Allan Newbold
The issue addressed is the provision of high level prehospital care to critically injured patients and rapid transportation to definitive care in one of the largest states in the world. This is the challenge met by Western Australia’s Emergency Rescue Helicopter Service.
The purpose of this presentation is to describe how this is achieved? How does one Critical Care Paramedic face and combat the array of hostilities involved in being the only rescue crewman and clinician on an Emergency Medical Search and Rescue Helicopter.
How does one person cannulate, intubate and ventilate. How does one person perform finger thoracostomy, give blood, tranexamic acid, RSI, package and transport. How does one person get winched into the bush, onto a ship or into the water and provide the level of care required.
This is the role and scope of the St John Ambulance Critical Care Paramedic (CCP).
The scope of the presentation is to describe this seemingly insurmountable task, and that realistically it is not performed by just one person. There may only be one CCP, but there are many people who, in conjunction with the CCP try to negate all of the real and possible hostilities encountered in this role.
The outcome. In 2018 the two RAC rescue helicopters treated and transported approximately 250 primary response patients, most of which where taken from the site of injury directly to a level one trauma centre. In a state the size of Western Australia this can save up to 6 hours in the time taken to receive definitive care.
This presentation will describe how one Critical Care Paramedic can deliver such a high standard of care in such a dynamic environment. It will explain the unique structure of Western Australia’s Emergency Helicopter Retrieval Service and its evolution since it’s inception 15 years ago.
Biography:
Allan Newbold- Critical Care Paramedic
I have been a St John Ambulance Paramedic for 20 years with 13 of those aboard the two RAC rescue helicopters. My role provides me with constant physical and clinical challenges. The role is often confronting but always rewarding. I thrive on the challenges that are presented as a solo clinician and solo rescue crewman. In this environment teamwork and communication are paramount to the success of every tasking. Being a Critical Care Paramedic is certainly not for everyone but I could never imagine doing anything else.