Emergency crews
The staff working on our emergency ambulances are either
paramedics or emergency medical technicians. They respond to a wide
variety of calls but mainly to serious or life-threatening
calls.
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics are trained to deal
with life-threatening illnesses and injuries. However, paramedics
are trained to carry out invasive procedures which they may need to
perform during the most serious medical emergencies. These
procedures include intubation (where a tube is entered into the
windpipe to help a patient breathe) and needle chest decompressions
(inserting a needle into the chest to release the build up of air
pressure).
We carry a full range of equipment on our emergency ambulances,
including electrocardiogram (ECG) machines to monitor a patient’s
heart and defibrillators which can restart the heart if a patient
goes in to cardiac arrest.
A&E support crews
Our
A&E
support crews also go to
patients in an ambulance. But they deal with patients who do not
need the clinical skills of a paramedic or emergency medical
technician, nor an ambulance on flashing blue lights.
The staff who form these crews have been trained in basic
life-support and help to keep our emergency ambulances free to
attend patients who are seriously hurt or unwell.
They deal with a variety of patients, including elderly people
who have fallen at home, transfers to hospices and children with
high temperatures.