L i fe l i n e

NWAS To run NHS 111 Service

Ambulance boost for North West

AGM and Health Fair 2015

Friends and Family Test Success

Calm call handler praised

Let’s talk to Chief Consultant Paramedic, Mike Jackson

Legal high danger warning

Fire crews to save more lives

Record breaking 999 day

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It’s ‘Shoctober’

#FindTheDefib

Welcome from Lifeline Editor, Julie Welcome to the autumn edition of Lifeline – the magazine for staff, members, the public and partners of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS). Firstly, I will start with some bad news; our Chief Executive is retiring from the Trust on 31 March 2016 (see page 10). We will be very sad to see Bob go and wish him well in the future. Now onto the good news, we’ve just launched what we hope to be a life-saving campaign to find the region’s hidden defibrillators. We know that many have been installed by well meaning businesses and organisations

but that we don’t necessarily know about them, meaning that if someone is unfortunate enough to have a cardiac arrest in the vicinity of a defibrillator that we don’t know about, our emergency call handlers will be unable to send someone to get the potentially life-saving piece of equipment. We all know that every second counts in an emergency, but particularly in cardiac arrest situations. Please help to #FindTheDefib that might be needed to save the life of your loved ones—see page 3. Elsewhere in Lifeline, we have excellent news about our NHS 111 Service here in the North West. Not only has the Service been given the thumbs up from the regulatory body (CQC), but we’ve also been given the green light to run the Service for the next five years.

Finally, on page 6 is a must -read piece about the role of our Service in the major incident in Bosley, Cheshire, in which four people tragically lost their lives. What most people probably won’t realise is that the has been an ongoing role for our crews in the weeks following the explosion. I would be grateful for any comments on the magazine and how we can improve it. Please send your thoughts to the Membership Team at membership@nwas.nhs.uk.

Julie Treharne Head of Communications

In the Spotlight In this edition of Lifeline, NWAS Programme Manager Daniel Hallen talks about his role as Programme Manager in the Programme Management Office (PMO).

What does your job involve? As a team we work on projects such as the new Human Resources Hub, Electronic Patient Record (ePR) and the Broughton Emergency Operations Centres refurbishment. How did you get to where you are today? The turning point in my life was early 2013, when I had life-saving major heart surgery, changing my perspective on where I was. I come from a family with a history of working in the NHS and I’ve always been passionate about healthcare – particularly Mental Health. My second chance at life has given me the opportunity to put something back into the NHS. I’m now able to work professionally with the clinicians who saved my life through the work I undertake.

What are the best bits of your job? The best part of my job is speaking to frontline staff and learning what we need to do to move the Trust forward. Working with people who are passionate about what they do makes for a really great work place. What are the challenges in your job? To learn as much as I can about the Service. I always welcome someone teaching me something new and I’ll always ask the “silly” question when I don’t understand something. What qualities do you for your job? Enduring patience and an ability to step back and see the bigger picture. Things don’t always go to plan, so you need to be able to respond to the changes. What do you want to achieve in your role? I hope the projects I work on make a positive difference to the lives of colleagues and patients using our service. If I can make someone’s job easier, improve a patient’s outcome and save a little money for the Trust in the bargain then I can go home each day with a smile. What advice would you give to someone thinking of getting a job like yours? Be flexible, expect the unexpected and most of all speak to people. The best bit of advice I can offer is to “love the challenge”. Even as the leader in a project I won’t know everything – it’s therefore important to surround yourself with people who have

lots of ideas and different types of experience to get the best outcomes. What are your long term career aspirations? It’s a cliché, but I’m actually perfectly happy doing what I’m doing now. In 10 years time I’d like to be in a position to help shape the way we do things at NWAS and the wider NHS, but for now I’m very much enjoying what I am doing. What do you wish other people knew about your job? The PMO is about supporting change and improvement in the Trust. I would like your views on the ePR scheme. The system will help us capture the right information about the patient, making it easier for the patient to get where they need to. It’s also about getting the right information to the clinician and supporting the frontline staff in doing their job with all the tools they need. If you have ideas about the project please drop me a line on Yammer, email or even call me. What makes you proud to work at NWAS? The words ‘delivering the right care, at the right time, in the right place’ really captures what we do. I see people who are passionate in making sure our patients, friends and families get where they need to be. Whether it’s frontline or support services, what you do directly impacts on improving people’s lives.

NWAS call handler named UK’s emergency medical dispatcher of the year

One of our amazing EMDs, Zoe Scott, has been named ‘Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year’ at the UK Navigator Conference 2015. Zoe was shortlisted for the national award along with two other NWAS colleagues, Ryan Shaw and Lisa Berry, and EMDs from other ambulance trusts. Zoe, who featured on the cover of the previous edition of Lifeline, won the award following her brave efforts to help save the life of young boy, Archie, who had a 2pm coin stuck in his throat. During the chaotic incident, Zoe’s calm and clear instructions enabled Archie’s mum Vicky to dislodge the coin and save her son’s life. Speaking at the time, Zoe said: “It’s an honour to be called a hero but it’s part of my everyday job. I’m so grateful for the outcome. It was amazing to meet Vicky and Archie now he’s all better. Things like this make my job worthwhile and it’s lovely to feel so appreciated.” Zoe was announced the winner at a ceremony that was held at Bristol City Marriott Hotel from the 22 - 24 September and funded by the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch.

Latest news from NWAS

‘Shoctober’ campaign aims to find hidden defibrillators

Forgotten, lonely, gathering dust and tucked away in a corner - that’s the sad fate of many would-be life-saving defibrillators which have been installed with good intentions by well-meaning members of the public, business owners and clubs. Now it’s time to ‘find the defib’ and make sure every single one in the region is logged on our database so they can be used to save a life. This month, we’ve launched our ‘Shoctober’ campaign to raise awareness of the importance of public defibrillators (AEDs) and to remind those who purchase and install them to make the Service aware of their location so they can be put to good use. It’s estimated that there are thousands of these life-saving portable machines in the North West which we don’t know about so if someone calls 999 in the event of a cardiac arrest, we can’t direct them to the nearest one. NWAS Community Engagement Manager, Andrew Redgrave explains: “Earlier this year we launched our Cardiac Smart campaign to have the installation of AEDs in public places a legal requirement in the same way that fire extinguishers are. We know that many people raise funds in their local area to have them installed but what they often do is forget to tell us they’ve done so. This means that we could get a call for a suspected cardiac arrest where this vital pieces of kit is available and we can’t tell the caller to go and get it. The patient will receive the all-important shock when the ambulance crew arrives but if they can be shocked even two or three minutes earlier by a member of the public, it can make a huge difference to their chances of survival.” The location of AEDs can sometimes be marked with a sign showing a white heart on a green background, or they could just be mounted on a wall behind bars, in corridors, gyms, leisure centres, offices, tourist attractions, schools, colleges, restaurants, coffee shops - anywhere at all! If you see one, take a selfie with it and you can either tweet the photo via @NWambulance using the hashtag #findthedefib, giving as much information as possible regarding its location. Or, send the photo via North West Ambulance Service’s Facebook page or email nwasenquiries@nwas.nhs.uk if you don’t want to send a photo, just mail the location details and we will make sure the device is logged on the system and ready to use in the event of an emergency. Throughout the month of October, we will post photos of AEDs around the region via our social media sites and we want as many people as possible to feature in the ‘Shoctober’ campaign. We will also feature those whose lives have been saved by public defibrillators and hopefully, there’ll be a few famous faces taking part with a ‘defib selfie’. Please help your ambulance service to help you. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a cardiac arrest, don’t you want the person next to you to be able to save your life?

Annual General Meeting and Health Fair 2015

Staff and visitors enjoyed a jam packed day at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Health Fair which took place in Ambleside, Cumbria on 17 September. The AGM was a chance for us to showcase the success and achievements that have been made over the last 12 months, chaired for the first time by Wyn Dignan alongside Chief Executive, Bob Williams who spoke about how well our Trust has coped with additional challenges during the year and revealed the Annual Report for 2014-15, which can be viewed on our website. PandaMedic and his friends were out greeting visitors and directing them to the Health Fair which was opened at 2.30pm by Professor Robin Talbot, Executive Dean, Faculty of Health and Science, University of Cumbria. Numerous areas of our Service and other agencies came together to engage with visitors and promote partnership working including our NHS 111 service, Stroke Association, Community First Responders, Patient Transport Service, Highways Agency, Team 999, St John Ambulance and Healthwatch Cumbria. The Communications Team would like to say a huge thank you and well done to everyone involved!

Ambulance boost for North West

We’re excited to be introducing additional colleagues and new hi-tech vehicles to the Service following an announcement by Commissioners of extra funding. The money will be spent on more than 60 new ambulances, rapid response and emergency vehicles and NWAS is set to recruit more than 400 frontline staff, including 40 staff to be based in our call centres. Director of Operations, Derek Cartwright said: “This is a fantastic boost for the Trust and I’m sure for the staff who have been working extremely hard to cope with the additional demand. Most of all, it is extremely good news for the people of the North West. “We know that sending an ambulance to all patients is not the most appropriate course of action, and our commitment to providing

alternative pathways of care, we believe, is still the way forward, however, statistics have shown that the numbers of patients with life-threatening conditions is rising and these are people who definitely do need an ambulance response. These additional vehicles will be of tremendous benefit to them and the Trust and I look forward to welcoming on board the new staff who will work on them.” The recruitment of staff is a huge priority for the Trust. Last year alone we welcomed an additional 156 Urgent Care and Emergency Medical Technicians, 146 Paramedics and 114 Control Centre staff. However, this additional funding will enable us to further increase our frontline staffing so that we can have the appropriate number ready for when we need them, especially as new ambulances and staff can’t just appear overnight. The process for phasing in these new resources has started and we hope to have the full complement of new vehicles and staff in operation by the end of the year.

Future of Patient Transport Service

Commissioners of non-emergency transport services for patients attending hospital appointments have started the process of appointing providers to run the services in the five counties of the North West from 2016. The Patient Transport Service (PTS) is available for those who are unable to make their own way due to medical or clinical needs. NWAS has submitted bids to provide the non-emergency transport service in all five areas; Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. Robust preparations are now in place in readiness for the next stage of the process. A group has been established within the Trust to critically challenge and scrutinise our PTS mobilisation plans and oversee any further work in respect of the tender. In addition a PTS Presentation Group has been established to focus on the preparation and delivery of the tender presentations to the evaluation panel, if shortlisted. The next milestone in the process is the date of the bid presentations, which are set for 19 –21 October 2015.

NWAS to run NHS 111 Service

NWAS has been announced as the provider of choice for the NHS 111 Service in the North West. From October 2015 and for the following five years, the 111 Service will be run by our team, alongside partner organisations FCMS and Urgent Care 24. This superb announcement will see us recruit more than 300 call handlers and 150 clinicians to triage calls from patients across the region, as well as a host of support service roles. One of the biggest changes that patients will see is when calling GP Out of Hours (OOH) services. From the 1 October, if you

ring your local GP OOH you will receive a message which will instruct you that NHS 111 will be dealing with your call in the first instance and will advise you to put the phone down and dial 111. From here your symptoms will be assessed and the appropriate care determined. Look out for our North West NHS 111 website and Twitter account which will be packed full of useful information and updates.

CQC gives thumbs up to 111 Service In June, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its finding from the inspection of the NHS 111 service as delivered by us

here at NWAS. The CQC is the body that regulates all health and social care services nationwide.

The inspection, which was one of the first of its kind nationally, was undertaken as part of a pilot to help the development of the

CQC’s approach to inspecting NHS 111 services. As part of the visit, the team assessed a number of areas to gain a valuable and

detailed insight into our NHS 111 service. To form the basis of the inspection, five questions were asked around the overall

quality and safety of the service being provided. These questions were:

Is it safe? Is it effective? Is it caring? Is it responsive to people’s needs? Is it well-led?

Due to the inspection being part of a pilot, the CQC hasn’t given the service a quality rating, however, there were many detailed

positives which were reported during the inspection. The report states that they found ‘NWAS NHS 111 provided a well-led,

safe, effective, responsive and caring service to a diverse population spread across North West England.’

By September 2016, all of England’s 111 services will have been inspected and rated by CQC. You can read the CQC’s full

inspection report at: www.cqc.org.uk/location/RX701/reports.

Ambulance response to Bosley On the morning of the 17 July 2015 at around 9.14am a 999 call was received reporting that an explosion had taken place at Woods Flour Mill in the Cheshire village of Bosley. It was quickly declared a major incident and for NWAS and it would become the longest search and rescue operation our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) have ever been involved in. Stephen Hallmark, Assistant Operations Manager and Bronze Commander from Congleton was on the scene within minutes of the explosion and linked in with the other emergency services to implement the Trust’s Major Incident Plan. “At first it was difficult to see as there was thick, black acrid smoke coming from where the explosion had happened and it made it initially difficult to locate some of our emergency service colleagues who had arrived on the opposite side of the mill. However we quickly established command and a casualty clearing station was set up at the local chapel about 500 metres away from the mill. “The hazards of the site and the combustible material that was all around was soon to become apparent as a further explosion occurred shaking the building and blew out the windows of the chapel and so we relocated further up the road to a nearby farm for everyone’s safety.” Within an hour our ambulance crews had started to triage and transport the more seriously injured patients to hospital. An air ambulance took a patient to Queen Alexander Hospital in Birmingham and further patients were sent by land ambulances to the Royal Stoke and Wythenshawe Hospitals. At the casualty clearing point, patients were treated, triaged and then discharged if appropriate by Advanced Paramedics and Doctors throughout the day. Initial reports from the scene had suggested that there were ten people missing, yet a quick thinking lady who worked in the offices opposite the mill had managed to collect all the worker’s clocking in cards. From this the team were able to deduce that four people were unaccounted for. This focussed the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) element of HART whose paramedics then employed their specialist skills to find those missing. The scale of the devastation was immense, as there was a maze of basements and cellar rooms beneath the ground floor of the three storey building. The building had borne the brunt of the explosion and it had all collapsed into the voids which potentially trapped any survivors out of sight. The desperate hot conditions that the team were working in was hampered by the constant fires that kept alighting due to the large silos that needed constant water on them. Searching in or around them was just too dangerous for the rescue workers and if water was removed from them for a mere five minutes, the temperature of the silo would rise to 30 degrees. Therefore to keep the recovery going a team of structural engineers and a British Army Officer who had expert knowledge on explosives was brought in to look at ways to make the silos safe. A plan was devised that has never been attempted in the country before, it involved piping liquid nitrogen into the vents at the top of the silo whilst drilling four holes in the bottom and filling the bottom with liquid nitrogen via bespoke lances, which would expel the oxygen present in the silo and in turn extinguishing the fire. It took a total of five weeks from the initial explosion for all fires to be brought under control on the site due to the highly combustible nature of over 200 tonnes of wood flour that was contained within the massive storage silos. There were of course other hidden dangers for the rescue teams in the shape of gas, asbestos, toxic chemicals, and live electrical switchgear all around. There was twisted steel and masonry that was combined with noxious fumes. Currently, three mill workers bodies have been found at the site and work is still continuing to this date as teams continue to undertake the laborious work of shifting through the dust and rubble to find the one remaining missing person.

As Bronze Commander, Stephen Hallmark continues to have regular multi-agency meetings at the site to monitor the progress of the recovery and one of our crews continues to be on site to provide medical cover for the recovery teams. Throughout the entire operation at Bosley, all NWAS teams have shown true professionalism and dedication in an extremely challenging environment. We would like to say a massive thank you to each and every one of them for their truly outstanding efforts.

World Mental Health Day Health & Wellbeing

World Mental Health Day

As World Mental Health Day fast approaches on the 10 October 2015, Lifeline has teamed up with Mind to give you some tips on how to manage your mental wellbeing. We know that 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year. But independent research by Mind shows that the estimated quarter of a million people who work and volunteer in the emergency services are even more at risk of experiencing a mental health problem than the general population, but are less likely to get support. If you work in the ambulance service, it’s especially important for you to look after your mental wellbeing, as research shows that 91% of ambulance personnel have experienced stress and poor mental health at work. Wellbeing checklist:

If you are unable to tick off many of these statements, and have been feeling this way for a long time, you may want to look at what you can do to build resilience, or get support. More information is available on the Mind website. Show your support for the blue light programme by spreading the word on Twitter - follow @MindBlueLight and use the hashtag #mybluelight.

I have someone I can talk to about my feelings I do things to help other people

I have good friends I can trust I feel I achieve things

I sleep well most of the time I know how to relax

I eat healthily most of the time I know what affects my mood

I do some physical activity regularly I am kind to myself about who I am

I make time for the things I enjoy I look after myself during difficult times

Grateful patient thanks team who saved his life

Grateful patient Malcolm Squires thanked the team of NHS staff, including our paramedics, which saved his life following a cardiac arrest. Mr Squires was successfully resuscitated with one of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s public access defibrillators, located in the hospital’s main entrance. We’re glad he’s doing well and we wish him a full recovery!

Friends and Family test success Our most recent Friends and Family Test (FFT) results showed that 95% of patients are happy to recommend our Patient Transport Service (PTS) to a friend or a family member. Patients were asked ‘Based on your experience of our service, how likely are you to recommend our ambulance service to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment?’ and now results comparing all ambulance services across England have been published for the first time on the NHS England website. Sarah Faulkner, Director of Quality for NWAS said: “Considering the relatively large number of responses for the PTS service, it’s great to see NWAS featuring so highly at 95% compared to other ambulance services nationally. “The FTT remains a fantastic way for NWAS to receive immediate feedback on our services and allows us to react swiftly in getting the most appropriate care to patients at the right time.”

New tweeters Our Twitter family has grown even further as we have welcomed nine new accounts to the @NWAmb umbrella, each giving an insight into the work of our service from a different perspective. These include: Chief Executive Bob Williams - @NWAmb_CEO, @NWAmb_Careers for recruitment information, Community Specialist Paramedics @NWAmb_Millom,@NWAmb_Chorlton and @NWAmbPartington who share what’s happening in local communities. @NWAmb_HART for action involving our Hazardous Area Response Teams. @NWAmb_Dan to check out Greater Manchester’s Consultant Paramedic, @NWAmb_Steve to hear from a Head of Service and @NWAmb_Vinny for rural ambulance life with an Advanced Paramedic. Please give them a follow and get connected!

We have amazing staff at NWAS

Lifeboat lifesavers at the ready Four members of staff from the Fylde Coast are proud to be volunteering their services and skills to the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Blackpool. Iain Proctor-Brown, the longest serving volunteer, Brent Kenny, Brad Peacock and Allan Gilchrist have all received casualty care training, which is undertaken every three years.

Should a medical emergency occur on a boat or at sea, an RNLI crew wait for one of the team to arrive to enable them to take clinical charge of the incident. Iain also provides basic life support and defibrillator training for the RNLI crews on a yearly basis as the Boathouse Station has an AED that has been provided by NWAS.

Calm call handler praised One of our fantastic emergency medical dispatchers has been praised for her ‘calm voice’ that enabled Janet Thatcher from Bolton to help save the lifer of her husband Ron when he had a cardiac arrest at their home. Janet heard her husband collapse with a loud bump and immediately made the 999 call which was answered by EMD Sara McDonnell. Janet said: “I was absolutely frantic but the call was answered so quickly by this marvellously calm voice where not one word was wasted and she talked and guided me through performing CPR. “I had done some first aid and CPR training before as I’m a retired teacher, however it’s all slightly different when it’s your husband. To have that reassuring voice on the line really helped me focus on what needed to be done. “I had lost track of time of how long I was doing the compressions, but just as I was feeling that I couldn’t go on much longer there was a knock at the door and the paramedic arrived and took over.” It’s not often that EMDs get to find out what happens to their callers after they hang up but Janet and Ron got in touch with the Trust and met with Sara McDonnell to thank her in person for helping them. Sara said: “It’s great to feel appreciated and that I was able to make a difference to help Janet and Ron. It was lovely to meet them both and to find out that Ron is now making a full recovery.”

Let’s talk to...Chief Consultant Paramedic, Mike Jackson In September, our Chief Consultant Paramedic, Mike Jackson took to social media to answer questions that had been submitted by the public in a bid to give people a greater insight into the progression opportunities available at NWAS and into the work that he does for the Trust. What is a Consultant Paramedic? What do they do? Are they more skilled than a regular Paramedic? “My role as Consultant Paramedic is divided into four domains which are expert practice, professional leadership, education and research and development. I spend half my time dedicated to the expert practice domain which entails responding to serious life-threatening 999 calls. As a Consultant, I have a wider scope of practice with additional skills and am able to administer additional drugs. I try and spend a day a week on the air ambulance which gives me the opportunity to work with staff right across the patch. My remaining time is divided up between professional leadership which mainly involves attending a variety of meetings to discuss clinical quality and development or reconfiguration of services such as major trauma, stroke, heart attack etc. I also provide support to the area consultants as well as providing advice and direction to the universities on our education requirements and our development programmes.” How did you become a Consultant Paramedic? “My appointment as Consultant Paramedic has been a combination of career progression, experience and academic qualifications. I started my career at the age of 17 spending two years as an Ambulance Cadet and going on to spend 14 years on frontline duties. I qualified as a Paramedic in 1986 and in the early 1990s decided to apply for the Institute of Healthcare Development (IHCD) instructor qualification which was the previous awarding body for Paramedic qualification. This then took me into an ‘In-Service Instructor’ where I rotated between delivering Paramedic training in our regional training centre and undertaking my shifts operationally. “In the mid-90s I was appointed as the Head of Paramedic Training for Mersey Regional Ambulance Service and then went into a role as the Communications and Emergency Planning Manager with responsibility for what is now our Emergency Operations Centre and Resilience. I then spent 18 months as Head of Patient Transport Service based in Chester before being appointed as Director of Operational Services for Mersey Regional Ambulance Service. “In 2002, I was appointed to Executive Director of Clinical Care and Head of Profession with responsibility for clinical guidelines leadership, supervision and education. Following merger of the former of the ambulance services in the North West, I was appointed as Assistant Clinical Director and Head of Profession. In 2007, I applied for the first ever Consultant Paramedic position for NWAS. Following assessment and interview I was appointed to my current role of Consultant and Chief Paramedic for the Trust. What advice would you give a young Paramedic starting out their career? “Don’t rush into speciality roles. Spend time gaining experience of patient care and dealing with the patients, relatives and the public. Keep up with your professional development and try and acquire academic qualifications as early as possible which are likely to help you later when looking to progress your career into a supervisory, leadership or speciality role.”

‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you’

A Warrington based ambulance crew has been praised by a patient who said she ‘wouldn’t be here’ if it wasn’t for them, after suffering a heart attack. When Diane Wilson, from Orford, suffered a heart attack in May, ambulance crew Jon Almond and Daniel Ogdon arrived swiftly to give Diane treatment. Fully recovered, Diane joined Jon and Daniel for a reunion at Warrington Ambulance Station to talk about her experience. Diane said: “I woke up feeling sick with burning in my chest and my chest was getting tighter, so I phoned for an ambulance as I knew something wasn’t right. “Within minutes Jon and Daniel came along to check me over. They gave me morphine after discovering I was having a heart attack. The lads took me to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital where their team gave me keyhole surgery - I felt like I could run a marathon after I had it done!

“A big thank you to the North West Ambulance Service, I was looked after so well. I would like to thank Jon and Daniel for their professionalism because I don’t think I would be here without them.”

Chief to retire in 2016 Chief Executive Bob Williams has announced that he will be taking early retirement from the Trust on 31 March 2016 for personal health reasons. Bob has worked in the ambulance service for over 30 years and has been Chief Executive for the last three years. Talking about his time with the Trust, Bob said to NWAS staff: “It has been a real privilege to work alongside you all in serving our patients in the North West. “The Service is one of the best performing ambulance trusts in the country and continues to go from strength to strength in our improvement of both clinical and staff support developments. “Whilst the future is one of continued change in our service delivery and public sector reconfiguration, I am confident that NWAS will meet these challenges effectively and will remain a service we can all be proud of. “I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you for your fantastic dedication and delivery of a compassionate and caring service. I wish you all well for the future.” We wish Bob a very happy retirement!

Paul’s a Brave Shaver Head of ICT, Paul Lucock has shaved his head as part of “Brave the Shave” in support of his beautiful, brave wife Jackie who was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Paul said: “She’s had her surgery, she’s had her chemo, she’s got more surgery to come and then radiotherapy, all without a complaint. Losing my slates for a while is the LEAST I can do to support her.” Any donations can be made at: https://bravetheshave.org.uk/sahvers/paul-lucock

Fond Farewells

As hundreds of new starters begin their NWAS careers, we’re also saying farewell to long serving staff who have dedicated their careers to the NHS.

Jean Mewes has retired after working for NHS 111 and NHS Direct in the North West for the past eight years. Jean joined the service as a Senior Nurse Advisor and held various positions until she became a Clinical Duty Manager. Jean said: “I have appreciated the comradery and support from managers, my peers and the entire work force. Support from the entire team and the variety of the work has kept me going throughout the years.” The ICT Team said “Goodbye” to Ian McDonald,

Infrastructure Services Manager, who has worked tirelessly for the Trust for over 10 years.

Performance Manager, Paul McComiskey retired after 37 years with the Service. Originally working as n ambulance man on the Fylde, Paul moved to the Emergency Operations Centre in 1985 and has performed many roles over the years.

PTS call taker shows no signs of slowing down A PTS call taker who gave up her retirement to return to work here at NWAS has celebrated her 70th birthday! Three months after retiring from NWAS in 2013, grandmother of two Hazel, came back to work part-time in the Contact Centre, much to our delight. Hazel says the best part of her job is helping and talking to patients and the camaraderie she has with her team mates. She has no intentions of hanging up her headset any time soon. On top of her birthday celebrations Hazel was nominated by her colleagues as PTS Contact Centre Staff Member of the month in June. So double celebrations it is!

New Non-Executive Directors Two enthusiastic health experts, Richard Groome and Dr Zahid Chauhan, have joined our Trust as non- executive directors. Richard has been heavily involved with major public infrastructure projects like Alder Hey and North Staffs Hospitals, Manchester Waste, GMPA, Oldham Housing and Manchester street lighting. Whilst Zahid is passionate about improving health, education and social care services by driving innovation, improving efficiency and creating opportunities for the local communities.

Working with local communities

Legal high danger warning Paramedics have issued a stark warning following a rise in calls for patients who have consumed so called ‘legal highs’. These ‘legal highs’ contain chemicals which have most often never been tested for human consumption meaning that there is no way of knowing what effects it will have on the body, both in the short and long term. Our crews have witnessed a growing trend in recent months, across the region, of people who are using these products in the same way as illegal drugs, often with serious health consequences with some cases even resulting in death. With new students heading to the region’s universities for the first time in September, Consultant Paramedic Dan Smith warned: “My message is a simple one, legal does not mean safe! These substances are not designed for human consumption and people should not be fooled into thinking they are safe to try because of their nickname, they are often not legal at all and can kill you. “If you have been tempted and feel unwell, get medical assistance immediately and never leave your friends alone after consuming any drug". Our advice is straightforward - don’t take the risk, stay away from these substances. There is no way of knowing what ingredients have gone into them or what effect they will have on each individual. Those needing further advice on drug use are asked to contact the FRANK drugs helpline on 0300 123 6600 or call NWAS’ 111 Service.

#Team999 back on the road Throughout the summer we invited Cumbrian residents to meet their lifesavers at our #Team999 campaign roadshows as well as community events and county shows. We launched the #Team999 initiative to educate the public that calling 999 will not necessarily result in an ambulance response or a trip to hospital and that there are various care options available. Representatives have been stationed in Keswick, Barrow and Whitehaven to help educate the public about the different roles they play within the service, when to call 999 and 111 and what to expect when they do. One thing that people might not know about ambulance crews is that they don’t always

transport patients to the nearest Emergency Department. They assess each patient and work out the right care for them—this could be at a specialist treatment centre, urgent care centre or at home with self care advice, for example.

Students learn importance of resilience

Year 10 pupils at Kingsway School, Stockport, started back from their summer holidays a day early in order to take part in a jam-packed day of learning about all the different agencies that come together in the event of a major emergency.

We (NWAS) joined up with other agencies that operate in Greater Manchester including Police, Fire, Environmental Agency and armed forces to teach the youngsters about the importance of resilience.

Students followed different workshops throughout the day depending on their chosen GCSE subjects, ensuring that they took part in sessions that were relevant to their learning and could hopefully aid their studies as well as equipping them with life skills. Our representatives were heavily involved in running a number of sessions with the youngsters, which included learning CPR and the use of a defibrillator and learning the importance of knowing how to get help from the right place and using confidence to ask for it. The CREAM event, which stands for Community, Resilience, Education and the Military, gave students a basic understanding of how to get help in an emergency and how organisations follow procedures and guidelines to manage large scale incidents and how this can relate to the personal resilience of the youngsters as they prepare for their exams. Resilience Manager, Paul Bailey spoke to the children from an NWAS prospective, giving them an insight into the command structures and procedures that the Trust follows in such incidents making the session interactive and relatable for the students. The students were then given a scenario of an extensive heatwave which was used to demonstrate what had been learnt throughout the day and being together the work of each organisation that had took part. The day ended with a visit from the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport who spoke during an assembly.

Station opens its doors for a day Preston’s new look Fire and Ambulance Station opened its doors to the local community during the summer. The day was a hit with residents who witnessed displays on how to deal with chip pan fires, rescuing people from buildings as well as how the services jointly respond to incidents such as road traffic accidents. The open day, in the Deepdale area of Preston, had lots on offer from emergency vehicles to explore to information on local services such as the North West Air Ambulance charity, North West NHS 111, Homeless Hounds, Bay Rescue, CFRs and Community Engagement Team, CPR/AED demonstrations, UCLan and British Red Cross. Along with this, to entertain the families there were food and refreshments, as well as a DJ and live band, hook-a-duck, soccer cage, donkey rides, small fairground rides and much more.

Fire crews to save more lives A brand new pilot scheme in Lancashire will see fire and rescue crews in Morecambe and Ormskirk responding to life-threatening emergencies as part of a join initiative with NWAS. The six month pilot project is an extension of our highly successful community first responder (CFR) scheme which amounts to 348 potentially life-saving volunteers in Lancashire. The firefighters, fully trained as CFRs by NWAS, now attend time critical emergencies such as heart attacks, fitting and cardiac arrests. Fire crews are dispatched to ‘red’ cases simultaneously with ambulance crews if they are closer to a patient than an ambulance when the 999 call comes through. A similar scheme has taken also taken off in Greater Manchester, which sees fire crews responding to patients when a suspected cardiac arrest is reported within three miles of the fire station. Again, the fire crew is despatched at the same time as an ambulance so that attempts to save a patient’s life can be made by whoever arrives at the emergency first. The added advantage to despatching fire crews to patients is their ability to respond on blue lights therefore arriving more quickly to a situation where literally every second can mean the difference between life and death. Derek Cartwright, Director of Operations at NWAS, said: “These are extremely positive projects and it’s great to work with fire services on schemes that will contribute to saving lives here in the North West.”

What to expect when you call 999 A new flyer has been produced by NWAS to help people understand what they can expect when they call 999. One common misconception is that if you call 999 you will get an ambulance within minutes. The truth is that we aim to respond in 8 minutes to immediately life-threatening emergencies, but this means that anyone who calls for something less serious will be waiting longer - possibly up to four hours - or may be referred elsewhere for help that we consider to be more appropriate. The flyer also advises that people can call 111 when they’re not sure if it’s an emergency as ambulance can be dispatched via that Service. Have a look at the flyer here: http://bit.ly/1j57Zdr.

Everybody needs good neighbours One of the newest members of our Community First Responder (CFR) network has been hailed a hero after he saved the life of his neighbour who was having a cardiac arrest. It was only May when Peter Blundell completed his CFR training with our Over Wyre Team in Lancashire, but a few weeks later he received his first major call out and it just so happened to be for Jill Maddison, the lady who lives across the road from him in Knott End. Jill recalls the incident: “Earlier in the day I had been to the doctors as I thought that I had a chest infection and then got home and took some medication. I felt a rise of heat and sweat and felt dizzy and said to my husband that I didn’t feel well. I laid down on the sofa and that was the last thing that I remember.” Jill’s husband Brian Maddison said: “She just looked delirious and when she went unconscious I immediately called 999. I said to our daughter to run and get Peter to come and help as we had been talking only a few weeks before that he had completed his CFR training. We had even joked with him at the time that we didn’t want to be his first patients.” Peter said: “There was a knock at the door at around 11.30 in the morning and it was the daughter of the family from across the road. She was really upset and crying and said that her mum was dying. So I just grabbed my gear and ran over the road. “When I got there Jill was having difficulty breathing and was unresponsive. It was nerve wracking as it was my first serious call and you don’t expect it to be for someone that you know but the adrenaline just kicked in and I went into automatic mode. “Thankfully when you become a CFR you get specialist equipment, such as a defibrillator and oxygen cylinder, which were invaluable.” Jill was taken to Blackpool Victoria hospital and we’re pleased to say is making a full recovery and she can’t thank Pete enough for his help: “Without Peter that day I wouldn’t be here. I would hate someone to go through what I did and not have received any help, so to us he is our absolute hero.” If you are interested in becoming another Community First Responder hero like Peter, then why not volunteer too. You don’t need to have had any previous first aid experience as full training will be given. To find out more go to www.nwas-responders.info.

Record-breaking 999 Day A record-breaking number of visitors flocked to the annual Emergency Services Day at intu Trafford Centre in August. Despite the unseasonal weather, around 15,000 people attended the fifth annual event of its kind. The day featured a range of displays and demonstrations by the emergency services and various other supporting agencies from Greater Manchester and beyond. Mayor of Trafford, Councillor John Holden, officially opened the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service event and was joined on stage by our Chairman, Wyn Dignan along with representatives from police and fire. Members of all the emergency services were on hand to provide safety advice, answer questions and share life-saving skills such as CPR, while our mascot PandaMedic was on hand to meet and greet visitors to our stand.

There were live demonstrations throughout the day, including a road traffic collision rescue, chip pan fire, domestic sprinklers, rope rescue and a demonstration from the community fire cadets. It’s estimated that our team trained over a thousand people in CPR and engaged with 2,500 people about calling 999 and 111. NWAS Director of Operations, Derek Cartwright, said: “This year’s 999 day was a massive success with our crews teaching thousands of children CPR skills and even more now aware that they can call our NHS 111 service for medical help when it’s not an emergency. “The event highlights the fantastic work of emergency services across the county and how we work together to benefit the Greater Manchester population.”

Representatives from BASICS North West were in attendance at this year's #999Day supporting NWAS and promoting the skills that Doctors bring to the scene of emergencies. Spokesman Martin Ball said: “It was a thoroughly enjoyable day spent raising awareness of the charity and we even responded to an incident with Community Specialist Paramedic Dave Blowers inside the Trafford Centre whilst we were there!” The Trust would like to say a huge “thank you” to all of the staff who volunteered their time to help on the day!

Sing a song of safe drive 19-year-old Britain’s Got Talent finalist ,Ella Shaw, has written a song about a day she spent watching Advanced Paramedic Sarah Harrison responding to emergencies in Bury. Ella was inspired to pen the track after witnessing a range of incidents including a successful resuscitation following a cardiac arrest. The observational shift was arranged for Ella through the Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative which, last year, brought 5,000 young people from across Greater Manchester face-to-face with the consequences of a road traffic collision, including Ella who was moved by the production and said it completely changed her perspective on driving. DriveSafe, Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, North West Ambulance Service, Salford Royal NHS Trust and the prison service joined forces to deliver the project. The project uses real people, including emergency service staff and family members of those lost in collisions, to tell their own personal stories of tragedy and loss. This November, audience numbers have doubled and 10,000 young people will watch the dramatic presentation over 10 days.

Ella said: “My day as a paramedic was something I'll remember and treasure for the rest of my life. I experienced and saw things I'd never seen before and my eyes were truly opened to a different kind of life. “I was inspired and touched by how hard all the paramedics work to try and save somebodies life. I saw the devastation when they lost a life but the uplifting relief when they saved one. I never knew what went on behind the scenes of a job like this and I have been very lucky to experience it. “Paramedics are truly amazing and I was honoured to shadow such an experienced and incredible lady who was/is so unbelievable at her job. “This experience has not only given me such inspiration for my writing but also touched my heart and made me feel things I never thought I could feel. I'm truly grateful for my day as a paramedic and I am going to treasure that day for a long time” In November, Safe Drive Stay Alive is hosting an evening specifically for colleagues from NWAS. You are encouraged to bring young drivers from your family to witness the potential devastation which can be caused as a consequence of not driving safely.