Emergency Response, the backbone of SWIFT Medics' work

Swift Medics:

• Are the only emergency doctors available for the Great Western Ambulance Service in Wiltshire
• Are a voluntary service, GWAS do not employ any doctors for emergency call-outs in Wiltshire
• Time is given freely by the doctors and support staff
• Training and equipment are all funded by kind donations to the charity. This includes inexpensive consumables such as syringes, splints & bandages through to critical care medicines and the high-tech equipment such as patient monitors & defibrillators costing many many thousands of pounds

 

Call-out procedure
The Great Western Ambulance Service receive 999 calls from the public, the police or fire service 24/7.

By carefully selected questioning, within 30 seconds the ambulance service will have a good idea of the location, type & seriousness of the incident. They will know which type of response to organise. Their options include:

• First responder in car
• Paramedic responder in car
• Technician (or Emergency Care Assistant) in ambulance
• Paramedic Ambulance (generally paramedic & technician)
• Doctor (SWIFT Medics)
• Air Ambulance
• A combination of the above

 

This will depend on location, type of incident & availability of resources.

Call out criteria:
SWIFT Medics operate a standard set of call out criteria as it is well proven which types of incident would benefit from the presence of an experienced doctor urgently. These may include:

RTCs (Now called road traffic collisions, the term accident has been dropped) In particular:

 

• High speed RTC
• RTC with potentially serious mechanism e.g. rollover, vehicle left the road
• RTC with ejection from the vehicle
• Associated fatality with other patients within vehicle

 

Also:

• Farm or factory, military, aviation, equestrian or motorsport emergencies
• Falls from a height, Severe head injuries, Severe burns, Cardiac arrest
• Severe asthma, Suspected severe meningitis, The deeply unconscious casualty
• Limb amputation or partial amputation/entrapment
• Significant paediatric trauma, Significantly unwell children
• Obstetric emergencies involving trauma or pre-term imminent birth
• Near drowning, Multiple casualties (3 or more)

 

Having an Immediate Care Doctor brings:

• A well trained, experienced doctor who will frequently lead the team to manage multiple casualties.
• Experience in prioritisation of casualties ensuring that the right patient arrives at the right hospital at the right time & by the right means of transport. This has a vital influence on recovery & survival.
• Certain specialist emergency surgical procedures at the roadside for treatment of immediately life threatening conditions, relief of pain, pre-hospital anaesthesia to stabilise the critically injured patient
• Trained immediate care doctors offer extra equipment, drugs, knowledge & experience brought from medical training adapted for use out of hospital
• Patients who are trapped may require treatment traditionally given in hospital but which needs to be given at the scene whilst the patient is released
• Immediate Care Doctor helps ensure every minute counts at the very beginning of 'the golden hour'

 

It is often thought that a team of doctors can be called from the hospitals in Wiltshire is required. This is not the case & does not happen in Wiltshire.