Interesting. We don't send the flying squad out to
save lives. We send them out when a particular
surgical skill may be needed, usually at the request
of the onsite paramedic, where the paramedic doesn't
feel qualified to make a judgement, or have the skill
to perform a surgical procedure. So the ones I have
attended are where ? amputation is needed to
facilitate extraction, or an impalement where again
surgical intervention might have been required.
Administering analgesia & oxygen, stabilising airway
and giving fluids are all competently carried out by
the paramedics and they don't call for a flying squad
if that is all that is required pending extraction.
Major incident medical teams are a different matter of
course, but I guess this is not what has been studied.

Cheers Fred.
--- Ray McGlone <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The following two Posters were put up at the Faculty
> Meeting in London.
>
> DOES THE ACCIDENT FLYING SQUAD SAVE LIVES?
>
> D. Becker. 67 Stanfell Road, Knighwn, Leicester, LE2
> 3GE.
>
> Objectives: 1) To determine whether use of the
> pre-hospital accident Flying Squad (FS) at Lincoln
> County Hospital improves mortality in trauma.
>
> 2)To document the actual interventions of the Flying
> Squad in order to assess it's true role
>
> Methods: Retrospective analysis of hospital trauma
> data to compare the mortality of patients attended
> by the Flying Squad with those attended by
> paramedics/technicians. Study period 1/7/00 -
> 30/6/01. Includes all patients entered on TARN
> database. Logistic regression was used to control
> for differences in predicted survival (based on ISS
> and RTS) between FS and non-FS patients. from same
> period.
>
> Results: (Preliminary; analysis in progress) 90
> calls for FS, 52 for trauma, 81 patients attended.
> 56 male, 24 female (p=0.003), 1 unrecorded. Mean age
> 27yrs. Mean time away 31 minutes. 60 on TARN
> database. No significant difference in mortality for
> FS compared to non-FS. Average probability of
> survival of FS patients 92% compared to 97% for
> non-FS. 2 potentially life-saving interventions by
> FS. Reassurance, analgesia and IV access most common
> interventions.
>
> Conclusions: FS mostly used for non-specialist
> skills in trauma. FS patients are usually not
> severely injured and have a high probability of
> survival based on ISS and RTS. Use of the accident
> Flying Squad in Lincolnshire does not improve
> mortality and is a costly resource in terms of
> personnel and funds.
>
>
> AUDIT OF PRE-HOSPITAL RESPONSES BY AN EMERGENCY
> MEDICINE REGISTRAR
>
> K. D. Wright, D. J. Ports. Accident and Emergency
> Department, Wycombe General Hospital, Queen
> Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 27T Aim: To
> determine whether an immediate care doctor of
> specialist registrar grade based in an Accident and
> Emergency Department is a feasible working pattern.
>
> Method: One year prospective study of all Immediate
> care responses of one doctor based in a busy
> district general hospital.
>
> Results: The doctor was called to 38 incidents
> resulting in 34 mobilisations. The vast majority of
> incidents were entrapment road traffic accidents
> although some category W calls were included when
> the doctor was considered the nearest responder. In
> each response the doctor was able to leave the
> department without compromising either the efficient
> running of the department or the patients within. In
> addition, patients who were unstable and requiring
> interventions such as chest decompression or rapid
> sequence induction/intubation arrived in the
> department resuscitated and stabilised
> haemodynanically so making their journey through the
> Emergency department smoother.
>
> Conclusions: It is both feasible and desirable to
> have an immediate care doctor operating out of an
> Accident & Emergency Department. The role is
> beneficial for both patients and the department. The
> tasking of the doctor does not cause the resources
> of the department to be compromised and also
> provides a valuable input for specialist registrar
> training.
>
> What are the list's views?
>
> Ray McGlone
> Lancaster A&E
>
>
>


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