emergency services – Page 6 – The NEN

New £1.5m Scottish Ambulance Service training facility opens at Newbridge

A new £1.5 million Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) special operations training and logistics facility was opened in Newbridge, Edinburgh yesterday (June 12).

Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care Michael Matheson visited the base to see the expansion and learn about what type of training will be carried out at the facility, which is the first of its kind in the UK.

He spoke with Scottish Ambulance Service Chief Executive Pauline Howie, SAS Chair Tom Steele, incoming CEO Michael Dickson and General Manager of the National Risk and Resilience Department (NRRD) John Burnham, along with other staff from NRRD.

As part of SAS’s Civil Contingencies Response Programme, the training facility – which is an expansion to the ambulance service’s existing NRRD east base – will be used as a centralised training location and a dedicated equipment logistics hub.

The facility will be used for a range of training exercises, including how to respond to major incidents, and also Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) incidents.

It also includes a 360, fully interactive, immersive training suite which can be used to simulate a range of incidents in different environments including emergency departments, night clubs, industrial sites.

The suite enables not only the practice of clinical skills but subjects staff to a variety of stimuli including lighting and sound effects which may impact on performance.

SAS Chief Executive Pauline Howie said: “We are delighted to open this new training facility today and I’d like to thank all the staff involved. It has been an incredible effort and our NRRD department is a vital part of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

“This training facility will be invaluable for our staff who respond to both large and challenging incidents. This can include treating and conveying patents from challenging inaccessible and confined location including water, chemical accidents and incidents involving a large number of people.

“This facility will help us prepare to respond to these large-scale and complex incidents safely and provide the best care to our patients.”

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “This facility will be a valuable asset in allowing staff to train in a realistic but safe environment.

“Giving them the chance to experience different scenarios which could be out of the usual confines of their daily routine is so important as it will give them the confidence, resilience and knowledge of how to respond.

“Our ambulance staff run to help those in times of need and it is right that we give them the tools to allow them to do that and this training facility will do that.”

Portobello Beach Safety Markers

The City of Edinburgh Council installed location markers at Portobello Beach as part of a beach safety partnership with the Edinburgh Police Division and Maritime and Coastguard Agency in April 2021.

Numbered signs 1-6 have been attached to existing beach defence groynes and yellow circular signs to the sea wall. The emergency services can use these numbered markers to plot your location in an emergency.

Marker 1 – Pipe Lane

Marker 2 – Bath Street

Marker 3 – Bellfield Street

Marker 4 – John Street

Marker 5 – Bedford Terrace

Marker 6 – End of the promenade at Joppa Road

The signage has been used numerous times over the last few years, including search & rescue incidents.

Feedback from emergency responders and partner agencies has been very positive: “The numbered signs worked well, giving a direct place to attend, which in my view, saved vital minutes in our attendance.”

Please stay safe on our coastline. Further information on water safety can be found with our RNLI partners at https://ow.ly/txu250OLkfM

In a coastal emergency, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

#RespectTheWater

Fire Brigades Union: Governments must ‘heed stark warning’ of Scottish wildfire visible from space

This week, firefighters have battled a wildfire that started burning on Sunday afternoon near Cannich, south of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. 7,400 hectares have burned so far, with images of the 22-mile long plume of smoke captured by NASA from space.

Two firefighters injured tackling the blaze have since been released from hospital.

Wildfires require a significant number of firefighters to respond due to the extensive terrain, physically demanding work over long periods of time, transporting equipment by hand while being exposed to significant temperatures.

A decade of budget cuts has left Fire and Rescue Services stretched for resources while climate related incidents have increased in frequency and severity. J

uly 2022 saw the temperature in parts of the UK exceed 40 degrees centigrade for the first time in recorded history, increasing the risk of wildfires.

Last week the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service announced further cuts on top of a decade of austerity. These cuts will see the loss of ten fire appliances, reducing fire cover and impacting firefighters’ ability to respond to incidents.

Since 2010, 11,500 firefighters have been cut across the UK, and Scotland alone has lost 1,100 firefighters since 2013.

Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary said: “Throughout this week, firefighters in Scotland have bravely battled what is now believed to be one of the biggest wildfires in UK history and which can be seen from space.

“Two of our members have already been injured working in these extreme conditions. Thankfully both have now returned home. However, this shows us the real dangers of the climate emergency.

“Wildfires, such as the ones we are seeing in Cannich at the moment, are on the rise year on year.

“All governments must heed this stark warning: the climate crisis is here now. We need urgent climate action to prevent loss of life, and that must also involve serious investment in our fire services.”

Scottish Ambulance Service Air Ambulance celebrates 90 years

The Scottish Ambulance Service Air Ambulance is celebrating 90 years of providing vital life-saving services to some of Scotland’s most remote and rural locations.

The first air ambulance mission was on May 14 1933 when a fisherman was evacuated to Glasgow from the Isle of Islay. There were several other flights that year, and in the years that followed.

Now 90 years later and fully funded in its entirety by the Scottish Government, the Service provides air ambulance support to both urban and rural communities across Scotland, as well as supporting the ScotSTAR retrieval teams – such as SAS’s neonatal, EMRS and Paediatric Teams – and responding to 999 calls in a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) role.

A national multi-disciplinary team of paramedics, nurses, advanced practitioners, and doctors work together to provide health care to all areas of Scotland.

For the year 2022/23, air ambulance crews attended 4185 incidents – an increase compared to the previous year (2021/22) of 3,924 incidents and 3076 the year before.

Scottish Ambulance Service Chief Executive Pauline Howie said: “The Air Ambulance Service is a vital lifeline for communities across Scotland and 90s years of caring for patients across Scotland is an amazing milestone.

“I’d like to thank all those Air Ambulance staff who have served patients over these years, and all those current staff who continue to provide the very best care to patients, often in the most challenging of circumstances.

“The air ambulance network ensures the very best health care to remote and rural communities, carrying our routine transfers, attending emergencies, and assisting with paediatrics and neonates and their families.”

The service is delivered through a managed contract of two helicopters; one based in Glasgow and one in Inverness and two fixed wing aircraft; one at Aberdeen Airport and one at Glasgow Airport. In addition to the four government funded aircraft, the service is supplemented by two helicopters provided by Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA).

While the first flight took place on 14 May 1933, the Scottish Air Ambulance Service only became recognised as a public service in 1948 following the creation of the UK National Health Service. Until then, the hire of an ambulance aircraft was a private arrangement between patient and airline.

Recently, the Air Ambulance launched a re-procurement consultation, providing an opportunity for the public to help shape the future of the Air Ambulance Service. The consultation has welcomed responses from more than 1,500 patients, members of the public, healthcare professionals and stakeholders groups.

Staff profile – Stephen Lee

Stephen Lee joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in September 2004 as an Ambulance Care Assistant. He became a Paramedic in 2008, based at Paisley Ambulance Station.

He initially started at the Air Ambulance Service in 2009 before he joined the training department. Now he works as an Air Crew Paramedic on the Fixed Wing Aircraft based at Glasgow Airport, where he has been in the role for five years.

He described the air ambulance network as a “vital part” of the NHS network, and added: “Without this service remote and rural communities would not have access to the full range of hospital services.

“Myself and my colleagues provide that vital link in the service chain to ensure the health of the nation. Without this link, some remote and rural communities might not be able to continue, as the specialist care is centralised it’s important that we move people to the centres for this care to enable remote and rural communities to grow and continue to function.”

He said he attends routine transfers for patients attending clinics and planned hospital admissions, emergencies where the patient has been stabilised but require specialist care in another hospital, critical care retrievals with the adult, paediatric and neonatal teams.

He added: “My duties are to ensure the equipment in the aircraft is serviceable, to liaise with the pilots regarding any aviation problems. I also ensure the safe loading of patients, equipment and the general safety of the cabin when in flight.”

The things he enjoys most about this role are the variety from day to day, saying “hour to hour I do not know what is coming next.”

Stephen explained: “It could be a maternity job from the Islands or a repatriation to Northern Ireland the work is challenging but very rewarding – I think it’s the best job in the Service. I also enjoy meeting the rural and remote crews who do a difficult job in challenging circumstances.

“I’m also flying across some of the most beautiful countryside every day while going to work, and I do enjoy working with the pilots, who are dedicated to what we do as a team. The highlights working as an aircrew Paramedic are many, some to do with things I have seen while flying such as flying into Edinburgh and seeing the Three Bridges across the Forth or flying up the Tay to land in Perth.”

He said logistics play a large part in his role where he has to ensure the patient has a seamless journey from hospital to hospital.

He added: “We live and work in Scotland and the weather presents some challenges. We are bound by the legal limits set by the CAA, and while we can ask for some exemptions we cannot break the law.”

Edinburgh adventure park hopes to raise £1k for emergency services with family-friendly heroes weekend

Edinburgh family attraction hosts weekend-long event dedicated to members of the armed forces and emergency services
Activities include an inflatable assault course, emergency service displays and tours of emergency vehicles
The £2.50 entry fee will be donated to charity

An Edinburgh adventure park is celebrating the country’s armed forces and emergency services with a Heroes Weekend on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May.

Conifox Adventure Park in Kirkliston is inviting families along to the weekend event where they’ll meet members of the Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Ambulance Service and the RNLI, and have the chance to take part in interactive displays and various activities provided by the services.

Tickets to the event are only £2.50 and are available online at www.conifox.co.uk. All proceeds will go to charities that support service people and their families and, with plenty of family-friendly fun on offer, the attraction is hoping to raise more than £1,000 in donations over the weekend.

Some of the displays and activities available for kids and adults alike over the weekend include an inflatable Scots Guard assault course, decommissioned Royal Airforce weapons and various uniforms and protective gear that can be tried on.

Visitors will also get the chance to take a look inside ambulances, fire engines, police cars and other protection vehicles where the service personnel will be happy to answer any questions they might have.

For adults, there will also be recruitment information available for many of the services. There will also be food and drink available to purchase on the day.

James Gammell, Managing Director of Conifox Adventure Park said: “We appreciate the work and dedication of our armed and emergency services and want to celebrate their bravery with this charity event. We also know how exciting their jobs can be, and we wanted to bring that to our customers alongside some fun displays and activities.

“It’s a chance for us as a community to give back, and a chance for families to create memories that will last a lifetime. Who knows – it might even inspire some heroes of the future!”

Conifox Adventure Park is open to visitors Wednesday through to Sunday and tickets for both the Heroes Weekend, Adventure Park and indoor Activity Centre are available to purchase online at www.conifox.co.uk.

Record recruitment at Scottish Ambulance Service

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has recruited a record 1,388 staff and introduced 52 additional ambulances in the past three years as part of its Demand and Capacity Programme.

Launched in 2019, the Demand and Capacity programme is the largest and most complex programme ever undertaken at the Scottish Ambulance Service, with multi-million-pound investment from the Scottish Government enabling hundreds of new A&E staff – Paramedics, Technicians, Ambulance Care Assistants and Advanced Practitioners – to be recruited.

464 frontline A&E staff have been recruited this financial year, in addition to recruitment of 924 over the previous two years.

Of the 464 this past year, 368 are Trainee Technicians, 33 are Qualified Paramedics, 47 Newly Qualified Paramedics, 6 Advanced Practitioners and 10 Qualified Technicians. 153 were recruited for the East Region, 105 for the North Region and 206 for the West Region.

Over the last three years, the estates element of programme has also enabled the opening of ten new stations, including nine co-locations with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at Ardrossan, Dreghorn, Clarkston, Penicuik, McDonald Road in Edinburgh, Crewe Toll, Sighthill, Bathgate and Aberdeen Central.

Scottish Ambulance Service Chief Executive Pauline Howie said: “The aim of the Demand and Capacity Programme is to ensure we are working as effectively as possible by having the right resources in place to deliver the most appropriate care for the people of Scotland.

“The increase in staffing and resources, coupled with alignment of shift patterns to patient demand profiles, aims to improve patient safety and staff welfare and has involved a considerable amount of work behind the scenes.

“With demand for our services increasing across the country and additional pressures that have been brought about by the pandemic, this investment has been vital in protecting our response to patients and supporting our existing staff.

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Our increased investment to support the Scottish Ambulance Service through their Demand and Capacity review is helping to ensure the right resources are in place across the country to deliver a high-quality emergency service to the people of Scotland.

“These additional resources will help support existing staff, who have shown remarkable resilience in the face of sustained pressure over the last three years, and I thank them for their continued dedication and hard work.”

Multi service exercise to train new staff to deal with road accidents

The Scottish Ambulance Service, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland held a training exercise in the Borders recently for students and new recruits to practice responding to a road traffic collision (RTC).

The exercise was held at Galashiels Fire Station on the 7^th March and Hawick Fire Station on Tuesday the 14^th March , with the aim of teaching participants from each emergency service how to deal with a collision.

The mock exercise – held on the two nights with different groups of attendees – involved a two vehicle, high-speed, head-on collision, and saw different levels of responses.

Paramedic Lee Myers, SAS’s lead for the exercise, said: “This training has been designed around student and new recruit development, as we continue to welcome new staff into the Service.

“The exercise involved dealing with a serious RTC, with Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attending alongside the Scottish Ambulance Service.

“The participants from all the services did a fantastic job dealing with the incident which included casualties with potentially serious injuries. We also had approximately 20 Queen Margaret University student paramedics attend on the night and crews dealing with a traumatic cardiac arrest, a roof off extrication, patients being fully immobilised, and much, much more.

“The three services share an excellent working relationship and this has been a great opportunity to work on improving communication and joint agency working. I would like to say a huge thank you to all involved for making this training exercise such a success.”

Area Commander Hilary Sangster is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Local Senior Officer for Midlothian, East Lothian and Scottish Borders.

She said: “Exercises such as this are important and hugely worthwhile for our firefighters to train to protect our communities alongside emergency service colleagues in a unique and dynamic environment – and also follow several months of planning.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved and especially Station Commanders Grant Fraser and Roy Bradley, and our partners for their continued commitment to this multi-agency training.”

Public comes out in force to attend Emergency Services Open Day

LAST Saturday (25 March), 25 different organisations and hundreds of staff arrived bright & early at the Scottish Government Building, Victoria Quay, for our Emergency Services Open Day.

The day’s focus was to bring the community together with our emergency & other public services, as well as local charities and partner agencies, to acknowledge the vital role that we all play in community cohesion.

Some partners started early with Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team & Border Search and Rescue Unit travelling from the Scottish Borders. The Ministry of Defence Police came from HM Naval Base Clyde.

We had a #CHASHospice Stormtrooper & Spiderman entertaining us throughout the day. Lothian Buses brought a bus popular with big and little kids alike! Close contenders for the most popular attraction were the fire engines provided by the fire service & International Fire & Rescue Association.

Local charities on site included St Columba’s Hospice Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, St Andrew’s First Aid, British Red Cross, Scottish Charity Air Ambulance & Blood Bikes Scotland. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency had an impressive display of rescue kit.

Specialist police units included Police Scotland’s Operational Support Unit, Armed Policing, Police Partnerships, Wildlife Crime & British Transport Police – Scotland. The Civil Nuclear Constabulary came from Torness Power Station.

Local units from The Army in Scotland & 603 (City of Edinburgh) RAF Squadron supported our event. They provided everything from an ambulance through to a large army lorry.

Rapid Relief Team UK served an incredible 2000 free delicious meals and hot drinks during the event to both event staff and visitors.

In total, we welcomed close to 4000 people through the gates of our event.

A big thank you to our sponsors who helped make this event happen: The Scottish Government, Places for People Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Scottish Ambulance Service & The City of Edinburgh Council

Leith Docks incident: eight people remain in hospital

Officers were called around 8.35am yesterday morning (Wednesday, 22 March, 2023) following a report of a ship becoming dislodged from its dry dock in Leith Docks.

Emergency services attended at the location at Imperial Dock and a multi-agency response was co-ordinated by Police Scotland.

The Scottish Ambulance Service took 15 people to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, four to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and two to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife. By around 1.20pm, all casualties were confirmed as being removed from the area and everyone accounted for.

Eight people remain in hospital this morning.

Superintendent Mark Rennie said: “I would like to thank partner agencies involved in the response to this incident which involved a complex operation to make sure everyone was safe.

“There is no risk to the wider public and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what has happened. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed.

“I would also like to thank the public for their patience while the emergency services undertook a very difficult job aiding casualties. We continue to ask people to avoid the area.”

All Scottish Ambulance Service crews now trained in distributing Naloxone

All active crews at the Scottish Ambulance Service have now been trained to supply life-saving Take Home Naloxone (THN) kits.

Following the completion of the two year naloxone training programme, launched in 2021, 2333 Take Home Naloxone kits (THN) have been distributed by crews.

These Naloxone kits, which reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, have been distributed by ambulance clinicians to people at risk of a non-fatal overdose or potential future overdose. They have also been provided to family, friends and service workers who may have to administer naloxone in the future, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

The successful roll-out of the training programme to distribute the kits has been led by three Clinical Effectiveness Leads for Drug Harm Reduction, covering the North, East and West regions. They have been funded by the Drug Deaths Taskforce, an extension of the Scottish Government’s existing Naloxone Programme.

Over the last two years, SAS has increased its partnership working with health boards and drug treatment and support services, as engagement with these services is a proven protective factor in reducing drug deaths. By creating alternative pathways, patients will receive a referral to follow up after their emergency presentation, to ensure they receive further appropriate care.

A booklet for call handers in SAS’s Ambulance Control Centres has also been developed, which provides an index for common drug terms. This booklet, created in partnership with Public Health Scotland – RADAR, can help call handlers better identify the needs of the patient when taking 999 calls.

Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We’re proud to have reached our target of training up our operational staff in being able to supply Take-Home Naloxone.

“Our crews offer a frontline service where they reach into vulnerable communities across Scotland, and this targeted distribution will ensure Naloxone will get into the hands of those who need it most.

“Over the last two years, our three Clinical Effectiveness Leads for Drug Harm Reduction have made huge strides to effect positive change within patient care, and access to treatment for those affected by their use of drugs. This is helping to meet our aims of positively improving health and wellbeing across Scotland.”

Drugs Policy Minister Angela Constance said: “Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce a national Naloxone programme and increasing its provision and availability has been a key priority in our national mission to help save lives.

“We know that having naloxone available can and does save lives and maximising its availability is a key part of our work to reduce drug related deaths in Scotland.

“The extent of the use of naloxone to prevent deaths illustrates the size of the challenge but also the ambition of the response, including from crucial partners like the Scottish Ambulance Service.

“We’re focused on supporting those affected by problem substance use, delivering real change on the ground and implementing evidence-based approaches we know can help save lives. We will continue to prioritise the distribution of naloxone and to work with partners, such as the SAS, to ensure that this important work continues and that we can continue to provide support to people at a time of crisis.”