Pre-Hospital Care Podcast

In this session we will examine the latest research to emerge from Zane Perkins and Mike Christian around Resuscitative Thoracotomy (RT). The research has been led by Zane and Mike examined over 600 retrospective thoracotomy cases from the LAA database spanning 20 years, looking at the survivors, the pathology (exsanguination versus tamponade), the pre-arrest rhythms, the morbidity and mortality,...

This is the second part of the lecture series on building effective teams and dealing with difficult people. The concepts taught here involve models of teamwork (Action centred Leadership, the five dysfunctions of a team), trust - both as a concept and a pre-requisite, culture, homeostatic teams and finally tools and techniques for fostering good team work.  In the second half of the podcast...

In this session we will examine Exertional Heat Injury (EHI) within individuals undertaking endurance races, military exercises, or extreme activity. We will draw contrast and parallels to acute behavioural disturbance, what is happening both at the physiological level and some of the autonomic positive feedback mechanisms within EHI. To do this I have Harvey Pynn with me, Harvey is a Lieuten...

In this episode I examine the art of active listening. It is a slightly different episode and one of a number to come where I give a series of lectures. In this episode I wanted to do two things: 1. Build awareness of the factors that affect our listening ability. 2. Build and create the conditions that can produce good listening habits. One of the main problems is caused by the fact that we think...

In this session we will examine one of the common greatest human factors challenges within pre-hospital care, that of acute fatigue within clinical practice. The ambulance services are trying out different ways of working to help staff feel less tired at work and safer on scene, but these actions are often localised and have no empirical underpinning, and also we don’t know whether they are making...

In this session we will examine the bleeding patient in the tactical and combat environment. We will dig into some of the fundamental education that has changed practice in recent years, we will also look at the sequential approach to bleeding control, second and third generation haemostatics, pharmacological agents, tourniquets, neck zones and injuries, blunt injury and junctional wounds, hypoten...

In this session I will be talking with Carl Betts on the anatomy of quality improvement and some of the pitfalls that occur along the way. Carl is a Paramedic for over 10 years and is a quality improvement lead based in Sheffield working for the ambulance service. In this conversation we will look at the pitfalls we can fall into when examining improvement. We will also look at some of the bias’s...

In this episode we will examine how the evolution of public health is migrating through to ambulance services and creating future opportunities within this field of practice. In May of last year AACE (the association of Ambulance Chief Executives) published a discussion paper around developing a public health approach within the ambulance sector. This paper starts by denoting that every 24 hours,...

In this session we will examine the bleeding patient in the tactical and combat environment. We will dig into some of the fundamental education that has changed practice in recent years, we will also examine the SWIFT Study which is a study of Whole blood In Frontline Trauma A multi-centre randomised controlled trial of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of pre-hospital whole blood administration...

In this session we will be talking with Zoe Hitchcock. Zoe, 9 years ago in 2013 had a seminal event whilst walking on Oxford St in London. Zoe suffered a cardiac arrest from a cardiac myopathy causing a VF cardiac arrest. The adage that it takes a system to save a life truly came into focus that day. In this episode we will hear from Zoe’s first-hand experience of that cardiac arrest and the event...

In this episode we will examine the true story of the tragic death of a Search and Rescue medic Dave VanBuskirk. On the evening of the 22nd of July, 2013 Dave fell approximately 200 ft to his death whilst on a winching mission to save another person at Mt Charleston in the Las Vegas region of the US. To tell the story I interview SAR pilot Dave Callan. Dave Callen is a retired Sergeant from the La...

In this session we will examine a new pathway which is emerging within Scotland and north of England. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) pathway has been designed to both specialise treatment and expedite specialist care to this cohort of patients. NHS data shows that in 2020/21, approximately 1.17 million people in England have been diagnosed with COPD, which is around 1.9% of the p...

In this interview we will examine the emerging research priorities within pre-hospital care from the perspective of priority and importance. I will be speaking with Sarah McLaughlin – a senior research fellow with affiliations with Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) and Anglia Ruskin University. I will also be speaking with Lisa Ramage, Lisa is a PHEM trainee in the East of England and the ch...

In this session we will examine the latest research and approaches to traumatic cardiac arrest with Richard Lyon. We will examine the demographics and diversity of pathology that clinicians see day to day within TCA. We will also examine survival rates, empirical research, blood products, the utility of high-fidelity simulation, and the importance of governance & debrief. We will also examine...

In this interview we will examine some of the prevailing issues and incremental rise of Alzheimer’s disease within the global healthcare system. Cognitive decline is a major concern of the aging population. Already, Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately one in 14 people over the age of 65, rapidly becoming the third leading cause of death in the UK behind cardiovascular disease and cancer. To...

In this conversation I talk with Carl Betts about his reflections on paramedic retention in contemporary practice. Carl is a paramedic and quality improvement lead based in Sheffield working for the ambulance service. He has been a paramedic for 10 years and also has a 10-year extensive history of expeditions across the globe.  We examine this article, Carl’s motivations for writing it, and p...

In this session we will be talking with Noah Baron Cohen. Noah, now 22, 6 years ago in 2016 had a seminal event whilst exercising at The Jewish Community Secondary School in North London. Noah suffered a cardiac arrest from a primary arrhythmia causing a VF cardiac arrest. The adage that it takes a system to save a life truly came into focus that day. In this episode we will hear from Noah’s first...

In this session we will examine the recent viral Monkeypox (MPV) outbreak with Professor Kelechi Nnoaham. We dig into the anatomy of the virus, the possibility of local transmission of the virus, the origins of the current outbreak, current prevalence, symptomatology, known transmission pathways, viral genetic adaptation, the R rate, Case Fatality Rate, containment (ring vaccination strategies), w...

In this session we will examine the importance and art of dispatch with Jerry Overton. Jerry Overton serves as the President of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, the organisation charged with setting standards, establishing curriculum, and conducting research for public safety dispatch worldwide. Established in 1988, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) is the...

In this session we will examine the fundamentals of head injury with consultant neurosurgeon Mark Wilson. We will dig into the details of brain injury, primary and secondary injury, the importance of venous drainage, and optimising the pre-hospital management. Mark is a Consultant Neurosurgeon and Pre-Hospital Care Specialist working at both Imperial College (mainly St Mary's Major Trauma Centre)...

In this session we will examine the fundamentals of Mountain Rescue with Paramedic Jamie Patterson and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Ben Cooper. This will include a look at the demographics and diversity of rescues within the Mountain Rescue Team (MRT). We will also examine the different specialist domains that constitute being a member of the MRT such as navigation, search strategies, team dynamic...

In this session I will be talking with Allistair MacSorley around his journey through pre-hospital care as a paramedic and then a day in 2018 that changed his life forever and left him paralysed from the waist down. We will also be examining his tenacity, drive and attributes that separate him from the crowd. He is currently still working as a registered Paramedic and part of the maternity team wi...

In this session we examine the importance of governance and the main facets that constitute robust governance. This includes a look at why governance is important, the different domains that constitute good governance and finally how it is applied in practice. We will also look at the fundamentals of risk management within governance and the symbiotic relationship between the two. To do this I hav...

I'm pleased to release this recently recorded episode with ED consultant Dr Amy Hughes. Amy has launched the 'Portfolio Medical Careers' Podcast which details interesting narratives and career paths from various medical careers. This series will cover doctors, paramedics, nurses, and other allied healthcare professionals with different stories and paths within and outside of the National Health Se...

In this session we will examine some of the prevailing issues and difficulties of paediatric pain management. To do this I have Will Broughton, an associate professor of paramedic science at Buckinghamshire New University, Paramedic with specialist interest in Paediatric Emergency Medicine and Paramedic Education. He continues to practice clinically with London Ambulance Service (LAS) and South Ce...