"Management of Ambulance Operations" offers nineteen chapters of "best practices" covering the management of an ambulance service, with each chapter written by a recognized expert in that area of ambulance service operation. Teaching and Learning Experience

• Offers insights and "best practices" from subject matter experts in ambulance services
• Provides a useful reference and resource for ambulance service managers and executives

Ambulance services and paramedics perform critical roles in contemporary healthcare economies. Trained to work in the field and respond rapidly to emergencies, societies have come to increasingly rely on ambulance services to deliver urgent care. Never has this need been more acute than in recent years given intense social inequality, overstretched and underfunded health systems, and deadly pandemics. Leo McCann offers the first book-length study of the paramedic profession in England. Based on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation, The Paramedic at Work provides a detailed account of the complex realities of work in this fascinating occupation. Chapters explore the nature of work 'out on the road', the peculiarities of ambulance organizational culture, the intensity of workplace stress and burnout, and the current and future trajectory of paramedic professionalism. The book documents the unique paradoxes experienced by those employed in this line of work. Ambulance staff are trained to handle life-threatening trauma and disease, but most callouts consist of unplanned primary care. Paramedic work features wide autonomy but is also bound into an array of micromanaging performance indicators. Paramedics are trusted and respected in society but the profession is poorly understood and employers can be unsupportive. However, no matter how intense the personal struggles can be, paramedic work also offers rare opportunities for meaningful and socially valued work. This book shows that the role and status of the paramedic is rapidly moving from a manual occupation rooted in first aid and transportation, to a clinical profession of increasing scope, versatility, and social respect.

In late March of 2014, death descended upon the community of Oso, Washington in the form of a massive landslide. Ten million cubic yards of dirt and mud crashed through homes, sweeping a 20-foot-high wall of debris before it and scouring the valley floor. In the cold rain of that morning, an entire community disappeared in a sea of mud. In the desperate hours that followed, rescue crews were able to pull only eight survivors out of the wrecked landscape. And then all became quiet, with the stunned realization that many more people were missing, but none were still living. This is the moment when the story of A Dog's Devotion begins. The emergency call from Oso went out, and was answered by K9 Search and Rescue (SAR) teams from across the Pacific Northwest. Suzanne, along with her 4-year-old Labrador Retriever, Keb, and her teammate Guy, was one of the SAR teams to respond to this disaster. In this book, readers immediately find themselves on the ground in the cold mud of the Oso Landslide Disaster on the desperate search for the remains of over forty lost souls. In subsequent chapters, readers will accompany Suzanne, Guy, and Keb as they are inserted by helicopter to search high snowfields on Mount Rainier, or as they traverse steep, forested slopes searching for the clandestine grave of murder victims. They'll join K9 Keb, as her keen nose leads to human remains in the forests of Washington State and as far away as the woods of Scandinavia. Keb's story is of a dedicated K9 who can distinguish the scent of the dead from the scent of the living, and who can detect buried bones and even corpses underwater. Readers will follow this intrepid K9 and her teammates as they face the challenges of changeable weather, deep northwest forests, high mountain slopes, and menacing coyotes to find dead bodies, missing hikers, and even the bones of murder victims from long ago. Among their successes: finding multiple victims buried by the 2014 Oso Landslide, solving the mysterious disappearance of women in wealthy suburbs, and finding human bones thought to be forever lost to time. It's their story about evolving as search and rescue volunteers while overcoming harsh conditions, inner demons, a rust-bound bureaucracy, and back-stabbing teammates. While internal conflicts threaten their larger K9 team, Keb's training, loyalty, and perseverance inspire them, and help them find the resolve to carry on their service to the community.

THE ENTHRALLING INSIDE STORY OF THE THAI CAVE RESCUE FROM THE MAN AT THE HEART OF THE MISSION, AS SEEN IN THE SUNDAY TIMES 'The British divers are all heroes' Clive Cussler 'A case study in courage' Ron Howard, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 ________ Thailand, July 2018. Twelve boys and their football coach vanish into Tham Luang caves just as the monsoon rains hit. A mile from the surface they are trapped by rising flood waters. All attempts to reach them fail. As hope for their survival fades a retired British firefighter tinkering with homemade cave-diving kit gets a call. Rick Stanton and his dive partner race to the other side of the world. The boys have been missing for days. Each hour, their chance of escape shrinks. Rick must swim, crawl and squeeze through treacherously tight submerged tunnels hunting for them. But that is not the impossible part. Because if by some miracle they're alive then somehow he must bring the boys back out again . . . He doesn't know it yet but all his life he's been training for this very moment . . . ________ 'The riveting, behind-the-scenes story. Captivating' SUNDAY POST 'A definitive view of the rescue. You probably won't read a better-written book about diving this year. I just had to get to the end' DIVER MAGAZINE 'Diver Rick Stanton relives the rescue of the century' SUNDAY TIMES 'Remarkable . . . the chronicle of a man from a humble background who worked devilishly hard . . . and was willing to go anywhere to help people in the most dire cave disasters' WALL STREET JOURNAL THE RESCUE WATCHED BY THE WORLD 'The Thai cave rescue was phenomenally dangerous, and the work of true heroes' iNews '[The rescue] was fantastic, it really was . . .' HRH Prince William 'If it was me stuck anywhere, the one person I would want to come and rescue me is Rick Stanton' Alex Daw, Watch Commander, West Midlands Fire Service 'One of the great stories of our time' Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Oscar-winning co-director of Free Solo 'Rick Stanton is not the most domesticated of men' Sunday Telegraph

As the snowflakes fall, new love blossoms...When teacher Florence Ashton receives a surprise inheritance, she decides to make the life-changing decision to up sticks to the charming town of Willowbury in Somerset. With a new house and a new job, she's too busy putting down roots to think about love. Air Ambulance pilot Sam Ellis is definitely not looking for romance either, especially not on his doorstep. When Florence, his new neighbour, complains about his noisy housemate, he feels more cross than star-crossed. But as the nights draw in and both find themselves thrown together in Willowbury's seasonal drama production, will they overcome their differences and allow a little bit of winter magic to fall along with the snow? And what secrets will be revealed by the box of memories Florence finds in the attic at Bay Tree Terrace? Let Fay Keenan transport you to the perfect country winter wonderland, with roaring fires, spectacular scenery, and unforgettable characters. Perfect for all fans of Cathy Bramley, Fern Britton and Katie Fforde. What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan's novels: 'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm.' Victoria Connelly 'Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston 'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane 'This is a lovely and heart-warming story, that has a serious side hidden within the romance.' Amazon reviewer 'It was a wonderful book, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' Amazon reviewer 'I was so engrossed in the storyline, which is thoroughly heart-warming, that I read the entire book without stopping. I always enjoy Keenan's books and am looking forward to the next one!' Amazon reviewer What readers are saying about Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace: 'This has been an absolutely gorgeous and perfect read.' 'A beautiful Christmassy romance with lovely characters and an easy to follow but well written plot loved it' 'I really enjoyed this Christmas read even though it is July, it makes you wish that Christmas was just around the corner' 'An entertaining and well written romance. Great plot and fun characters.' 'A great way to while away an afternoon' 'A perfect book for reading with a warming hot chocolate.'

As the snowflakes fall, new love blossoms...When teacher Florence Ashton receives a surprise inheritance, she decides to make the life-changing decision to up sticks to the charming town of Willowbury in Somerset. With a new house and a new job, she's too busy putting down roots to think about love. Air Ambulance pilot Sam Ellis is definitely not looking for romance either, especially not on his doorstep. When Florence, his new neighbour, complains about his noisy housemate, he feels more cross than star-crossed. But as the nights draw in and both find themselves thrown together in Willowbury's seasonal drama production, will they overcome their differences and allow a little bit of winter magic to fall along with the snow? And what secrets will be revealed by the box of memories Florence finds in the attic at Bay Tree Terrace? Let Fay Keenan transport you to the perfect country winter wonderland, with roaring fires, spectacular scenery, and unforgettable characters. Perfect for all fans of Cathy Bramley, Fern Britton and Katie Fforde. What authors and readers say about Fay Keenan's novels: 'A gorgeous rural romance full of warmth and charm.' Victoria Connelly 'Guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Feel-good, frisky and great fun with a hearty dash of romance and intrigue.' Julie Houston 'Moving, funny, thoughtful and romantic. Bring on the next one!' Jenny Kane 'This is a lovely and heart-warming story, that has a serious side hidden within the romance.' Amazon reviewer 'It was a wonderful book, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' Amazon reviewer 'I was so engrossed in the storyline, which is thoroughly heart-warming, that I read the entire book without stopping. I always enjoy Keenan's books and am looking forward to the next one!' Amazon reviewer What readers are saying about Snowflakes Over Bay Tree Terrace: 'This has been an absolutely gorgeous and perfect read.' 'A beautiful Christmassy romance with lovely characters and an easy to follow but well written plot loved it' 'I really enjoyed this Christmas read even though it is July, it makes you wish that Christmas was just around the corner' 'An entertaining and well written romance. Great plot and fun characters.' 'A great way to while away an afternoon' 'A perfect book for reading with a warming hot chocolate.'

In Paramedics On and Off the Streets, Michael K. Corman embarks on an institutional ethnography of the complex, mundane, intricate, and exhilarating work of paramedics in Calgary, Alberta. Corman's comprehensive research includes more than 200 hours of participant observation ride-alongs with paramedics over a period of eleven months, more than one hundred first hand interviews with paramedics, and thirty-six interviews with other emergency medical personnel including administrators, call-takers and dispatchers, nurses, and doctors. At the heart of this ethnography are questions about the role of paramedics in urban environments, the role of information and communication technologies in contemporary health care governance, and the organization and accountability of pre-hospital medical services. Paramedics On and Off the Streets is the first institutional ethnography to explore the role and increasing importance of paramedics in our healthcare system. It takes readers on a journey into the everyday lives of EMS personnel and provides an in-depth sociological analysis of the work of pre-hospital health care professionals in the twenty-first century.

Hier is 'n versameling gewaagde reddings vol drama en gevaar, ter viering van die NSRI se 50ste herdenking. Die stories, wat alles dek van brandende skepe tot haai-aanvalle, van sinkende vistreilers tot hallusinerende vissermanne, gaan oor die mens se konstante stryd teen sommige van die gevaarlikste vaarwaters op aarde. Dit sluit die storie in wat tot die stigting van die NSRI gelei het.

The Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) was created shortly after the outbreak of war. The idea of the units founder, Philip J Baker, was that it would provide young Friends (Quakers) with the opportunity to serve their country without sacrificing their pacifist principles. The first volunteers went to Belgium on 31 October 1914, under the auspices of the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The FAU made a sustained contribution to the military medical services of the Allied nations, establishing military hospitals, running ambulance convoys, and staffing hospital ships and ambulance trains, treating and transporting wounded men. Determined to bring succour to all those in need, the FAU also assisted civilians trapped in the war zone and living in desperate circumstances. Nowhere was this more acute than in the besieged and battered town of Ypres where thousands sheltered in the underground passage-ways of the towns ancient fortifications -- a subterranean population, hopeless, often lightless, wrote Geoffrey Young, the Units young field commander, living on what they might and breeding disease. The Unit provided hospitals for the treatment of civilians, and worked intensively in the containment and treatment of the typhoid epidemic that swept the region, locating sufferers, providing them with medical care, and inoculating people against the disease. It played a major role in the purification of the towns contaminated drinking water, distributed milk for infants and food and clothing to the sick and needy. It helped found orphanages, made provision for schooling and organised gainful employment for refugees until, finally, it became responsible for the definitive evacuations of the civilian population.

When a military coup provoked civil war in Spain in July 1936, many thousands of people around the world rallied to provide humanitarian aid. Britons were no exception. Collective efforts in Britain to provide aid for the Spanish Republic were vast in both scope and effect. Whilst such enterprise has formed the focus of a few previous studies, some of the most dramatic stories of the Spanish war have yet to be uncovered. This book seeks to shed light on the activities of two separate ventures that played important roles in British medical and humanitarian aid to Spain -- the Scottish Ambulance Unit and Sir George Young's Ambulance Unit. The volunteer members of these teams (those who went out to Spain and those who supported them in Britain) earned the unstinting praise of the Spanish government for their selfless commitment to the cause, as well as winning the respect and gratitude of the citizens whose welfare they strove so selflessly to protect. Recently discovered documentation reveals previously undisclosed details of these remarkably altruistic and, indeed, heroic enterprises, clarifying the reasoning behind their creation and documenting their endeavours in Spain -- endeavours of key relevance to the wider history of the conflict. In Spain, the volunteers of the Scottish Ambulance Unit and the George Young Ambulance Unit offered a heartening and inspiring antithesis to the suffering they sought to relieve. They deserve to be remembered for what they embodied during those days of untold cruelty and destruction -- outstanding examples of man's humanity to man.

When a military coup provoked civil war in Spain in July 1936, many thousands of people around the world rallied to provide humanitarian aid. Britons were no exception. Collective efforts in Britain to provide aid for the Spanish Republic were vast in both scope and effect. Whilst such enterprise has formed the focus of a few previous studies, some of the most dramatic stories of the Spanish war have yet to be uncovered. This book seeks to shed light on the activities of two separate ventures that played important roles in British medical and humanitarian aid to Spain the Scottish Ambulance Unit and Sir George Young's Ambulance Unit. The volunteer members of these teams (those who went out to Spain and those who supported them in Britain) earned the unstinting praise of the Spanish government for their selfless commitment to the cause, as well as winning the respect and gratitude of the citizens whose welfare they strove so selflessly to protect. Recently discovered documentation reveals previously undisclosed details of these remarkably altruistic and, indeed, heroic enterprises, clarifying the reasoning behind their creation and documenting their endeavours in Spain endeavours of key relevance to the wider history of the conflict. In Spain, the volunteers of the Scottish Ambulance Unit and the George Young Ambulance Unit offered a heartening and inspiring antithesis to the suffering they sought to relieve. They deserve to be remembered for what they embodied during those days of untold cruelty and destruction outstanding examples of man's humanity to man.

In the air force no mission receives greater priority than the mission of mercy. When lives are at stake all resources available are dedicated to the task. Aircrew, ground crew, paramedics, doctors, mountaineers, navy divers, policemen and trained civilian volunteers are rapidly organized into a rescue team and dispatched with all haste to the disaster scene. Originally published in 1999 as Fire, Flood and Ice, this updated edition includes yet more spectacular South African Air Force (SAAF) search and rescue missions, both military and civilian. Included is the remarkable rescue of all 581 people from the ill-fated liner Oceanos, for which the author was mentioned in dispatches for his role as commander of the rescue operation. Also new are heartwarming accounts of SAAF rescues during the devastating floods of 2000 in Mozambique, which captured the world's attention. Dick Lord joined the Royal Navy in 1958, where he qualified as a fighter pilot. He did a two-year exchange tour with the US Navy and completed tours of air warfare instruction. He returned to South Africa in early '70s and joined the South African Air Force. During the Border War, he commanded 1 Squadron, flying Mirage F1AZs into Angola. A highlight of his career was organizing the successful flypast of 76 aircraft for Nelson Mandela's 1994 presdiential inauguration.

Ever wondered what it's like to be an ambulance paramedic? Do they really just attend nasty accidents or is that just media hype? If not, what jobs do they really go to? What sort of people call for an ambulance? Why would anyone want to be a paramedic in the first place? All these questions (and many others) are answered in this light-hearted and humorous, real life account of a seasoned paramedic & fireman. Come along for the ride as the author takes you into fascinating places and predicaments you have never experienced before. For the first time ever, this Kiwi Paramedic takes you behind the scenes of one of the countries most trusted professions. So buckle up and be prepared to laugh, cry and be entertained by this unique account that is Priority One.

Medical Case Studies For The Paramedic Contains 20 Case Studies Representing A Variety Of Medical Emergencies That The Paramedic May Encounter In The Field. Each Case Study Begins By Presenting Dispatch Information And A General Impression Of The Patient Upon Arriving At The Scene. Then, As The Case Progresses, Pertinent Patient Information Is Provided, Interspersed With A Series Of Standardized Questions Designed To Assess The Paramedic's Ability In Correlating Specific Signs And Symptoms With A Particular Medical Condition And Providing The Appropriate Treatment.

'During open-chest resuscitations, I've held a non-beating, recently stilled human heart in my hands. And, should you ever get to hold one, you will find the human heart to be rubbery and shockingly light.' What Could Possibly Go Wrong? is a report from the front line of emergency medicine, the first ever account of what it is like to work as an air ambulance doctor. Whether describing cutting through a patient's breastbone to plug a stab wound or barrel rolling a light aircraft at 5,000 feet, Tony Bleetman captures the sheer adrenaline of racing through the sky to save lives. You will learn how to land a helicopter on the side of a mountain, what it means to encounter death every day, and how to perform a tracheotomy in real life (clue: it doesn't involve a ball-point pen). Funny, shocking and moving, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? is a glimpse at a world where the wrong decision can mean the difference between life and death. Originally published as You Can't Park There: The Highs and Lows of an Air Ambulance Doctor.

Retrieval Medicine is a core, concise and practical text covering the complex clinical and logistical problems experienced in the retrieval environment. Focusing on evidence-based management and clear clinical guidance, this easily portable handbook provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to this growing field for all health professionals involved in the retrieval and transfer of critically ill patients. Covering the practice of acute, emergency and critical care medicine in the transport environment, this handbook provides the practical guidance and clinical knowledge to enable medical practitioners to function independently in highly variable and resource limited environments with acutely unwell, unstable and often clinically undifferentiated patients over long durations. Closely mapped to the Royal College of Surgeons syllabus on retrieval and transfer medicine, this title comprehensively covers all aspects of retrieval medicine, from basic flight physiology to more complex retrievals and common pitfalls. Authored by an authoritative, international team of expert editors and specialist authors, this clinically focused text is complemented by a range of checklists and reference tools for practical and accessible use in the field. These deliver core information for use in the primary retrieval setting, allowing the retreivalist to structure their approach to a crisis and correct the problem with suggested interventions. Topics include retrieval systems and coordination, crisis resource management, shock, and a range of chapters focusing on responding to specific areas of medicine when encountered in the retrieval environment, such as cardiology and obstetrics and gynaecology.

Not many people can say that a mouse got them a discount on a hotel room. Very few people have joined a police raid on a quail-fighting ring. Hardly anyone has managed to gas himself with chloroform while driving a van ...and survived. Having worked as an RSPCA inspector since the early 1970s, Steve Greenhalgh (it's pronounced Greenhalsh but he's come to accept that Greenhall, Greenharg and Greenhouse will do at a push) has been through all of the above as well as exposing cats that impersonate each other, splinting magpies' broken legs and wrestling swans in the high street traffic. He has even ventured out on to a fast-flowing river in a boat with only one oar to save a cat while Rolf Harris provided a running commentary for Animal Hospital. Not all of Steve's experiences as an inspector have been a bundle of laughs, but sharing some of his adventures from the past four decades helps us to see the vital work undertaken by the RSPCA and the huge impact that they have on the lives of ordinary people. Just don't ask him to deal with an angry four-foot snake in a flimsy budgie cage ever again . .