Welsh ambulance service volunteers are part of 999 respondent overhaul

Jenny reece

Health correspondent

Volunteer Jackie Haton-Bell was given two days training and provides “eyes and ears” for employees in ambulances in the control room

The BBC is standing outside with a yellow ambulance behind him at the ambulance station at Jackie Pambroke Dock. He is wearing dark green ambulance service uniform. He has silver-white hair in a bob and smiles on camera. — Volunteer Jackie Haton-Bell was given two days training and provides “eyes and ears” for employees in ambulances in the control room

There are some things that an ambulance call handler cannot detect on the phone – and this is where Jackie Haton comes in Bell.

He is one of the 130 volunteers in Wales, who is trained to participate in the view of 999 calls to provide “eyes and ears” for employees in the control room.

His role is part of a part of the changes being brought by Welsh Ambulance Service from Tuesday, including A. New “purple” category for calls,

It aims to improve patient results in a country where Less than 5% people survive 9% in Scotland, 10% in England and some European countries have one-off-off-hospital cardiac or respiratory arrest compared to more than 25%.

Jackie and other volunteer community welfare respondents receive two days of training.

They cannot provide treatment, but Jackie’s actions have already helped save life.

On one occasion, “observation” was trained to take him – to spot blood pressure, oxygen levels or a stroke signals – determined that a patient was actually having a heart attack.

The target of replying to 65% of the most severe call in eight minutes of Welsh Ambulance Service has not been completed for four years.

Getty images stand with a yellow and green ambulance vehicle, with its headlights. Behind it is many other ambulance service vehicles including a green and yellow car. — The target of replying to 65% of the most severe call in eight minutes of Welsh Ambulance Service has not been completed for four years.

“We talked to the clinical desk and changed paramedic in six minutes,” Jackie remembered.

On the other hand, he said that the information he had collected is also some call “de-escaleted” for more appropriate options in the community.

Welsh ambulance service and what is changing?

A new “purple” category for calling patients in suspected heart and respiratory arrests
A “red” emergency category for major trauma or other events that can cause heart or respiratory arrest
For both new categories, it is expected that the crew will arrive at an average time of six to eight minutes.
Primary remedy for purple calls will be the percentage for people to restore heartbeat after cardiac arrest, until the hospital reached the hospital

Another change is the creation of a new position in the control panel – called “clinical navigator” – who closely monitor the list of people waiting for ambulances.

The head of the service, Gill Playming explained that these trained paramedics and nurses have screening the call to decide whether some need “enhanced clinical triaies”.

They can call patients back to check symptomatic changes, where suitable, prioritize their place in queue or, when necessary, deploy community welfare respondents such as Jackie.

Gill Playming says that paramedics and nurses will call 999 in the control room to ensure that they are being classified correctly

Jackie said, “I look at it instead of waiting for several hours instead of a patient, where it is not potentially such a serious condition, we can go out and be on the eyes.”

The information she gathers is then fed back to paramedics and nurses in the control room to make clinical decisions.

“It is saving the ambulance going out to do everything completely,” he explained.

Covering a large part of the rural West Wales, Jackie said that many people in the traditional agricultural community were “made up of difficult”, which meant that they could reduce their symptoms.

The day the BBC spent the Pambroke Dock with Jackie, the day he came in lunch for a patient in the 50s, which fell overnight and vomited.

Jackie, 53, said, “You start thinking that vomiting causes head injury.”

“But when I went to the patient, there was a significant injury. It happened at night and they were at 999 in the afternoon, so [they] At that time he waited in severe pain. ,

The expansion given by a relative to call the handler did not express the entire range of injuries, but Jackie was able to elevate the call, to help the patient safely move to the hospital to reach within an hour with an ambulance and fire service.

“We do not go the most serious and we will not go to the under -18, but we will take anything in the middle,” he said.

It is far from Jackie’s previous career in human resource, and later running a restaurant with her husband in Pambrookshire.

Diagnosing breast cancer in 2020 changed her attitude and decided not to return to work.

Instead, he responded to an advertisement demanding Welsh ambulance service volunteers and expected to run patients from the hospital.

“I turned into interviews and had lots of equipment, manicins and defibies and I suddenly realized that it was not running patients,” he laughs.

“I felt that ‘I am going to know it’, and this is the best mistake I have ever made.”

She said that friends and family were surprised by the move, as she was always quite distracted.

“But you put this uniform and you don’t see it, you just see the patient. It is the confidence to move forward to become the first response, which I am doing forward.”

Improvement in existence

Over time, it is expected that these changes will help improve survival rates for hospital cardiac and respiratory arrests in Wales.

Cardiff’s Anthony Crowers said he was well aware that he was “one of the lucky people” when he was arrested last October, a cardiac arrest near the Cafe in three Cliffs Bay, Cafe in Swansi.

Between his friend, the owner of the cafe and – coincidentally – between a passing doctor, they were capable of using a nearby defibrilater and using CPR.

A paramedic was also on the scene within 15 minutes, then the air ambulance.

Anthony Cross says that he has done all that to improve his fitness and diet since his cardiac arrest.

Anthony stands in one of the gym at Cardiff Met University, where he continues his physiotherapy since his cardiac arrest. Machines and free weight are being run behind him. He is wearing a green T-shirt and looking at the camera. — Anthony Cross says that he has done all that to improve his fitness and diet since his cardiac arrest.

Anthony woke up two and a half weeks after two and a half weeks in the intensive care unit of the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

He was always fit and healthy, but the first intimidation in the year was that he had an angina.

He also had a family risk of a heart attack and had made lifestyle changes to improve his health – but cardiac arrest came in the form of a big shock.

“I was clearly at the right place at the right time, surrounded by all the right people,” he said.

“If I was down on the beach – as I was half an hour ago – it could be very different results.”

He said that he was always grateful to his friend Gelin, who reacted so soon, as well as the past buyers “jumped and did something”.

“I have consequently learned that doing something is better than nothing. Training for CPR takes about 15 minutes and I think we all should appreciate what to do.”

Jeremy Miles, Health Secretary, Wales, said that changes intended to “save more lives”.

He said, “So far, cardiac arrest is classified in the same way as less important problems like difficulties in breathing. This new approach prioritizes people with the most important needs to ambulance teams,” he said.

Jason Kilence, Chief Executive Officer of Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “Today’s ambulance service provides a lot of sophisticated care, so focusing on how many people avoid life-or-death emergency due to our interventions, rather than how many minutes we take to come, is an important step to reflect it.”