Reducing ambulance on-scene times for suspected stroke through an evidence-based training package: an interim analysis
Date: Wednesday 24th May 2023
Background and aims:
Pre-hospital stroke care guidelines emphasise rapid assessment and transportation to improve treatment outcomes. Ambulance on-scene times (OST) for UK stroke patients are increasing. Training to reduce OST was developed in one ambulance service based upon literature review, clinical data and interviews with paramedics. It aimed to minimise delays by discouraging: 1) unnecessary advanced clinical assessment; 2) 12-lead ECG recordings; and 3) intravenous (IV) cannulation. We report the training impact on OST and clinician feedback on the training.
Register
Graham McClelland, Paramedic Research Fellow, North East Ambulance Service (NEAS)
Graham is a Paramedic Research Fellow with North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and a visiting clinical researcher at Newcastle University on a post-doctoral fellowship funded by The Stroke Association. He joined the NEAS Research and Development department in 2011 working on the Head Injury Transportation Straight to Neurosurgery (HITS-NS) trial in what he thought would be a short secondment. After that he worked as a Research Paramedic with involvement in a variety of studies. He completed a National Institute for Health Research Clinical Academic Training fellowship and a Masters in Clinical Research with Newcastle University in 2014. In 2018 he submitted his PhD at Newcastle University Institute of Neuroscience focusing on pre-hospital identification of stroke mimics. He is a member of the College of Paramedics Research committee and editor of the British Paramedic Journal (BPJ).