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Scheduled care

Winner: Alan Henry and Adam Birdsey

Alan and Adam’s actions not only influenced the initial management of a critically injured patient, which is outside of their normal working experiences and training, but they also portrayed themselves, the scheduled patient transport service and NEAS as dedicated, proud and committed individuals who make a positive difference and change lives.

Scheduled care team Alan Henry and Adam Birdsey were nominated for their actions at an incident in February this year, witnessed a road traffic collision on the central motorway in Newcastle and stopped to offer assistance. First on scene, they recognised the seriousness of the incident, called for back-up and identified three casualties, one of which was critical.

They were met with a complex scene, which involved a significantly damaged vehicle, complicated by cold snowy conditions.

Rapidly deteriorating, the most seriously ill patient went into cardiac arrest.  Owing to the complexity of the scene and the fact the patient was trapped, Alan courageously entered the vehicle and commenced CPR with mouth to mouth ventilations. Together, the two were able to attach an automated defibrillator which delivered an initial shock to the patient, giving them the very best chance to survive.

As help arrived on scene Alan and Adam assisted the team in managing the patient.

The incident overall required advanced treatment of the critically ill patient and the crew were able to get an initial return of spontaneous circulation, which was a combination of multiple factors.  Despite the final outcome, this was undoubtedly influenced by Alan and Adams initial management under extreme conditions in a very emotive and challenging environment. 

The clinicians making the nomination for this particular crew credited the outstanding team work of all of the individuals who attended to manage this multi-patient incident following Alan and Adam’s arrival, namely Sean Potts (Advanced Paramedic and CARU clinician), Thomas Kelbrick (Paramedic), Johan Sharp (Emergency Care Assistant), Kenneth Powell (Paramedic), Dave Hewitt (Paramedic), Darren Gladstone (Emergency Care Assistant), Gavin Fryer (Paramedic), Lee Thompson (Paramedic) and Mark Clay (Technician).

But in making the nomination, they outlined in particular the valiant attempts of those first on scene. 

In their words, “Alan and Adam showed courage and commitment in a situation that would have tested even the most experienced clinician.  Taking the action they did is outside of their normal experiences and training, but doing so, they portrayed themselves and the service as dedicated, proud and committed individuals who make a positive difference and change lives.”