A NEW 24-hour advanced paramedic service is delivering critical care to more patients across Essex.
Run by Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), the round-the-clock scheme is based at the charity’s Earls Colne airbase and operates using a dedicated rapid response vehicle.
Since an initial test period began on June 15, the team has already attended 75 patients, including those experiencing cardiac arrests (40 per cent of call-outs) and road traffic collisions (23 per cent).
Mark Jarman-Howe, chief executive of Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, said: "Introducing advanced paramedics into our charity's clinical service is already helping to ensure patients get the help they need, when they require it most.
"In an emergency, that can make the difference between life and death.
"In just over two months, the team attended 75 patients, and we expect this new programme to potentially double the number of patients we can attend over time, which will be really significant for us, for those patients and for the wider community.”
Advanced paramedics bring senior clinical decision-making and leadership to the scene, delivering care beyond the capabilities of standard ambulance crews.
They are trained to deliver an enhanced level of critical care including advanced sedation, enhanced analgesia and specialist cardiac arrest and major trauma care.
The service aims to expand EHAAT’s capacity to respond to a wider range of emergencies while allowing helicopter emergency medicine service (HEMS) teams to focus on the most critically ill or injured patients.
Dr Tony Joy, medical director at Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, said: "We are committed to delivering the highest standard of pre-hospital care to every patient we attend.
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"We continuously strive to improve patient outcomes through innovation and collaboration.
"This programme will undoubtedly help us to provide better care to more patients, as well as valuing the immense experience of our talented paramedics and helping them to develop further for the benefit of our patients."
The service is currently running as a pilot scheme, but the charity hopes it will become a permanent part of its operations in the future.
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