Cord prolapse
This fourth and final maternity CPD article focuses on that of the extremely rare, but often fatal for the foetus, complication of cord prolapse. The current JRCALC guidance has just been reviewed and...
Breech Birth
The breech presentation is a maternity emergency that is often only diagnosed at the point of the buttocks presenting. There is often little warning as many breech presentations are diagnosed only in ...
Maternity emergencies 2: normal birth
Birth is a physiological process. However, when occurring unplanned prehospitally, it is a clinically significant event that is often unexpected and can be the cause of great anxiety. This is generall...
Maternity emergencies 1: antepartum haemorrhage
This series on maternity care will highlight a range of maternity emergencies and detail the pathophysiology as well as their prehospital treatment and management. The series starts with antepartum ha...
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 ...