The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is misleading the public by distorting emergency response times, a union has claimed. The GMB said the trust was marking 999 calls as “target met” when the emergency was still ongoing, to hit targets. The trust strongly denied the accusation,…
A paramedic who was off work for six months after being attacked by a patient is suing ambulance bosses for £100,000 after claiming they did not tell her the call-out was dangerous. Lynn Sutherland was punched and kicked by 16-year-old Grahame Donnelly after racing to his home amid fears…
Unions have urged the government to slow down the roll out of the new non-emergency NHS telephone service amid fears a lack of nursing input could increase pressure on other services. NHS 111 is due to replace NHS Direct from April 2013. But unlike NHS Direct, which is a…
An Angus teenager who threatened to knife two paramedics has been sent to a Young Offenders Institution for six months. John Brand was so aggressive that they locked the door of their ambulance before driving off for their own safety. Brand’s lawyer blamed the youth’s actions on the shock…
– Image credits. – The 40-year-old paramedic was working near Rockhampton where he stole methoxyflurane – a non-opioid alternative to morphine often used for acute trauma – from the Queensland Ambulance Service in November 2010. QAS suspended him a month later and court documents show he was convicted in…
Watching this video of SALT Airway Insertion was an assignment in the first learning plan for my hybrid paramedic refresher. Of course as a long time advocate of incorporating social media content into course work I was a fan from the start. The video is straightforward, well made by…
– This is continuing from Part I about a recent paper looking at the use of nebulized naloxone (Narcan) to treat possible opioid OD (OverDose). What are the indications for naloxone? To diagnose heroin OD?
The number of patients waiting more than four hours in hospital accident and emergency departments has jumped by 40 per cent in a year, figures show. Nearly 900,000 were delayed for this length of time in 2011/10 compared to just under 600,000 in 2009/10. Last year the Government scrapped…
The London Fire Brigade today launched an audacious bid to seize control of the capital’s ambulance service. Tory fire authority chiefs proposed a series of “joint working” ideas that could effectively give the Mayor power over both “blue light” services. The brigade believes £50 million could be saved by…
A man who died after a drinking game should have been taken to hospital by paramedics, an inquest has heard. Daniel Cripps, 22, became “completely out of it” after drinking 14 shots of vodka at a house party in Newport. Paramedics were called but left him to sleep if…