Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Northern Ireland: An Analysis of the First 100 Cases.

We present descriptive data and discussion about the first 100 cases managed by this new trauma service. Some call-outs involved multiple cases. The data covers a period of 130 days from late July 2018 to late November 2018. Methods: Information from all HEMS cases was captured manually and records retained for governance purposes. For the purpose of this paper we conducted a hand trawl of records relating to the first 100 cases managed by the HEMS team. Data was entered into a database for the purpose of analysis. Measured data included: location of incident, mode of dispatch, patient demographics, mechanism of injury, interventions provided, destination (hospital) and outcome at 24hours. Results: Patients were treated in all counties of N.I., most frequently in Co. Antrim. 83% of patients were male. Age range was between 3 years old and 97 years old. The most common mechanism of injury was road traffic collision; others included fall from height, animal attacks, electrocution, drowning and burns. All cases were assessed by a consultant and paramedic. Interventions included: pre hospital anaesthesia using rapid sequence intubation (RSI), thoracostomies, enhanced drug therapy (EDT) for pain management, procedural sedation or fracture reduction (FR) and administration of hypertonic saline (HTS). Thirteen patients were declared deceased on scene. Five required no further transportation (medically or self-discharged). Of the remainder, 90% were alive at 24 hours....
Source: The Ulster Medical Journal - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Ulster Med J Source Type: research