Many thanks so far!
Do I take it then Martyn, that JRCALC recommend no longer than 10 minutes'
scene time for cases of "critical" chest pain? Unless, of course, they're
lysing, in which case I assume there is less urgency to leave the scene as
the patient is already receiving "definitive" care on scene?
And Anton, thanks for the MI data. Are you averaging 15 minutes' scene time
including a 12-lead ECG? That's very impressive if you are (sorry, can't
remember if you're Staffs or WMAS). Also, your figure of 10% of chest pains
turning out to be MIs is, I suppose, a strong argument for 12-leads on
scene, i.e. this approach should allow 90% of chest pains to be taken to
hospital at a more leisurely pace!
Finally, I note your comments about London. Yes, running chest pains on
blues may well halve scene-to-hospital time, I've heard, but since
scene-to-hospital time is generally fairly short in London, this may not
represent much of a saving in the overall scheme of things. I'm particularly
concerned about cases of over 30 minutes on scene, and such long scene times
will clearly tend to reduce the benefit of any time savings later on, either
en route to hospital or in hospital. Have you any further details of London
times?
Adrian
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