Paramedic administration of blood products to improve outcomes for trauma patients
Early blood transfusion for a trauma patient experiencing a major haemorrhage significantly improves their chance of survival before they reach hospital. While providing out-of-hospital blood transfus...
Decision making in prehospital and paramedic practice: part 2
This second module explores in some detail a number of concepts that can be related to decision-making in prehospital practice. It discusses the concepts of intuition and analysis and the role these a...
Decision making in prehospital and paramedic practice: part 1
This first continuing professional development article in this 2-part series on decision-making explores this process in prehospital and paramedic practice and the complex world of how clinicians make...
Patient-centred prescribing, autonomy and concordance
This article will focus on patient-centred prescribing, autonomy and concordance. Patient-centred prescribing means putting the patient at the centre of everything we do as clinicians. Autonomy means ...
Transport decisions: acute coronary syndrome and high-risk electrocardiograms
Patients experiencing a high-risk non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction are likely to benefit from prehospital medical contact, transport to a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centre and earl...
α1-adrenoceptor antagonists and 5α-reductase inhibitors for urinary tract symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a condition that develops in the majority of men and is by some estimates is the most prevalent of all minor ailments. A healthily functioning prostate is important for...
Digital health evolution and application: astronauts, starlings and Hedwig Kiesler
Digital health technologies in the NHS have had a largely leisurely uptake over recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, witnessed a sharp rise in their application, with remote clinical consulta...
Respecting an autonomous decision to refuse life-saving treatment: a case study
Autonomy is a key principle in biomedical ethics, giving patients the right to be involved in their own care. Professional autonomy allows paramedics to make critical decisions around patient care in ...
Mitigation of risk, effective communication and scene management of major incidents
Communication and collaborative working between emergency services at the scene of a major incident are paramount to gain the best outcome for patients and the wider public. This module aims to improv...
Applying organisational behaviour theory to aid emergency staff retention
The purpose of this theoretical concept article is to spark a dialogue on the use of organisational behaviour theory to address emergency responder retention. In the United States, emergency medical s...
Excited delirium syndrome
Mental health calls make up a large proportion of ambulance workloads, with paramedics responding to a wide range of presentations such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and exc...
Assessment of women during early pregnancy
Approximately 5% of the workload of UK emergency ambulance services involves managing obstetric patients. This places pregnancy firmly within the scope of prehospital care, but training often focuses ...