Emergency Medical Retrieval Service

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Emergency Medical Retrieval Service
Created 2004
Headquarters Glasgow airport
NHS region Scotland
Budget £2 million
Website www.emrs.scot.nhs.uk


The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) provides aeromedical critical care to people in Scotland. It provides patients in remote and rural areas with rapid access to the skills of a consultant in emergency or intensive care medicine as well as facilitating transfers to larger, better equipped city hospitals. The team is available 24 hours a day with services` provided in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service utilising both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The service began operating in the West of Scotland in 2004 and has provided a national service since 2010. The EMRS now operate as part of ScotSTAR, the Scottish national retrieval service, sharing a bespoke base at Glasgow Airport.

History

File:Helimed5 (2).jpg
Helimed 5 with EMRS trauma team arriving at rural accident

The EMRS was formed in 2004 when NHS Argyll and Clyde approved a twelve month trial which involved 11 consultants in emergency or intensive care medicine.[1] The EMRS were initially based at Glasgow City Heliport and operated only in the Argyll and Clyde area. Over the first 12 months the EMRS attended 40 patients.[2]

In 2007 the service was extended to cover three rural general hospitals and 13 community hospitals as part of an 18-month trial funded with £1.59 million.[3] The success of the service saw its operating zone expanded throughout the West coast of Scotland and the EMRS now operates from Stranraer in the South to Stornoway in the North.[4] An independent service evaluation demonstrated value for money and lifesaving benefits of critical care retrieval.[5]

In March 2010, the Scottish Government acknowledged that due to its continuing success, the service would be further enhanced by the addition of a second team, operational from October 2010.[6][7] The second team increased the number of participating consultants and Doctors from eight to fifteen.[8] In 2010 around 90% of EMRS activity involved secondary retrieval.[9] Annual running costs were now in the region of £2 million.[10] In 2011 annual activity was estimated to be 324 transfers each year with around 60% of these by rotary wing and 35% by fixed-wing aircraft.[11]

In June 2014 EMRS teams began to routinely carry a stock of O negative blood to allow transfusion earlier when responding to emergencies.[12] During the period of the 2014 Commonwealth Games a third team of medics was available.[12]

As of December 2014 the staff of the service had expanded to include 27 part-time consultants and had completed more than 3,000 retrievals.[13]

In September 2015 the EMRS announced their move to a new purpose-built base, located at Glasgow Airport.[14]

Resources

File:EMRS2.jpg
The EMRS team (red) with Paramedics (green) in 2009, loading a patient into a helicopter

In addition to responding by road the EMRS is supported by aircraft from the Scottish Ambulance Service's Air Ambulance Division, and the helicopters of the Royal Navy's Search & Rescue squadron, Rescue 177, based at HMS Gannet, Prestwick Airport, near Glasgow.[15]

Equipment

Collaboration with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) allows the EMRS to have O-negative blood immediately available to take on all missions.[16]

The EMRS have developed a bespoke app to make their standard operating procedures available to clinicians.[17]

Background

The EMRS functions supplementary to the regular Scottish Ambulance Service Air Ambulance service. Unlike air ambulance services in other parts of the UK, both services are funded by the Scottish Government. The service responds to seriously ill and injured patients, often in remote locations, who require early critical care interventions and quick transfer to a better equipped, urban hospital.[18]

The EMRS have occasionally featured on the Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency, which charts the work of rescue services in the Scottish Highlands.[19]

Context

File:EMRSmap.jpg
Map of areas covered by the EMRS, showing some medical facilities served

Many other countries with large populations in rural or inaccessible areas have developed similar schemes. For example, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operates on very similar lines to the EMRS. New Zealand and Canada have also developed similar patient retrieval services in support of their rural health care practitioners.

Awards

March 2010 saw the EMRS win the Secondary Care Team of the Year category in the BMJ awards for its work in “transforming the care and transfer of seriously ill and injured patients in remote and rural Scotland”.[20] This award recognised hospital teams that demonstrate improved outcomes of medical & surgical conditions.[21]

In 2012 the app developed by the EMRS won the EHI award for best use of mobile technology in healthcare and the NHS Scotland eHealth award for Best NHS Scotland use of Mobile technology.[17]

See also

References

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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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