Emergency and Critical Care Conference 2025

Emergency and Critical Care Conference 2025
  Join us for the inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference, hosted by the College of Paramedics, a dynamic event designed to elevate your skills and understanding of high-pressure scenarios in prehospital care.
With the theme ‘Under Pressure’, this conference promises a full day of invaluable learning, as leading experts from the field share their experiences, strategies, and insights on managing critical incidents under intense pressure.

Our lineup of speakers, each with extensive experience in emergency care, will take you on a compelling journey through real-world scenarios where quick thinking, team collaboration, and complex decision-making were key to overcoming challenges.
You'll gain an in-depth understanding of human factors, crew resource management, and the techniques that empower healthcare professionals to deliver optimal care even in the most demanding situations.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from those who've faced adversity head-on, giving you practical tools and inspiration to apply in your own practice. Whether you're a seasoned paramedic or new to the field, this conference will leave you empowered and ready to excel when the pressure is on.

Date: Wednesday 15th January 2025
Location: Birmingham Conference and Events Centre
 

Cost 
Members of the College of Paramedics - £60
Non Members of the College of Paramedics - £80
Student Members of the College of Paramedics - £50 - Please note these are only available for individual bookings and not group bookings, group bookings paid by trusts or organisations are £60pp.

Ticket price includes access to full conference programme, Certificate of attendance, access to exhibitor area and lunch and all refreshments through out the day.

If you have registered to attend one of our events before then please log into your account using your email address and password by clicking 'log In as a member' at the top right of this page.
If you do not have an account you will need to make one before booking your place. Please click 'Register as a non member' at the top right of this page and fill in all your details. You will need to click the 'proceed to checkout' button, pay for your place and complete the order to complete your booking. You will receive a confirmation email on receipt of your booking.

Email events@collegeofparamedics.co.uk if you need any additional support.

Sponsors
We are grateful to our Silver sponsors for this conference Ortus Medical and Class Professional Publishing

Ortus Medical

   

Explore cutting-edge medical technology with corpuls, Weinmann, Archeon, and QinFlow—leaders in healthcare innovation. 
The German-made corpuls system features a modular defibrillator/monitor and mechanical CPR arm, telemedicine-enabled diagnostics, and mission data aggregation for continuous learning.  

Weinmann offers reliable ventilators and suction units designed for ease of use during patient transport, ensuring smooth operation in high-stress situations.

Archeon’s EOlife and EOlife X revolutionise manual ventilation by training first responders in proper airway management and providing real-time feedback to optimise CPR performance. 

QinFlow’s Warrior systems deliver portable, efficient blood and IV fluid warming for both field and hospital environments, ensuring lifesaving care when every second counts. 

Together, our trusted healthcare solutions empower medical professionals, advancing critical-care technology, improving outcomes, and enhancing patient care in emergencies worldwide. 
Please visit Ortus Medical at the conference

Reliance Medical Ltd



Reliance Medical Ltd is an award winning, world leading trade only supplier and manufacturer of first aid, PPE and innovative medical products for workplaces, emergency medical services, the military, and police forces. We are excited to showcase our range of pre-hospital trauma products with a number of displays and demonstrations at the College of Paramedics Conference. 

Our latex free Igloo hypothermia blankets deploy quickly in an emergency and help to maintain body temperature in seconds. We launched Igloo at the Emergency Services Show and Medica in Dusseldorf and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response, find out why at the Conference.

Cooltherm is a professional range of non-woven hydrogel professional burns dressings – featuring innovative solutions for facial burns and burns to hands. Cooltherm products are extensively used by emergency medical services.

As official UK suppliers, Reliance will also be presenting battlefield tested life-saving products from TACMED Solutions products and Axiostat. 

TACMED solutions products are trusted by medical professional across the globe in the most demanding conditions. The range includes the multi-use OLAES pressure bandage, blast bandage and SOF Tourniquet.

Axiostat is a next generation, 100% chitosan haemostatic dressing. Engineered for military medics to provide emergency battlefield treatment Axiostat effectiveness is proven by emergency medical services and used to significant effect in hospitals.
Reliance Medical Ltd is thrilled to announce that we have been honoured with the prestigious Innovation in Sustainability Award from the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA). This national award underscores our dedication to environmental sustainability by significantly reducing the use of virgin plastics in our products in our aim to make first aid better for patients and the planet.

Class Professional Publishing

   

Class Professional Publishing are delighted to be Silver Sponsors of the College of Paramedics’ inaugural Emergency & Critical Care Conference.  
 
Class Professional Publishing are the award-winning and leading independent publisher for prehospital care in the UK. We specialise in both digital and physical resources, including the JRCALC Clinical Guidelines and all associated apps: JRCALC Plus; iCPG; Responder Plus; the award-winning CPD app, ParaPass; and ParaFolio, the portfolio builder app which links seamlessly with JRCALC Plus and ParaPass. 
 
We will be exhibiting our full range of titles, for delegates to browse and buy at a specially discounted price. As well as bestselling titles such as Clinical ECGs in Paramedic Practice, ECGs on the Go, Decision Making in Paramedic Practice and Primary Care for Paramedics, we’re very excited to also be sharing some brand-new titles with you. Look out for the newly released Patient Safety: Emerging Applications of Safety Science, Sirens & Stories, The Wellbeing & Resilience Workbook, along with Critical Care Paramedicine: A Case-based Approach.  
 
“[Critical Care Paramedicine] is a masterfully presented, deeply informative book that excels in its practical relevance, user-friendly design and immersive, engaging content. The fantastic case-by-case format, coupled with its visually appealing layout and active learning approach, makes this book a standout resource for anyone involved in pre-hospital care.” Emma-Jane Mundle (BSc Hons) Paramedic lecturer, University of Portsmouth 
 
We will also be hosting a celebration of the brand-new, College of Paramedics-badged book, Urgent & Emergency Care of the Older Person. Taking place during the first coffee break, please come along to the Class stand to check out this important new text and be one of the first people to browse and buy at a discounted price. You could also be the happy recipient of a complimentary customised biscuit! 
 
We really look forward to seeing you soon! 
To visit the Class Professional Publishing website please click HERE
 

Speaker Bios
Dr Stephen Herns - Consultant in Emergency and Retrieval Medicine, Emergency Medical Retrieval Service
   

Stephen is a Consultant with Scotland’s Emergency Medical Retrieval Service. This aeromedical retrieval service delivers pre-hospital critical care for major trauma patients, rural hospital secondary retrievals and major incident responses. Inspired by experience gained working on London’s air ambulance and in Queensland Australia, Stephen led the establishment of this team from a small voluntary service in 2004 to what is now a fully government funded aeromedical retrieval organisation with an international reputation. 
Stephen has published a number of papers and book chapters relating to emergency medicine and pre-hospital care. He also led the team establishing the Diploma in retrieval and transfer medicine for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He developed and contributes to the organisation of the annual UK retrieval conference. Stephen is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the University of Glasgow .He has been an active voluntary member of Arrochar mountain rescue team for 20 years and holds the Mountain Leader Award. Stephen acted as medical officer on seven international expeditions in mountain, desert, jungle and arctic environments before establishing the first expedition medicine course in the UK.
Find Dr Herns on Twitter @stephenhearns1 and on Instagram @CoreCognitio

Dr Halden Hutchinson-Bazely (Hutch) - PHEM Doctor, East Anglian Air Ambulance

   
Dr Halden Hutchinson-Bazely (Hutch) is a pre-hospital emergency medicine and intensive care medicine doctor with 18 years of pre-hospital care experience, having started his journey as a volunteer community first responder with LIVES in 2007. On the way Hutch has been almost every clinical grade in pre-hospital care…except for a paramedic! In 2022 he completed HEMS training with East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) where he is now a HEMS clinical supervisor and faculty member. He also volunteers with the North West Prehospital Care Charity (NWPCCC). Hutch has a deep interest in simulation and medical education, in particular optimising human performance in pressurised critical situations, and is a deputy medical director for the ATACC course. His research interests are the physiology of exsanguination, endovascular resuscitation, and cardiac arrest. Hutch is a PHEM and intensive care medicine doctor.
Find Hutch on Twitter @HaldenHB

PC Kieran Dempsey - Police Constable, Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre
  
   
PC Kieran Dempsey has been a Police officer in the Metropolitan Police Service for 9.5 years. He spent the first 5 years of his career on the beat in East London, where he learnt his craft, from 999 Response team to burglary and Prostitution units. He then specialised into the TSG (Riot Squad) where he spent four years policing the worst gang affected areas of London. During this time he qualified as a public order medic, and has recently qualified as a Public Order Instructor, where he now spends his days throwing petrol bombs at police officers.

Dr Els Freshwater - Clinical Lead – Advanced Practice Critical Care, Scottish Ambulance Service

   
Els has recently moved to a new role in the Scottish Ambulance Service, having previous experience as a Consultant Paramedic in Emergency Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine. She has also worked as a Lecturer in Paramedicine, and as the National Education and Training Lead (Paramedics) and Advanced Practice Training Programme Lead (SE) in NHS England. She is an RCEM credentialed ACP and holds a Doctorate in Clinical Practice, with a thesis related to pre-hospital triage and decision-making in major trauma. 
Els LinkedIn handle is Els Freshwater

Edward Griffiths - Advanced SAR Paramedic, Bristow Search and Rescue Helicopters

   
Originally from Northwest Wales, Ed is a fluent Welsh speaker and passionate Welsh Rugby fan. He represented Wales at junior level and then played semi-professional rugby in New Zealand. On his return to the UK in 1999 he read a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University. Ed then decided to pursue a different career and joined the RAF in 2003 as a helicopter crewman. He was selected to serve as a SAR Winchman on Sea King helicopters in 2006 and qualified as a SAR Paramedic in 2008. He spent his entire RAF career with 22 Squadron at RAF Valley where he became a winchman trainer. During this time, he obtained a BSc (Hons) in Paramedic Practice. He has been an RC(UK) ALS and EPALS instructor since 2010. In 2015 he transferred to the HM Coastguard SAR Helicopter Service where he also completed his MSc in Emergency and Resuscitation Medicine. He currently serves as the Advanced Paramedic responsible for the five bases in Wales and the South Coast. During his 18 years as a SAR Winch Paramedic, Ed has completed over 1,300 SAR missions. He has now lived in Cornwall for five years with his wife and two sons.

Dr Stef Cormack - Head of Patient Safety and Patient Safety Specialist, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

   
Dr Stef Cormack  is the current Head of Patient Safety and PSIRF lead for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS Trust. Her former roles as a HEMS critical care paramedic, and University Senior Lecturer, mean that she has significant clinical, teaching, and research experience. Specialising in human factors, patient safety, and resuscitation, her PhD studied non-technical skills in the paramedic managed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Her focus is on integrating human factors/ergonomics knowledge, understanding, tools, methods, and research within healthcare to improve patient and staff safety. As such Dr Cormack often presents at a variety of CPD events and conferences. She is  a fan of cats and likes a cup of tea and a choccy bar. You can find Dr Cormack on Twitter @StefCormackStef

Olly Sapsford - Teaching Fellow in Disaster & Emergency Management at Coventry University, Junior Officer at the London Fire Brigade
   
Olly is a Teaching Fellow in Disaster & Emergency Management at Coventry University and a junior officer in the London Fire Brigade, stationed in the heart of the City of London. From this unique perspective, his research interests are centred around the field of human factors and the socio-cognitive elements that influence decision - making in high - pressure, high - stake environments. Olly is particularly interested in the faster side of decision - making, intuition and expertise. This work is currently focused in the domain of the UK Fire and Rescue Service. He is passionate about research outputs feeding back into systems to effect meaningful change and learning where it matters most - otherwise what's the point?

Dr Richard Webb - Paediatric Intensive Care Registrar, Embrace Transport Service
  
Richard is a paediatric intensive care registrar in Yorkshire, with interests in trauma, critical illness, paediatric emergency medicine, and pre-hospital care. He has extensive experience in child health, having first trained and worked as a children's nurse before retraining as a doctor. He is the National Clinical Lead (Children and Young People) for St John Ambulance England, with whom he has volunteered for a long time, including as emergency ambulance crew and as a clinician at events. Richard is an instructor on both the Advanced and Advanced Paediatric Life Support courses, and supports the undergraduate paramedic science programme at Sheffield Hallam University. He has previously worked with the College of Paramedics to develop a paediatric curriculum for the ambulance workforce and, most recently, has joined the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme as a volunteer pre-hospital care doctor. Richard is a passionate advocate for children, including providing education and training to colleagues across healthcare to increase their knowledge and confidence, supporting them to provide the highest quality of care to children, young people, and their families.
You can find Richard on Twitter @DrRJWebb

Ben Watts - Advanced Retrieval Practitioner, Emergency Medical Retrieval Service, Scottish Ambulance Service, Glasgow
  
Ben, a paramedic since 2014 is an Advanced Retrieval Practitioner in Scotland, undertaking primary pre-hospital critical care and secondary critical care retrieval and transfers across Scotland. Ben was a Critical Care Paramedic in England from mid 2018 until late 2020 when he moved to Scotland. Ben teaches for World Extreme Medicine and leads the human factors module on the Extreme Medicine Masters at Exeter University. Ben has been lucky to travel personally and with work as an expedition medic and river guide.
Ben’s LinkedIn handle is Benjamin-watts-expedition-medic
 


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When
15/01/2025 09:00 - 17:00
Where
Birmingham Conference & Events Centre Hill St Birmingham B5 4EW
Registration not available.