As well as being a member of our Critical Care Team, Els also works as an advanced clinical practitioner in the emergency department at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) and has been on the front line saving lives throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. We spoke to her about the role she has played and changes she has seen.
Could you tell us a little bit about your role?
I have worked for HIOWAA since 2011 and in the emergency department at UHS since 2012. I started my career as an ambulance technician for South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) before undertaking my paramedic training. I joined HIOWAA as a helicopter emergency medicine service (HEMS) paramedic, having gained some flying experience with Thames Valley Air Ambulance, before making my way up to a consultant paramedic.
My two roles complement each other well: I get to see patients at the scene of an incident or accident with HIOWAA and I also get to look after them when they first come into the hospital. Both roles are similar in some ways and very different in other ways.
In addition to these two roles I am also heavily involved in the education and development of healthcare professionals; supporting nurses and paramedics into advanced clinical practice roles is something I’m really passionate about.
When I first started as an ambulance technician I was inspired by the skills and expertise of the senior paramedics who I would see on board the Air Ambulance. Since then, I have worked with lots of doctors and other healthcare professionals who I learn something new from every day. The team here are all highly motivated and want to give the best care we can to our patients. We have excellent equipment, and the links that we have with the local hospitals and ambulance service makes it a really great job. I look forward to it when I know I’m on shift the next day.
How has your role changed during the Coronavirus pandemic?
Lots of things have changed for us, one of those being the configuration of our service. We have to have adequate numbers of crew members on board the helicopter to allow us to have what we call ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ clinicians. This means that the ‘dirty’ members of the team are in full personal protective equipment (PPE), as they look after and treat the patient.
Our ‘clean’ clinician has less of a hands-on role but will help to prepare all the kit and equipment and liaise with the many people on scene: the fire, police and ambulance services. They also take on a scene management role and communicate with the hospitals and HEMS Desk in Ambulance Control.
Because of the increased numbers of staff that are required we have had to slightly adapt our shifts. We have been able to offer a service to the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from 7am to 2am throughout the pandemic, but, most importantly, we have focussed our resources where they are needed most. Crucial to the success of this modification of our service has been our team who work in Ambulance Control.
Our dispatch team is a two-person team made up of a dispatch assistant, experts in running the dispatch process and the technology that sits behind it, and a HEMS paramedic. The HEMS paramedic listens in to 999 calls and looks out for incidents as they arrive on the computer assisted dispatch system, as well as talking to ambulance crews who are on scene with a patient. There are hundreds of 999 calls that come into the Ambulance Control call centre for SCAS every day and the hard part is to identify those who would benefit from the skills of the Critical Care Team.
Another one of the biggest changes for us has been the amount of time it takes us to clear up after a job. We must consider how we can safely decontaminate equipment that has come into contact with a patient and make that equipment safely available to be used again.
We have to dispose of all of our PPE, which can be a challenge, and we have to make sure it is done safely so we don’t encourage the transmission of Coronoavirus. The hospitals have been brilliant in allowing us to use their special PPE doffing rooms and we can always get help with cleaning up.
It’s been an interesting time during the Coronavirus pandemic, not without anxieties and difficulties, but, as always, the teams have worked together and we have been creative in our approach. Hopefully, we’ve managed to carry on delivering high quality critical care to patients throughout this time, keeping ourselves and our patients safe at all times.
What changes have you seen in the emergency department?
One of the biggest changes we’ve had due to Coronavirus has been the split of the emergency department into red and blue sides. Patients who potentially have Coronavirus are triaged on the red side and patients unlikely to have it are sent to the blue side.
Unfortunately, we had to restrict the number of patient visitors during the pandemic. This is obviously a safety factor in terms of keeping patients and their families safe by trying to minimise the spread. It’s extremely difficult for relatives who’ve brought a loved one into hospital and are not able to spend time at their bedside. It can be difficult to explain to people that they can’t travel from the scene of an incident with their relative to the hospital, but we’ve had to do that for everyone’s safety.
Could yell us about the ‘Covid Zero’ campaign?
UHS has launched its ‘Covid Zero’ campaign to try and help us wipe out the transmission of Covid-19 in the hospitals in our area. The simple piece of advice for everybody is: Walk, Wear and Wash. Walk apart and socially distance when you can, wear a face covering when you’re not able to safely socially distance and wash your hands as often as possible, for at least 20 seconds.
Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers?
Thank you for your continued support throughout the current health crisis. We appreciate that things have been extremely difficult for lots of people. Lockdown has meant different things for everybody, and it’s been a challenge for all of us. Thank you so much for keeping us flying, allowing us to provide critical care to people across Hampshire and Isle of Wight. Your support means so much to us as a team.
