the car went up in flames.

James called another UKSAS colleague, Mike Riches, who was also booked off at the time of the call, but immediately agreed to book back on and come to assist James at the scene.

Steve West, Operations Director – North, at SCAS has written to both James and Mike to personally thank them for their efforts at the scene. Regrettably two people died as a result of the accident, but a third was treated on the scene before being transported to Wexham Park Hospital.

Steve said:

“IT IS COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT SCAS AND THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE HAVE ACCESS TO PEOPLE SUCH AS JAMES AND MIKE WHO ARE INCREDIBLY BRAVE AND DEDICATED TO PROVIDING AN EXCELLENT SERVICE.” 39

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IT’S A FACT...

SCAS’S FIRST AID AND CLINICAL TRAINING DIVISION HAS A NEW NAME 41

The SCAS training team, which has been delivering First Aid and other clinical training courses to both public and private sector organisations for over 15 years, started 2015 with a new name, a new logo and a new focus on providing the very best service to even more clients.

The division, previously known as ‘Commercial Training’, is now called FACT (standing for First Aid and Clinical Training).

A range of promotional and course materials have been produced to showcase the new name and logo, and targeted campaigns to promote FACT will be running throughout the year.

Emma Crozier, Business Manager for FACT, says “We use practising, professional clinicians to deliver our training because they bring a wealth of real-life experiences to the learning environment, which our students love. In 2015 we will be building on superb feedback scores we get from students taking our courses to get more customers, run more courses and bring in more revenue to SCAS.”

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FACT’s existing clients include many large national and international companies, UK public utilities, local authorities, educational establishments and other NHS Trusts. Funds generated from training are invested in helping to maintain the Trust’s other activities in Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

They run a selection of popular courses, such as First Aid at Work, Emergency First Aid at Work, Paediatric First Aid, and Automated External Defibrillation, along with more specialist courses like First Person on Scene, Basic Life Support and Activity First Aid. As well as these scheduled courses, FACT also bespoke courses tailored to suit clients’ specific needs in terms of content and training style. Location is also flexible, with courses being run at SCAS training sites or on a client’s own site if they prefer.

APRIL 15

FACT COURSES DELIVER OUTSTANDING STUDENT SATISFACTION: 87%

13%

EXCELLENT

VERY GOOD

0%

GOOD

0%

POOR

0%

UNACCEPTABLE

If you would like to find out more about FACT you can get in touch via 0300 790 0136, fact@scas.nhs.uk or www.firstaid-scas.co.uk

Source: SCAS training - student feedback.

(November 2014), 346 responses

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What others say about us You attended my mum in Gosport, as I live a long way away and could not attend quickly, I spoke to the paramedic on the phone and he gave me a good summary of the symptoms and suggested treatment, he was very helpful and reassuring and I would just like to say thanks very much.

We would like to thank the Technicians and Paramedics for the professional and caring service that they provided recently for our mother when she was suddenly taken seriously ill at home.

The paramedics cheerfully took over from the crews to release them back to the 999 system to deal with other members of the public requiring emergency help. I was very happy and pleased to know that the crews were not delayed handing over patients in A&E, whoever put this plan into action deserves a pat on the back. Both the paramedics worked tirelessly and cheerfully making the best of dealing with the patients in the corridor.

Thank you, the crew were absolutely fantastic and marvellous, we cannot thank them enough.

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APRIL 15

One of your crews attended my wife on the evening of 1 December after my 999 call. Both my wife and I were incredibly impressed with all the skills they showed during the call out.

On Christmas Day my mother was unwell with chest pains, she was treated with calm professionalism in a most caring and compassionate manner, despite the magnificent efforts of the paramedics my mother passed away in January, I would like their efforts passed on, they are a credit to the service and should be congratulated on their actions.

Thank you for the fantastic service after I fell from a step ladder. When the lovely ambulance men arrived they were fantastic. They were caring and efficient and treated me with a great deal of respect which I appreciated.

Yesterday we were involved in a road traffic accident. Almost immediately an off duty ambulance man stopped and gave us good attention. He also arranged for an ambulance which arrived within minutes. The crew also treated us very professionally and wit great empathy.

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HOW WE’RE DOING FEBRUARY 2015 FIGURES TOTAL 999 ACTIVITY

38,560

111 CALLS ANSWERED

87,434 NON CONVEYANCE

NON CONVEYANCE %

15,223

43.87%

What does it mean?

Total 999 activity equates to the number of calls which received a SCAS response or were dealt with by our clinical support desks.

Non conveyance is the number of incidents we responded to where the patient was not taken to hospital.

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Non conveyance % is the percentage of incidents we responded to where the patient was not taken to hospital.

Red 1 - Red 1 calls are the most time critical and cover cardiac arrest patients who are not breathing and do not have a pulse, and other severe conditions.

Red 2 - For Red 2 calls, which are serious but less immediately time critical and cover conditions such as stroke and fits.

APRIL 15

RED 1 [8 mins]

71.00% RED 2 [8 mins]

75.21%

RED 1 [19 mins]

97.19% RED 2 [19 mins]

95.75%

CFR RESPONSES

2,289

PTS JOURNEYS

41,047 111 calls answered is the number of calls answered through the non-emergency healthcare service.

CFR stands for Community First Responder.

PTS stands for Patient Transport Service.

All figures are provisional.

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T E E W T ion of Tweets ct le se ll a sm a is re e H y received from tl n ce re ve a h e w t a th olders and the h e k a st , rs e n rt a p r u o read more and to re e h k lic C . lic b u p to follow us!

HHFTnhs Mar 21 Amazing to hear about how our Labour Line midwife worked with @SCAS999 to save the lives of these twin boys #thanks

eleighparkrun Mar 23 Many thanks to all the crews from @SCAS999 @EastleighPolice and the @HIOWAA that responded to our runner in need on Sat. First class service

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APRIL 15 DidcotGirls Mar 23 @SCAS999 Thanks for coming along to the @DidcotSixthForm Careers Fair last week. #careeradvice

kels_penguin Feb 25 @SCAS999 thanks to the crew that helped my Dad tonight who was knocked off his motorbike in a hit and run

scook9914 Mar 20 Massive thankyou to @SCAS999 for transferring my son Rhys from Banbury to JR Oxford

lesjoanne Mar 19

,6fol8low1e9rs

Big thank you to @SCAS999 for their attendance at Western Hospital today. Very quick response and dignity of person maintained throughout

Follow us on Twitter @SCAS999 www.twitter.com/SCAS999

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TWEET US 50

@ s ca s 999

FOUNDATION TRUST MEMBERSHIP

APRIL 15

13,150

13,000

public members to date

12,000 8,000 5,000

NUMBER OF FOUNDATION TRUST MEMBERS

You can make a difference!

For more information, email getinvolved@scas.nhs.uk or phone 01869 365126.

or ou f y t nk Tha suppor your mbers! me

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Team work Innovation Professionalism Caring

PROUD

The Communications team is always keen to promote stories in Working Together. Please email any news, stories or comments to: communications@scas.nhs.uk South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Units 7-8 Talisman Business Centre Talisman Road Bicester OX26 6HR www.scas.nhs.uk

16 APR

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Design Âť Ben Hennessy - ben.hennessy@scas.nhs.uk