Working Together December 2016

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South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

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SCAS honours outstanding staff

December Twenty Sixteen

December 2016

Road Safety socia campaign hits th

SCAS and O2 launch lifesaving new app 10

Arthur's Christmas 44

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al media he mark 4 An anniversary to remember for Paul and Paula 50

South Central Ambulance Charity launch 56

December 2016

in road traffic collisions in 2015 on South Central Roads

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www.scas.nhs.uk/roadsafety

December 2016

Road safety social media campaign hits the mark

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Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest road safety event, co-ordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity. It has been running since 1997 as an annual event to raise awareness about road safety and promote steps that everyone can take to stop these needless deaths and injuries all year round.

This year it ran from 21-27 November and SCAS took part by putting together a hardhitting social media campaign where frontline staff spoke about their own experiences of attending fatal road collisions where excessive speed, alcohol or drugs, not wearing a seatbelt or being distracted by a mobile phone all led to deaths on our roads.

The campaign, featuring videos and posters, was filmed, edited, photographed, designed and copy written by the in-house communications team. Alexandra Dill (Clinical Mentor, Wexham), Anita Urry (Team Leader, Wexham), Darren Weston (Clinical Operations Manager, Oxfordshire), Neil Durrant (Clinical Operations Manager, South Buckinghamshire and East Berkshire) and Mark Ainsworth-Smith (Consultant Pre-Hospital Care Practitioner) all made time in their busy schedules to take part.

In each film and poster, one of the five staff members above talked about attending one of the many road traffic collisions they have been called to where somebody died as a result of bad driving practice or habits. The campaign had a powerful message that if people had to see the results of such actions as our staff had, then they would change their driving habits for good.

The campaign has been the most successful activity SCAS has carried out on social media.

On Facebook it reached an audience of over 260,000 users and helped increase the Trust’s Facebook community by 10% in a week. Industry averages for a good level of engagement with Facebook campaigns run by brands or organisations is between 1-2%; our Road Safety Week campaign had an engagement rate of 43%.

We are hopeful that this, and follow-up activity planned as a result of its success in 2017, will help reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our region’s roads.

December 2016

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

The consequences of mobile phone use whilst driving Four innocent people killed; 10 years in prison for the driver www.scas.nhs.uk/roadsafety

You can find out more about the campaign, including watching the films our staff made, at www.scas.nhs.uk/roadsafety

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South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

NEIL

CLINICAL OPERATIONS MANAGER > 16 years’ experience > Attended hundreds of road traffic collisions “I’ve been to more road traffic collisions than I can count in my six years as a paramedic; certainly in the hundreds.

Within the last couple of weeks, I attended an accident on the motorway where the driver was distracted by a dog in the back of the car. This caused them to roll the car over, landing in lane two of the carriageway. The driver has then undone her seatbelt and was then hit by another vehicle. Despite all our efforts at the scene she was pronounced dead.

This incident shows how important it is slow down, avoid distractions and keep seatbelts on until you know it’s definitely safe to remove them.”

This Road Safety Week, please help Neil have to deal with less road deaths and serious injuries in the future by signing up to the campaign pledges to slow down, stay secure and stay focused on the road. www.scas.nhs.uk/roadsafety

December 2016

SCAS and O2 launch lifesaving new app

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December 2016

SCAS and O2 worked in partnership to develop the Save a Life App which can tell users in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire or Oxfordshire where their nearest automatic external defibrillator (AED) is.

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The Save a Life App is iOS and Android compatible, free to download, and has been developed using the latest digital technology, GPS functionality and expertise from O2 to map out directions and show users where the closest AED is. It also stores the details of approximately 2,300 AEDs within the South Central region, all of which have been verified by SCAS along with the date of the last verification so users know when it was last checked. The app also provides important demonstration videos on how to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or chest compressions for adults, children and infants, along with a myth buster section that dispels the most commonly held misconceptions about the risks of attempting CPR. Although the app was soft released a few months ago, it was formally launched at University Hospital Southampton on 27 October.

The idea for the app came from Gillian Hodgetts, Deputy Director of Communications and Marketing for SCAS. Gillian and Professor Charles Deakin, Assistant Medical Director at SCAS and a member of the European Resuscitation Council were joined for the formal launch by two cardiac arrest survivors from the South Central region, Paul Steinle from Portsmouth and Peter Richardson from Lymington, Hampshire, who spoke to the press, radio and TV reporters in attendance about how early defibrillation and CPR helped saved their lives.

Berkshire resident, Dave Cleveland who survived a cardiac arrest on Christmas Day 2007, spoke to local Berkshire media on launch day too.

December 2016

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Dave said: “I am still alive and lead an active life after suffering my cardiac arrest which is all due to the swift and skilful action of my family (two of whom had received CPR training), community first responders from the Burghfield & Mortimer Scheme (who were on the scene within seven minutes of the 999 call and continued CPR and used a defibrillator) and then ambulance crews from SCAS who continued treatment and cared for me until I arrived at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.”

“I recovered in the intensive care unit and left hospital on New Year’s Day, 2008.

The prompt treatment I received saved my life and minimised permanent damage to my mind and body. In fact, I only suffered memory loss of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I’m delighted that this new app has been launched as it will help more people do what I did: beat the odds and survive a cardiac arrest.”

Stuart Fraser, First Aid Trainer at Thames Valley Police, already has firsthand experience of how vital the new Save a Life app can be in an emergency. Earlier this year in Windsor, a woman collapsed whilst driving her car having suffered a cardiac arrest. She received immediate CPR from PCSOs who put a call over the police radio network for assistance.

A nearby officer in a police car used the Save a Life app to locate the nearest AED, collected it from a local supermarket and then rapidly transported it to the scene of the collapse. The AED was used to administer one shock before the arrival of the ambulance, after which a further seven shocks were given.

Stuart said: “The lady made it to hospital alive. Without the knowledge of the location of the AED she would not have been given the best possible chance of survival. Thames Valley Police has been teaching officers to use the new Save a Life app since it was released earlier this year prior to its official launch.

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This has greatly improved police officers awareness of AED locations in their local communities. The app helps our police officers to serve their communities better, and helps the ambulance service by making sure we do everything possible in life-threatening emergencies.�

On the day of the official launch (27 October) the Save a Life app was downloaded over 2,000 times and at the time of going to press with this issue of Working Together, it has been downloaded over 8,500 times. SCAS wants to secure 10,000 downloads of the app by the end of 2016.

SCAS has already had interest from three other ambulance services nationally who are keen to add their AED locations in to the Save a Life app. We are aiming that in the not too distant future, the app will be able to map the locations of AEDs across the entire United Kingdom, making it a an app that has the potential to save many lives nationally.

Find out more, including how to download the Save a Life app on iOS or Android devices at www.scas.nhs.uk/savealife

Download the SCAS Save a Life app now

!

December 2016

Christmassy Cinammon Biscuits

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What you'll need...

How to do it...

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Preparation time: 20minutes › Baking time:10 minutes

150g self-raising flour 150g plain flour 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 125g butter 100g sugar 1 egg beaten

Why not try making an icing for a festive look and feel.

1. Set oven at 160 degrees C (Gas Mark 3).

2. Sift flours and cinnamon into a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and mix well.

4. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix into firm dough. Lift on to a lightly floured board, knead until smooth. Roll to 5mm thickness. Cut into shapes and place on a greased oven tray.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until light golden colour, 10 to 15 minutes. Let them cool and harden.

December 2016

A day in the life...

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...of a Specialist Paramedic

December 2016

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All patient names in this article have been changed.

Today I’m out with Specialist Paramedic Illtyd Hollard, known as Icky to his friends and colleagues. Icky is based at our Bletchley Resource Centre in Milton Keynes and qualified as a Specialist Paramedic in March 2016. He joined SCAS in 2011, having previously worked for the Welsh Ambulance Service for 21 years having joined as an ambulance cadet, aged 16. His is the archetypal ‘man and boy’ career path and having worked in both frontline and management roles in Wales, is relishing being back on the frontline for SCAS. “Sometimes what you think you want, ends up not being what you want at all”, says Icky. “I always felt a little uncomfortable as a manager, for a variety of reasons, but this job is me all over.”

I meet up with Icky at 06.30 at Bletchley for the start of his 07.00-19.00 shift, and the first task is to check the rapid response vehicle (RRV), equipment and drugs on board. It’s a relatively quiet start to the morning, so Icky has time to talk to me in more detail about the Specialist Paramedic role. For up to half his time on some shifts, he can be filling a normal RRV role (i.e. he will be protected to attend Red calls only whenever they come in), but when he is not doing this, then he plays a key role in admission avoidance.

Icky says: “The skillset of a paramedic today is far beyond what it was when I joined the service. Paramedics can do so much more for patients at the scene, and specialist paramedics are one level up again. Whether it’s wound care, administering strong painkillers or things like changing a catheter, it all means the patient gets the care and treatment they need there and then. This benefits SCAS because we then don’t have to supply an ambulance to take that patient elsewhere for further treatment, and it also benefits our partners in local hospitals who don’t have someone else coming through the doors at A&E.”

Just after 08.00 we reach an escalation level locally and now Icky is on standby to be sent to the next Red call. However, a few minutes later he is called by the Clinical Hub at Reading (a new innovation in SCAS staffed by specialist paramedics), who have spotted a job that could be perfectly suited to Icky’s skills.

The incident has occurred in a village north of Milton Keynes. An elderly female has fallen out of bed and can’t get up. Her son is at the house for access. There is a possibility the patient is injured and it’s not clear how long she has been on the floor, so that – plus her age – means we go on blue lights for the 14 mile trip from base.

When we get there, Helen is very pleased we’ve arrived. She tells us she is in pain. We get her up and it’s clear she has cut her lip and is quite bruised in places from the fall.

Icky gives her a full check-up – blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugars – and says all the readings show there is nothing further amiss apart from the pain of the fall. He tells Helen he doesn’t think she needs to go to hospital and she is very happy with that.

Talking with her son at the scene, he tells us Helen has advanced cancer and she has been getting weaker over the last few days.

It transpires she is not eating and the liquid supplements she should take instead, she can’t tolerate so is avoiding them too. Icky checks with the son about the existing care arrangements and, whilst there are some in place with daily visits from health and social care professionals, he is concerned that there is a risk to Helen's safety from future falls due to her weakness from not eating. He writes up his report, prints off a copy and advises the son to review her existing care plan as a matter of urgency with her GP. Back in car Icky talks me through his assessment; “I was looking to identify or rule out reasons for the fall; it could have been caused by a urinary tract infections (UTI), but that test was negative.

December 2016

The 12-lead ECG reading showed there wasn’t anything wrong with her heart and blood pressure was normal for someone of her age.

My focus was then to empower her son to get in touch with GP and Willen Hospice to better manage Helen and keep her as safe and comfortable as possible in her final weeks.”

It’s now 10.00. Once we have cleared from the scene, control asks us to move to the standby point at Linford Wood. Icky tells me that this means there is currently no RRV cover elsewhere in the area which means the next Red call, we could be despatched too.

It’s only 10-15 minutes later however and the Reading Clinical Hub are on the phone again to Icky, having identified another local job he could attend. A female in her early 30s has called NHS 111 this morning complaining of sharp abdominal pain. As we get there on normal speed, Icky tells me how his colleague Dan Holliday best summed up the specialist paramedic approach to such jobs as ‘peeling away layers of an onion’; the need to rule out anything sinister or serious through asking questions and performing diagnostic tests.

Lili is at home in eastern Milton Keynes, with her husband and one year old son. Icky asks a few initial questions on why she called NHS 111 that morning and discovers there is a possibility she might be pregnant. A pregnancy test is performed (negative) and UTI test also negative. Having pressed and felt the affected area, and carefully watched Lili sitting uncomfortably whilst answering his questions, Icky advises he will contact the GP and see if he can get her an urgent appointment that afternoon. Lili says she tried to call the surgery this morning for that but was told they couldn’t fit her in.

Back in the car, Icky says that he felt Lili was actually in more pain than she was letting on.

He calls the patient’s GP, to update them on Lili's condition, and give his thoughts based on his observations that Stacy could have potential bowel or appendicitis symptoms. He asks the GP what they think would be the most appropriate next course of action.

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The GP thanks Icky for the call and update and advises that Lili should call the surgery and ask for an appointment with the GP by name and she will make time to see her.

“The GP was happy that I had made a thorough assessment and therefore happy that the right course of action was one that I was hoping would be the outcome, and they would be happy to see Lili for further assessment. It’s not always this straightforward with GPs”, he adds with a wry smile.

We are now into the 1.5 hour meal break window in the middle of the shift, so we head back to Bletchley RC and once there, book on for a 30 minute lunch break. We have lunch with one other paramedic at the centre.

As we finish the 30 minute break, we are given our next job. At Emberton Country Park, near Olney, there is a 35-year-old female reporting severe back pain / sciatica. Before heading off, Icky checks the drugs on the RRV to make sure he has what he might need when he gets there.

December 2016

"As a specialist paramedic I’m able to supply and administer a greater range of antibiotics and pain relief than standard paramedics"

Icky says, “As a specialist paramedic I’m able to supply and administer a greater range of antibiotics and pain relief than standard paramedics. Other advanced skills include catheter insertions and changes, wound closures with steri-strips, sutures, glue or staples. This is very beneficial to crews on road who can’t close wounds and therefore have to transport to hospital. Administering the closure within the hour helps with the rehabilitation of tissue too.”

Details coming through from control as we drive at normal speed to Emberton suggest access may be a problem – there is an almost Crystal Maze-esque raft of instructions “… the key safe is attached to the rear of the right post of the emergency lane barrier. The code for the safe is 0000 (note: this is not the real number!). The padlock on the same post can then be unlocked, the metal pin pulled out and the barrier lifted and swung round to the left.” Fortunately, we need none of these instructions as on arrival at the gatehouse, we are greeted cheerfully by a member of staff who opens the barrier for us and tells us exactly where we need to go – pitch 87 – and how to get there.

The patient, Ellen, was triaged by NHS 111 and advised to attend an emergency treatment centre within the hour, but no-one is available to take her and she doesn’t think she’d be able to physically get in to a car due to the pain.

We arrive and it becomes readily apparent Ellen is practically immobile, very pale and simply standing still is an ordeal – movement is practically out of the question. Icky supplies a dosage of diazepam, a relaxant, and waits to see what effect this has on the Ellen's pain after 10-15 minutes. The answer is very little. Ellen states she regularly takes very strong painkillers and it seems she has built up a tolerance level to them. She asks about morphine which she has had before and says it can help.

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Icky is concerned however, as he would only be comfortable giving morphine if Ellen was lying down (due to risk of fainting / light headedness) and that is out of the question in a tent where the only place to lie would be on a thin air bed that she obviously would not be able to get down on without great discomfort and distress.

Unfortunately, in this incident, Icky is unable to prevent a trip to A&E and calls control to request a transporting ambulance. An ambulance duly arrives with Emergency Care Assistant David Birch and Paramedic Alun Franklin.

After a thorough handover to Alun, David has managed to get Ellen onto a stretcher and she is loaded into the back of the truck. Alun will provide morphine now she is secure and then take her to Milton Keynes Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

Back in the car, we are asked to return to base to see a patient. A member of staff has suffered a deep cut to her hand whilst pumpkin carving and Icky is asked to return to Bletchley RC to clean, dress and close the wound as it won’t stop bleeding. Icky uses steri-strips and advises they need to be kept on, and kept dry, for 5-7 days. The bandage he wraps around the hand only needs to be on for 24-48 hours.

December 2016

Icky agrees to review the wound on Saturday – the next time both he and the other member of staff are on duty together – and checks that her tetanus jabs are up to date.

It is now 17.00 and as early morning crews start to come off shift, we are once again moved to ‘Red protected’. At 17.53 we get an alert – as do an ambulance crew just about to book off at 18.00 – for a Red 1 call to HMP Woodhill Prison. Icky tells me that we could be there for hours, well passed the scheduled 19.00 shift finish and tells me he doesn’t mind if I call it a day.

However, I’ve said I’d be with him for the entire shift and so we both quickly head out to his car. I’m advised to ensure that I have my mobile phones available to be checked in at the gatehouse and we are off. We were on blue lights for the first job of the morning, but this time it feels like we’re on ‘real blue lights’.

Icky does not hang around and the sheer skill it takes to drive quickly, and safely, in rush hour traffic is remarkable.

A few minutes into the drive we are stood down (as are the ambulance crew). It transpired a prisoner was found unconscious but as both SCAS resources are stood down, Icky surmises that the incident was something that the prison’s own medical team can deal with. Back to base we park the RRV in the garage and have a quick handover to Andrew Inskip, the specialist paramedic who is coming on duty at 19.00 and will be taking over our car.

A big thank you to Icky and everyone at Bletchley RC for making me feel so welcome and giving me a great insight into the specialist paramedic role at SCAS. David Gallagher Media & Communications Manager

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December 2016

Wishing You a Happy & Healthy Christmas

With best wishes  Will Hancock Chief Executive Trevor Jones Chairman and the SCAS Board And the whole team at South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

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cHristmas fulm quiz Can you guess the Christmas films from the images below?

Answers on page 63.

1

2

3

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6

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8

December 2016

SCAS honours

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outstanding staff

December 2016

The annual staff awards, known as the Ambies, were held by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) at The Castle Hotel, Windsor, on Friday 25 November. The Ambies showcase those members of staff who epitomise the Trust’s values of teamwork, innovation, professionalism and caring .

This prestigious black tie event is made possible thanks to the generous contribution of a number of sponsors, including Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure, O2, O&H Vehicle Conversions, Terravix and Ortivus.

It was an evening to remember for a number of SCAS staff and teams who were announced as the winners of the following categories:

¤¤NHS 111 Person of the Year – Monica Knight Monica is a Health Information Adviser and Call Handler based in our Clinical Co-ordination Centre in Otterbourne. Nominated by her manager, Monica was described as “supporting both the health information and call handling team with her honesty, hard work and support. She tirelessly strives for improvement both in herself and the service we provide to patients.”

¤¤A&E Person of the Year – Robert Lankford Robert is an Emergency Care Assistant based at our Hythe Resource Centre in Southampton. Nominated by two of his colleagues, Robert was described as “a very caring person who has an excellent manner with patients and he has a great deal of experience which he enjoys passing on to newer staff and students.”

¤¤Emergency Operational Control (EOC) Person of the Year – Rachael Cook (Sponsored by Hexagon) Rachel is the Clinical Support Desk Manager at the EOC based in Northern House, Bicester. Her nomination highlighted how she is “a tireless champion for our patients. She is constantly trying to ensure that the Clinical Support Desk is working in the most productive way to achieve the best care we can for our patients.”

¤¤Commercial Services Person of the Year – Rohan Dias

Rohan is an Ambulance Care Assistant for our Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) and is based at our Bletchley Resource Centre. He was nominated by his manager for delivering an outstanding contribution to NEPTS over the last 12 months, who wrote “he has boundless energy, focus and enthusiasm when he is on duty, always volunteering to help his colleagues out and shows great compassion and empathy towards his patients.”

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December 2016

¤¤Educator of the Year – Julie Bailey Julie is a Clinical Mentor based at our Nursling Resource Centre in Southampton. She was nominated by one of her student paramedics, who wrote “she is always looking for new ways and opportunities for her to learn, and to teach everyone and anyone. She continues to seek new and improved ways to support and challenge her students and staff.”

¤¤Volunteer of the Year – North West Community First Responder Co-ordinators (Sponsored by O2) The team of 10 CFR Co-ordinators lead 135 community first responders across Oxfordshire and were nominated for “being a dedicated team that look after, assist, support and recruit responders in their local area. All of them have been responding for many years and have given thousands of hours of vital rural cover in their communities.”

¤¤Support Person of the Year – Michelle Archer Michelle is a Communications Manager based in Otterbourne and was nominated by a colleague for her support of the Paramedic 2 Trial that SCAS is currently taking part in. Michelle was nominated for “being very supportive in the early stages of the trial when there was a great deal of media interest and ongoing external and internal communication of the research team’s work.”

¤¤Team of the Year, Operations – NHS 111 North Shift Managers and Team Leaders (Sponsored

by Ortivus) Based at SCAS’ Clinical Co-ordination Centre in Bicester, the NHS 111 North Shift Managers and Team Leaders were nominated by their manager, who wrote “the team have come up with new ideas on our working environment, how we can improve our performance and are continuously finding new ways of working which will improve NHS 111 and the service we can provide to our patients.”

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¤¤Team of the Year, Support – Recruitment Team The Recruitment Team, based in Bicester and Newbury, received four nominations for this award with their success summed up in one nomination as “by displaying excellent teamwork, support for each other, taking on new ideas and challenges and proactively improving their own personal and professional development, the team has recruited over 1,000 people in to SCAS over the last 12 months – making the Trust the top performing ambulance service in the country in terms of recruitment.”

¤¤Governors’ Ambassador Award – John Cross John works as a Community Healthcare Practitioner and is the driving force behind Safe Space in Portsmouth. He received an amazing 15 nominations from colleagues, one of whom summed up everyone’s thoughts with “SCAS owes a vast chunk of its friendly, caring image to John’s work in the local community. He has earned the respect of everyone he has worked with.”

¤¤Pride of SCAS – Jeanette Hall (Sponsored by O&H Vehicle Conversions) Jeanette is a Paramedic Team Leader based at our Milton Keynes Resource Centre. Her nomination from a member of her team highlighted how her “consistent approach, enthusiasm, long term dedication and high standards have delivered high team performance and raised team morale. She is key to the success and progression of many staff in Milton Keynes which benefits both SCAS and the local community.”

¤¤Innovation of the Year – Save a Life App Team (Sponsored by Terrafix) Save a Life is a free app developed by the SCAS team in conjunction with O2, based in Slough, Berkshire. The app, which was developed

by O2’s Innovation Lab based in their Berkshire head office in just two weeks, was formally launched on 27 October, having been released in May 2017. The app can tell users where there nearest automatic external defibrillator (AED) is anywhere in the South Central region should they come across someone in cardiac arrest. It contains the location of over 2,300 AEDs in the SCAS area and has been designed to allow every ambulance trust in the country to upload the locations of their AEDs. If they chose to do so, this would for the first time provide a national register of every AED in the UK. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded over 8,000 times and SCAS has been approached by three other ambulance trusts who would like to use its technology.

December 2016

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December 2016

Chief Executive, Will Hancock, said: “The Ambies have been running since 2009 and are an excellent way to reward those staff who go above and beyond the call of duty right across the organisation. Their popularity increases year after year, as can be seen by the record 220 nominations we received for the 2016 awards, and they are a great way to motivate, inspire and reward our incredible staff.

All staff and teams who are nominated receive a certificate of recognition and those shortlisted are invited to attend the event where the winners of all the 12 categories are announced.

“This year’s event in Windsor was a great way to acknowledge a really successful year for us as an organisation too, as we celebrated our 10th birthday in July and were the first ambulance trust in England to receive a ‘Good’ rating from the CQC in September. It was a real privilege for me to be able to spend time with such inspirational people and made me feel very proud to be part of SCAS.” All the winners received their awards from award-winning broadcaster, Martin Stanford, a TV and radio broadcaster with over 25 years industry experience.

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December 2016

RECRUITMENT OPEN DAY 10am - 2pm JOBS ON OFFER: èè Call centre positions èè Driving jobs èè Emergency positions - support and clinical roles èè Voluntary positions Saturday 14 January at our Oxfordshire HQ South Central Ambulance Service, Talisman Business Park, Bicester, OX26 6HR Saturday 28 January at our Hampshire HQ South Central Ambulance Service, Sparrowgrove, Otterbourne, SO21 2RU You can also see live demonstrations, listen to talks from staff and see inside a range of ambulance vehicles. Find out more on our website at www.scasjobs.co.uk

#SCASOpenDays17

www.scas.nhs.uk

/scas999

@scasjobs

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Tweet us @SCAS999

December 2016

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Arthur's Christmas Little Arthur Saxton from Frilford, near Abingdon, in Oxfordshire will be looking forward to Christmas with his parents, Caroline and Rob, this year – thanks in no small part to the actions of Emergency Call Taker, Ruth Stickland, Dispatcher, Casey Ziemelis and paramedics Laura Shaw and Rosemary Simpson. “Our son is called Arthur George Saxton.

Here's our story Arthur is 13 months and outside of a bad chest infection about six months ago, he's always been a well little boy.

We are in the process of selling our house and on the morning of Friday 21 October, had a potential buyer viewing our property so Arthur and I went out to the park. 'Cake' is embarrassingly his only clearly decipherable word (takes after his mother!) so we went for a coffee too.

When we came home he was sleepy but it was 12pm and only an hour away from lunch so rather than put him into his cot I let him snooze on me. After about 10 minutes he rolled over and his face touched the skin of my arm and he felt really hot.

He was still in his cardigan so I took it off, he then snuggled in and went back to snoozing, lying on his front, but his whole body did a strange singular jump.

A week previously he'd had a febrile convulsion, it lasted about two seconds and the doctors had explained it was harmless and was down to his temperature spiking as he'd just had his one year jabs. Nervous that this might be happening again, I turned him over to look at him, his eyes were open but he wasn't responding when I called his name. I knew he was about to have a fit so carried him into the kitchen and laid him on the floor with a small cushion under his head.

As I carried him through his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The whole time I was calling his name but there was no reaction. I recalled the doctors saying the previous week that if he had a seizure of more than 30 seconds to call 999 but I didn't know what this was - did this part count as the seizure? Was this going to be a seizure? Was something else happening?

December 2016

SCAS Dispatcher Casey Ziemelis

I started dialling 111 instead but at the last minute changed my mind. I dialled 999 and put the phone under my ear, Arthur was boiling hot so I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut him out of his top, vest and jeans as the call connected. Just as I'd finished he started shaking. I was put through to the ambulance service and the woman on the end of the phone was asking me for details. I remember trying to give them to her but not really being able to, I recall being unsure on his date of birth. My mind was all over the place.

As I looked at him, at his rolled back eyes and shaking body and drooling mouth and watched his erratic breathing, in that moment I truly believed I was watching my son die. I was terrified. We lost our first baby quite late on in our pregnancy in 2014 and the feelings all came rushing back. The feeling of your heart being ripped out and as though someone has punched you really hard in the gut. I was really panicking. I remember shouting at the woman "JUST SEND ME AN AMBULANCE, I NEED ONE QUICKLY" and she calmly explained that our conversation wasn't holding the ambulance up and that it would help the paramedics for when they arrived.

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I've done various basic first aid courses in my time; I've had to give mouth to mouth on three separate occasions and I'm calm under pressure but with my son I just lost it. I remember the lady on the phone asking if he'd had any paracetamol.

He hadn't. "Should I give it to him now?"

I asked. What a ridiculous thing to ask!

Why would I give him paracetamol mid fit, he'd choke! At the time though, my head just wasn't thinking straight. I felt really alone. Our house is in a small hamlet and I felt isolated, I felt like his life hung in the balance and I didn't have the skills to do anything about it. The lady on the end of the phone said she would stay on the phone until the paramedics arrived which made that feeling of isolation disappear.

She asked me what Arthur was doing, and when he finally stopped fitting she asked me to put him into the recovery position. I remember shouting "He's drooling he's drooling" fearful that this was another terrible sign of something and she explained that drooling was normal after a fit which calmed me down again. Even though Artie had stopped shaking, he wasn't him. I remember her asking if he was conscious and in that moment I really didn't know - he was breathing, his eyes were open but he wasn't there. He looked dead, but he was breathing and making snorting noises. I asked her how long I'd been on the phone for so that I could tell the paramedics how long he'd fitted for and I expected her to say two minutes but it was nearly nine.

I heard the sounds of the ambulance and the lady on the phone asked me to make sure the front door was open - it was locked, but the back door was open, so she notified the paramedics so they'd come in that way. Our house is hard to find. When friends have visited for the first time we've sent them a photo of the front because otherwise they drive straight past.

I remember suggesting to the call handler that I leave Arthur and go and stand in the road so the paramedics knew where I was - another suggestion that I would never have made if I was thinking straight - and she told me to stay with him and said they would find us, and they did.

Given how all over my head was, I dread to think what poor decisions I would have made if she had not been able to help me every step of the way.

Two paramedics came in, smiling and calm like this was perfectly normal. They acted like absolutely everything was fine.

I remember asking if I could pick Arthur up from the floor and they said yes but I was so all over the place they had to help me. They too were brilliant at not just doing the medical part of their job but also in controlling me!

Whilst taking Arthur's pulse and doing his blood glucose levels they asked me random questions like how long I'd lived in the house for and what I'd been up to that morning. It really helped to calm me down. One of the paramedics took out a little torch to see if Artie could follow the light. He couldn't and that set me off panicking again but they said that it takes a while for people to come round and it wasn't unusual and sure enough he was able to follow the light moments later. I told them where the calpol and calbuprofen were kept and they went and found it so I could give it to Arthur. He was becoming a little bit more him. They said we were going in to hospital and I already had a bag packed with nappies and baby food from the morning so was pretty much ready to go.

We got into the ambulance and it was explained that Arthur was doing well, that they weren't going to blue light him in because he wasn't urgent but that it was a good to get him seen by the paediatricians.

December 2016

By the time we started going in, the sense of immediate danger had gone, but I was concerned that Arthur still wasn't himself. He wasn't reacting to things. He loves music and loves to dance (sadly he's inherited his parents terrible moves) and I played some songs for him from my phone but there was no reaction.

I didn't expect him to have energy but there wasn't even a smile. I began to get worried that perhaps there were lasting effects, perhaps he had brain damage?

The paramedic in the back calmly told me that what she was seeing was a perfectly normal reaction and she was right as an hour later he was back to his usual self just very tired!

We stayed in overnight at the John Radcliffe and came home the following afternoon - the consultants said it was pretty textbook for a febrile convulsion although it was towards the upper end in terms of how long it went on for.

Now, Arthur is completely fine and back to his usual mischief filled, cake loving self. I have been told to expect him to have more febrile seizures over the next few years but thanks to the help of the 999 call handler and the paramedics, I feel a lot more confident in what to do next time and hope that I'll be able to act rationally and calmly.

Arthur's seizure was terrifying, it's the only way I can describe it but without a doubt the call handler and paramedics made a HUGE positive difference - yes definitely with their medical knowledge, but also with the kindness and compassion. My husband and I are extremely grateful and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.“ Caroline and Rob Saxton

“The call handler was genuinely amazing at keeping me calm and helping me deal with my one year old son's seizure. At that point I genuinely thought he was about to die and she was utterly fantastic and calming as were the two paramedics who were so good at doing their jobs whilst being calming and reassuring.�

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SCAS Paramedics Rosemary Simpson and Laura Shaw

December 2016

An anniversary to remember for Paul and Paula

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On 23 November 2016, a very special reunion took place at SCAS’ Northarbour Resource Centre as Southsea resident Paul Steinle came to meet the SCAS team that saved his life exactly one year earlier when he had a cardiac arrest.

December 2016

Paul was only 45 at the time of his arrest which he admits to having been brought on by a long period of heavy drinking. It was after a particularly heavy weekend, when his partner Paula Penvose received a text on the morning of 23 November 2015 from Paul that simply said ‘Help me’.

Paula had been staying with friends the night before but went straight over to the flat they shared in Southsea.

“He had been having seizures for over a year before that day”, remembers Paula, “and I thought it was something along the same lines. But when I got there he looked worse than I’d ever seen him and a short time after I arrived he had a seizure while vomiting. I made him comfortable on the bed but whilst downstairs getting him a drink of water, he had another seizure and fell off the bed on to his back. I rushed back upstairs and found Paul had stopped breathing and was turning blue.”

Paula called 999 and was put through to Emergency Call Taker Chloe Foster, who was on duty that morning at SCAS’ Clinical Co-ordination Centre in Otterbourne, Hampshire. Working with Dispatcher, Krysia Bedford, they immediately sent a number of resources racing to Paul and Paula’s home.

Chloe remembers Paula being surprisingly calm. “You were brilliant”, she tells Paula when they meet faceto-face. “You had the presence of mind to remember that the stairs and hall to your first floor flat was full of Paul’s work tools, so you needed to clear some space to allow our guys to get in as well as unlock the front door. Then you went back upstairs and started the CPR, following my instructions exactly.”

As all those she meets at the Northarbour Resource Centre are keen to stress, Paula’s quick actions in dialling 999 and starting CPR certainly gave Paul the best possible chance of surviving. Having called 999 at 08.46, the first resources were dispatched

by Krysia at 08.47 and the first vehicle arrived on scene at 08.50.

“We were on a local standby point at B&Q” remembers Paramedic Lucy Wilson (a student at the time of the incident but since qualified), “which was only around half a mile away, so we got there first. And I remember it well as it was the first time I’d attended a patient in cardiac arrest.”

Lucy arrived in a rapid response vehicle with Paramedic David Palmer, and were quickly backed up by an ambulance crewed by Clinical Mentor, Dave Emery, Student Paramedic, Wiola Wilks and Emergency Care Assistant, Georga Preston. Paramedic Team Leader, Simon Main, arrived shortly after the ambulance.

Whilst treating Paul at the scene, it soon became apparent there was going to be a considerable logistical challenge getting him out of the flat, as David Palmer explains. “At one point we were debating whether we would have to get you out through the front window”, he tells Paul. “And that would have meant a call to the fire service.”

The first floor flat was particularly tight in terms of space where the stairs came up into the hall. The team did however just about manage to lift Paul over the dog-leg bannisters and around the shelving, as Paula remembers “somehow miraculously not damaging anything.”

//53

December 2016

//55

Later on as Paul and Paula tour the Northarbour Resource Centre that feat, considering David Palmer was part of the team, becomes even more impressive as they discover the blue plaque on the David Palmer Wall (the wall having to be rebuilt a year ago when David was a little less accurate with some tricky manoeuvring of a large vehicle).

David Emery, Wiola and Georga got Paul to the Queen Alexandra Hospital where they handed over his care to the resuscitation team in the A&E Department. Paula then fills them in as to what happened next.

Paul was kept in an induced coma for two weeks. He was still having seizures in the first 36 hours following his cardiac arrest, and she was told by his consultant that it was unlikely he would make a full recovery. Once he was out of intensive care, he was transferred to Glenside Neuro Rehabilitation Unit in Salisbury as Paul had sustained a serious brain injury as a result of his cardiac arrest. He eventually came back home to Southsea only in May 2016, and continues to be supported by Headway Portsmouth, which both he and Paula can’t praise enough in how they are helping with Paul’s ongoing rehabilitation and supporting Paula too.

Paul suffers from short term memory loss, so can find it difficult to follow conversations, but he is keen to tell each and every one of the people he meets how grateful he is. He also tells them that his drinking days are behind him.

“I did have this cloud hanging over me for ages”, Paul tells them, “the pressure of having a drink or not having a drink ever again. So I told Paula I needed to get this out of my system. I told her I was going to the pub, having a beer and that would be my last drink. Which I did. And I really didn’t like it.”

Paula finishes the meeting by telling everyone that Paul is now a much calmer individual, though has his struggles with the effects of the cardiac arrest on his memory. She has given up work to be his main carer but with support from Headway Portsmouth, Paul is hoping to get a part time voluntary job in the next couple of months.

“Paul wants to get back to work”, she explains, “but the difficulty is going to be what does he remember from his mechanical engineering apprenticeship. His short term memory has gone, and he doesn’t really have any recollection of the last 7-8 years either. But some things further back he does remember – places he’s been, people he has known.”

The team all encourage Paul to look back at the amazing things he has achieved in the past year given what he has gone through, and to remain positive for the future even when it can seem difficult.

Simon Main tells him, “The brain is quite amazing in the powers of recovery it has. I’m sure if you were to come back and see us next year, then we’d see a big improvement again.”

Unfortunately, David Emery and Wiola Wilks were unable to make the meeting with Paul and Paula to mark the first anniversary of his cardiac arrest but the rest of the team that saved Paul’s life that day were.

December 2016

South Central Ambulance Charity launched

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December 2016

In October the South Central Ambulance Charity launched its first ever formal appeal to raise £1m

by Christmas 2019. The launch of the appeal was marked by events in Andover, Didcot, Milton Keynes and Slough where local businesses, Deputy Lord Lieutenants, Community First Responders and local schools came together with senior staff from SCAS to demonstrate their support.

October also saw the unveiling of the charity’s new logo and website, and the start of several new fundraising schemes such as textile recycling in Hampshire and recruiting the first players to our new charity lottery.

Every penny raised by the charity will be used to fund services that are above and beyond what the NHS funds SCAS to provide, and the £1m will be used:

TO FUND COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDERS These trained volunteers provide a lifesaving response to their communities while an ambulance is on its way. Since April they have answered nearly 10,000 calls for help and we rely 100% on donations to the charity to enable them to do this.

TO BUY PUBLIC ACCESS DEFIBRILLATORS Our aim is to make sure everyone in the South Central region is within eight minutes of a defibrillator and that your community knows where they are and how to use them.

TO SAY THANK YOU ON YOUR BEHALF Donations improve the working lives of the amazing people who provide our ambulance service 24 hours a day, every day of the year, by offering them the chance to bid for grants to fund their ideas for improving their working environments, accessing extra training, buying specialist equipment and testing new ways of working.

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December 2016

@houganai 17 Dec

@LFB_Brent 3 days ago

@SCAS999 You guys saved my life after a heart attack this year, I'll never forget the care I was given. Hope you all have a safe Xmas

@SCAS999 my Mum fell over last night & had to go in an Ambulance to hospital. Your paramedic Robbie looked after her amazingly

tweet tweet

//61

@Moorcroft3Lee 12 Dec @SCAS999 thank you for getting me home safely to my family tonight

@JamesCRural Dec 8

@ClaireCollins31 Dec 3

@SCAS999 A massive thanks to the crew (inc student para) that took me to Southampton Gen today. They were lovely and did a fantastic job!

Wow! @SCAS999 called #NHS111 at 7:09, GP called at 7:19, diagnosed at 7:20 with instructions on how to relieve symptomsbrilliant!

Here is a small selection of Tweets that we have recently received from our partners, stakeholders and the public.

Click here to read more and to follow us!

December 2016

What our patients say about us 99 Thank you for the way you spoke with me I am very pleased with the service, it was my first time using 111.

99 Thank you to the two young ladies who assisted my wife when she fell, they are great ambassadors for you, the care we received was excellent.

99 Please pass on our thanks to the amazing crew who attended my grandmother, they were all fantastic and could not have done more to make her feel more comfortable or reassured, she said "they treated me like the Queen". Thank you for your fantastic work.

99 Thank you for your outstandking kindness shown to my mother.

If you have been treated by SCAS, or used the NHS 111 service in this area and would like to send us your comments or compliments please email patientexperience@scas.nhs.uk

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99 The ambulance crew who came to take him for what was to be his last time were second to none.

99 They were working closely together and explaining everything in full detail to me in a way I could understand.

99 Thank you for letting me observe, it was very useful, Martin was so helpful, polite and professional.

99 My wife received very prompt and excellent treatment when she had a stroke, thank you.

99 Steve provided a great service by getting an ambulance out to him. Also like to thank the paramedic who attended.

99 Both made her happy and comfortable. Both very professional & worked well as a team.

Good interaction.

Christmas film quiz answers 1. Scrooged 2. Nightmare Before Christmas 3. Elf 4. Polar Express

5. Love Actually 6. It's a Wonderful Life 7. Home Alone 8. Bad Santa

December 2016

How are we doing?

November 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.

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

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

NHS 111 calls answered is the number of calls answered through the non-emergency healthcare service.

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

CFR stands for Community First Responder.

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.

NEPTS stands for Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service.

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Total 999 activity

Non conveyance

Non conveyance %

46,688

19,241

44.95%

Red 1 (8 mins)

Red 2 (8 mins)

Red 19

73.00%

72.80%

94.80%

NHS 111 calls answered

No. of NEPTS journeys

No. of CFR responses

101,784

46,606

1,263

December 2016

December

Twenty Sixteen Please send articles, or ideas to communications@scas.nhs.uk along with any photos or images.

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Copy deadline for the next issue of Working Together is 15 January 2017.

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