South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb) is the first ambulance trust in the world to introduce a device to monitor the breathing of critically ill patients on all of its emergency vehicles.
www.secamb.nhs.uk
The emergency capnometer called EMMA, which is currently being rolled out to all emergency vehicles allows ambulance clinicians to check the carbon dioxide levels of patients who have been intubated. Intubation involves clinicians inserting a flexible tube down the throat of a critically ill patient whose airway may be compromised. The procedure requires a great deal of skill and is currently only performed by paramedics in the pre hospital environment. By having this small device fitted at the end of the intubation tubing, clinicians can then be sure that the tubing has been placed properly and also whether it becomes dislodged due to a patient moving.
SECAmb’s Head of Clinical Governance, Martin Lewis, said: “Prior to this piece of equipment coming onto the market, such devices could only be found in hospitals due to the size of them. However as technology has moved on, we now have a device that is much smaller and portable and therefore can now be taken to the patient.
"The other great thing about this device is that it will not only ensure the correct placement of the tubing, but also helps clinicians establish the correct level of ventilation for the patient, which is equally important.”
Funding for this device came from the Trust’s Innovation Committee. The Trust has ringfenced £250,000 for the committee to allow staff to propose ideas which will benefit patient care. The Committee has also contributed to the trust-wide roll out of the EZIO drill which allows clinicians to give patients drugs intraosseously, via a bone, when it is not
possible to give drugs intravascularly via a blood vessel. Again, SECAmb was the first ambulance trust in the world to introduce this equipment on all of its emergency vehicles. Other equipment which has also received funding from the Committee includes critical haemorrhage kits, which allow clinicians to control severe bleeding, as well as new chest seals for patients with open chest wounds that are compromising a patient’s ability to breathe.
Martin Lewis said: “Technology is moving on at such a pace, it’s allowing us to do so much more for patients at the scene of an emergency, which can have huge benefits to their outcomes.
New innovative techniques such as these are making a huge difference to the outcomes for patients and all clinicians undergo extensive training in their use.
“SECAmb is committed to embracing innovation and fast tracking it into implementation for the benefit of patients. The Innovation Committee is proving a useful vehicle for staff to come forward with ideas and suggestions on how we can use new equipment and technology to improve patient care.”