Mountain users in the UK range from super-fit athletes to children and older people. Search & Rescue (SAR) personnel are regularly called upon to rescue and treat casualties with pre-existing medical conditions who have become unwell in mountain locations unaccessible by road. In the event of an emergency arising in a remote mountain setting, help is likely to be much slower arriving, compared to an urban environment. For example, in Snowdonia (North Wales), the minimum time for help to arrive is typically in the area of 45 minutes (RAF SAR helicopter from...
In telephone-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR), protocols are used to help the bystander via standardized instructions. However, the requested compression depth is rarely achieved. This study was designed to investigate the effect of intensified wording and/or repetitive target depth instructions on compression depth. Methods: In this investigator-blinded, randomized, 4- armed, factorial study, 32 volunteers were requested to perform 10 minutes of compression only- CPR on a manikin. Participants were randomized either to standard wording ("push down 5cm"),...
MEDIC EMS, headquartered in Davenport, IA, is a non-profit emergency medical services (EMS) corporation. MEDIC EMS serves a population base of approximately 175,000 people, and its primary 911 ambulance coverage area is approximately 375 (82%) of Scott County's 456 total square miles. All MEDIC EMS System Status Controllers are Certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) through the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED). The aim of this study, conducted by MEDIC EMS, is to expedite treatment for patients transported by ambulance to Primary Stroke...
There is an on-going discussion on quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as related to guideline target values for chest compression depth. Deeper compression depth is generally understood to be more effective. Interestingly, the American Heart Association (AHA) guideline requests a compression depth of "at least 5cm" whereas the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guideline requests "at least 5 cm, but not to exceed 6 cm". It is unknown which recommendation is more effective to achieve a correct compression depth. This study attempted to determine the...
Unlike calls from landline telephones, mobile phones do not provide EMS call handlers with a full address, and positional estimates from mobile phone signals can have a margin of error of up to 3000m (approx. 9900 feet) in rural areas. We noticed that mountain casualties attending our Emergency Department in North Wales often struggle to pronounce Welsh-language place names. We wished to determine whether the ability of 999 callers to accurately pronounce (or describe) their location within Snowdonia National Park affected the efficiency with which their location...
Ambulances can't get up mountains, and air ambulances can't land on steep ground. However, UK ambulance assets are sometimes tasked to inaccessible locations that require a Search & Rescue (SAR) response, e.g. Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) or hoist-equipped helicopter. We wished to ascertain: (1) The proportion of mountain users aware of correct procedure to call for help in event of a medical emergency in a location inaccessible by road (999>Police>request MRT), and (2) the proportion of UK ambulance services with formal...
