Changing times

As the year rolls on changes are a foot. Paramedics nationally have moved in to pay band six with all that entails. All paramedics in band six are going to be expected to act as mentors and carry out station duties, many of which have been carried out locally by Lead Paramedics.

One of the biggest changes will be for our graduate paramedics who will now be classed as newly qualified Paramedics and will be in band five for 24 months. This will build on the current preceptorship period that our new graduates already undergo. During this period they will receive additional support, be expected to complete a portfolio to prove their competencies and also have certain of their clinical decisions for high risk patients, who they wish to discharge at home verified by a senior clinician. Also as part of the changes our current Advance Technicians will formally take rota positions as  lead clinicians.

All of the above are national initiatives and guidance to ensure Paramedics are recognised for the high degree of clinical skills and expertise in the pre- hospital and unplanned care environment. As the Paramedic role continue to develop the vital role we play will continue to be recognised. Another operations officer and myself were talking this week and when we both joined the Paramedic role was restricted to the ambulance service with very few opportunities out side of the service. Now days Paramedics are in high demand across the whole of the health care environment and we are seen as having transferable skills.

This week will see three of my colleagues attending Operational and  Tactical command training in Exeter further developing their skills and competency.

Today is April first, the clocks have gone forward giving lighter evenings and the sun is shining. All of this combined means lots of people out and about. Around the harbour there is a frenzy of activity getting boats ready for the summer season. This time of year also sees more motorcycles out and about. Many riders may not have ridden over the winter months and may be a little rusty. With this in mind guys take your time and maybe even think about some additional training, there are lots of options out there IAM, ROSPA, Bikesafe all offer training and ride outs. Go on your never to old to learn.

Stay safe

What do we do in a day?

After the excitement of the past few weeks it's back to the main day job this weekend.
So as the Operational Officer, Duty Officer for East Dorset, what have I been up to during my shifts?
Friday morning  handover from the night officer a few minor things to be aware of. Vehicle daily inspection to ensure it is road worthy and has all the necessary equipment,  supplies and drugs and then preparation for our division daily conference call at 0800 our.

This call looks at each sectors performance , potential issues for the day including hospital bed states and handover delays. It also looks at staffing and possible influences from the weather or local events. As I had been off for a few days, once the call was over I had the chance to wade through my inbox and deal with any matters arising.

Then it was a trip to the other two stations in our sector and also the two acute hospitals.

I was then tasked to a incident on the beach and there was great patient focused , multi agency working between the ambulance service, police, coastguard and fire and rescue to bring the incident to a positive closure.

The afternoon became busier with some stacked calls and several vehicles at hospital leading to some  handover delays. A call letting me know a member of staff had gone sick and  regular monitoring of handover times and incidents bought the day to close. Handover to the night ops officer and the sector looks in a good position.

Saturday saw me covering the 1100 - 2100 shift lots going on in the patch including premier league football. After checking my vehicle and a trip down to the local acute hospital it was back to Bournemouth Station and  a productive day with an appraisal completed and written up, several minor problems around the patch easily sorted. A DATIX (adverse incident) investigated and closed with feedback to the the crew.Also mobilised to three incidents. Unfortunately I was then unavailable as the vehicle I was using developed a defect. Whilst waiting for the duty fitter to arrive I continued to monitor the hospital handover times and dealt with a couple of other problems by phone.

Handover to the night DO was done with little to pass over other than he was going to have to swap vehicles not the greatest of starts to his shift

As you can see a varied mix of things we do on a day to day basis. No two days are the same and each shifts presents a variety of challenges to deal with.

Back in today 1100 -2100 again so let's see what today brings.

Stay safe 

Commander Courses

This week I have been in Exeter at the Ambulance Special Operations Centre, home to one of  our Hazardous Area Response Teams and the Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery directorate of the trust.
Over the five days I attended the trusts new Operational, Tactical and Strategic training courses. These courses are designed to ensure all staff who may be called upon to perform a commanders role at an incident are suitably trained and have proved their competence against the national occupational standards. However this is only the start as all commanders will need to show continual professional development by attending both live and table top exercises, pre-planned events and live incidents.

In the normal way the days use sessions of interactive learning , group tasks and scenarios to develop your ability and develop key skills. Competency is assessed both using the scenarios and tests. The first two days are the Operational commanders course followed by two days of the Tactical Commanders course and finally the Strategic Commanders day. Although these roles vary in their focus at an incident the underlying principles used are the same. These core skills and processes can be used at any incident and are scaleable depending on the nature, type and complexity of the incident being dealt with.
The courses are being taught over the next eighteen months and the trust have been lucky to secure a highly experienced and respected tutor to deliver this training. All in all a great week with lots of learning, shared experiences and development. Courses of this type and development of the trusts commanders can only lead to improved patient care.

Thanks to everyone involved over the whole week.


Day one of the Operational Commanders Course

As always stay safe.