British Association For Immediate Care Research Articles

Providing support to students following a mass casualty incident

A summary of the support given to paramedic students who attended the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017.

Mental health care training for practitioners in remote and rural areas

Rural and island health care staff in Scotland are required to manage patients experiencing mental health crises. To ensure practitioners in remote and rural areas have the necessary skills, the Remote and Rural Healthcare Educational Alliance (RRHEAL) were asked to develop a pre-hospital mental health care course. Several mental health care experts were asked to express an opinion on the essential content of such a course. Stakeholder review informed the development of a survey to identify the priority areas for training. The first round of the survey process involved an expert group of 16; the second round used a survey of over 300 remote and rural practitioners involved with the British Association for Immediate Care, Scotland (BASICS). The stakeholder review identified key content, summarised under the following topics: risk assessment; patient assessment; crisis management; handling difficult situations; engagement skills; mental health law; management of retrieval; pharmacology; theory and classification of mental illness; and understanding your network. This article shares how the needs within a national pre-hospital mental health care programme were identified, and demonstrates how consensus over the content of a national course was achieved through the use of a modified Delphi approach. The Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network (CSMEN), Self-Harm Mitigation Training (STORM®) and BASICS, alongside RRHEAL, contributed to this development. Using blended learning techniques the resulting course encourages a contextual approach to user needs, specifically teaching generic mental health care skills to staff who are often working single-handed, and are required to respond appropriately, locally and safely as they work towards achieving National Mental Health crisis standards.

Prehospital emergency care course: PhEC

The prehospital emergency care (PhEC) course is a three day course covering various aspects of prehospital care, from anaphylaxis to dysrhythmias to trauma management. It is run by the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) and is examined and accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). The first course was run in April 1993 and it has been developed and redesigned ever since, with the last major restructuring occurring in 2006. The PhEC course is also becoming an internationally respected course, with BASICS running courses in; Romania, Malta, Greece, Goa and Cyprus. To date, approximately 4000 people have successfully passed the PhEC course. However, not everyone is successful. In 2009, the PhEC courses attracted 201 candidates with 40 candidates not being successful; this represents a pass rate of 80%. This seems to be fairly typical, as the average pass rate is between 75%-85% with this being fairly consistent across the various professionals undertaking the course. The course is publicized as a Level 2 qualification, meaning it is aimed at the professional care provider who occasionally works in the prehospital environment. Although this may imply that by its very nature the course is aimed below the level of knowledge and skills already possessed by UK paramedics, this is certainly not the case in the prehospital environment (Box 1). The course requires an in-depth knowledge of the whole range of current paramedic practice, as well as a reasonable working knowledge of more advanced skills and interventions. However, despite this high level of required knowledge, a number of non-registered prehospital care providers have excelled at the PhEC course in the past, including first aiders, firefighters and combat medical technicians. The course The weekend course currently costs £735 for BASICS members and £800 for non-members, candidates might also want to consider paying for accommodation during the course and this can be booked online via the BASICS website. It may also be worthwhile for potential candidates to consider joining BASICS in order to benefit from this discount and to receive the various other benefits of membership to this leading organization. Currently, BASICS membership costs from £47 for student members (with no journal subscription) to £177 for full members, including a paper subscription to the Emergency Medicine Journal. As mentioned previously, the course material is delivered over three days. There is however a large syllabus to be accommodated within these three days and candidates can expect to begin lectures at 08:00–08:30 each day and not leaving before 18:00. It is also advisable not to expect to be ‘spoon-fed’ information during the course; as although there are excellent lectures and instructional practical sessions, a large amount of prior knowledge and preferably experience is certainly needed. Once you have registered for the PhEC course on the BASICS website, you will be sent further registration documents, recommended reading lists, the Manual of Core Skills produced by the RCSEd and a practice test paper (with answers). It is definitely advisable that all candidates The course requires an in-depth knowledge of the whole range of current paramedic practice ‘ Box 1. Hierachy of qualifications

Availability and utilisation of physician-based pre-hospital critical care support to the NHS ambulance service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

BackgroundEvery day throughout the UK, ambulance services seek medical assistance in providing critically ill or injured patients with pre-hospital care.ObjectiveTo identify the current availability and utilisation of physician-based pre-hospital critical...

Great North Air Ambulance Service: prehospital anaesthesia course

Prehospital anaesthesia (PHA) is an intervention that, over the years, has had its merits debated in crew rooms. In the UK, it has now been accepted as a valuable intervention in certain patients in the prehospital environment. There are a number of prehospital schemes in the UK with doctors who have PHA in their ‘toolbag’, and this includes the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). In order to undertake this intervention, practitioners require more than just anaesthetic drugs and familiarity with a laryngoscope. There are UK guidelines on PHA, agreed by all the national bodies representing practitioners who may be involved in this procedure (Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland; Royal College of Anaesthetists; Joint Royal Ambulances Liaison Committee; College of Emergency Medicine; British Association for Immediate Care; Faculty of Pre-hospital Care of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine). Paramedics can, and usually do, form a critical part of the team of practitioners required when undertaking PHA. In addition to those paramedics working for an air ambulance service, road crews are increasingly likely to be involved with a patient undergoing PHA. Thus, having an understanding of the procedure and when it may be beneficial, has utility for many paramedics.

Pre-hospital emergency care

The pre-hospital emergency care course is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and run by the British Association for Immediate Care. It can be used towards the diploma in immediate care (DIMCRCSEd). I did the course through the British Association for Immediate Care Scotland at Craigellachie, a remote location in north east Scotland, although courses take place in a number of rural locations throughout Scotland. The organisers allowed a maximum of 16 people on the course. It runs over two and a half days and consists of a series of lectures and practical teaching sessions in small groups. Various aspects of trauma are explored, including extrication from vehicles, and cardiac scenarios similar to those on the advanced life …

A survey of surgical airway experiences and equipment among immediate care doctors

Background:There is a variety of approaches to obtaining a surgical airway, but little literature on techniques other than surgical cricothyroidotomy and the placement of a cuffed tube.Methods:An e-mail and postal...

Pre-Hospital Paediatric Life Support (PHPLS)

TOP TIPS Make sure you read the manual in advance. There were questions in the multiple choice exam from the manual that were not in the lectures. It also helps to read the current paediatric resuscitation guidelines before the course. FURTHER INFORMATION The course is run by the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS, www.basics.org.uk) and organised through the Advanced Life Support Group (www.alsg.org). Healthcare professionals working in the field of prehospital care. Attendees range from paramedics and nurses to hospital trainees and …

The work of the South Manchester Accident Rescue Team (SMART)

Skills acquired in the hospital do not necessarily translate to the scene of an accident. However, training in certain hospital specialties, particularly accident and emergency medicine, will expose doctors to dealing with very ill patients in a less rigidly structured environment. The operating theatre is a disciplined and controlled environment. Skill in anaesthesia, monitoring and operating, if tested only in these circumstances may be found to be gravely inadequate when exposed to the fluctuant and hostile environment at the site. Doctors who wish to do this sort of work or are designated to do it, must undergo regular and frequent training, especially if they are not trained in accident and emergency departments. This has long been recognised by the British Association for Immediate Care. In combination with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh they have now established a diploma in Immediate Medical Care. In urban areas the need for a doctor to attend at the scene of an accident is usually limited to entrapment. These occasions are likely to be infrequent and this can result in a lack of preparedness for such events. Interhospital transfer, primarily from peripheral hospitals to the specialist services of a teaching hospital, often involves critically ill and injured patients. The management of these cases by the mobile team provides regular, frequent exposure to working in a 'hostile' environment. Relationships with the rescue services are developed and staff become familiar with equipment and call-out procedures. The care of transported patients is improved. None of our patients have died in transit or within 6 h of arrival at base.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS). Its experience in major disasters, with special reference to the role of the medical incident officer

The British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS). Its experience in major disasters, with special reference to the role of the medical incident officer

The British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS)

The British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS)