The Patient Journey Pre-Hospital
In most cases, patients will be attended to at the scene of the incident or accident by healthcare professionals. These can be North West Ambulance Service Emergency Technicians, Paramedics, Senior or Advanced Paramedics or the Hazardous Area Response Team.
For the most seriously injured patients, who require enhanced care, Air Ambulance or Critical Care teams may also be requested.
In both instances, this period of assessment and treatment is known as the pre-hospital phase, and it is during this assessment that the pre-hospital teams will decided on the most appropriate place for a patient to be cared for in the Cheshire & Mersey Major Trauma Network
If the patient requires Major Trauma Centre level specialist care and are stable enough to do so, they will bypass (drive past) the nearest hospital to be taken directly to the Major Trauma Centre. You can find out more about the Major Trauma Centres in the Patient Journey, Acute Care pages.
Pre-hospital teams use a triage tool known as the Major Trauma Pathfinder and the decision-making process is over seen by the Complex Incident Hub, where Senior NWAS and NWAA staff are based. Their role is to review the most serious and complex of incidents and determine the level of response required, whether that be an Emergency Ambulance, a Rapid Response vehicle with an Advanced Paramedic, the Hazardous Area Response Team, deployment of North West Air Ambulance Team (or combination of more than one) and decide where the patient should be taken to.
North West Ambulance Service
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, (NWAS) provides 24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport across the whole of North West England. They are responsible for identifying when specialist resources are needed to ensure that patients receive the correct care and are taken to the correct place.
To assist in deciding if a patient needs to be transferred to a Major Trauma Centre, they will assess the patient against the Major Trauma Pathfinder. This is a decision-making by pre-hospital providers (Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Advanced/Critical Care Paramedics) to help determine if a patient has sustained serious injuries and provide guidance on the best place for the patient to be taken to, whether that be a Major Trauma Centre of a Trauma Unit.
North West Air Ambulance
North West Air Ambulance is the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), that covers the whole of North West England.
Working closely with North West Ambulance Service, they deliver specialist enhanced pre-hospital care to the most severely injured patients, and transport them to the most appropriate hospital, to achieve the best outcome.
This is achieved with 3 Air Ambulances that operate 365 days a year during day light hours, and extended cover from 6pm to 2am, seven nights a week via the "night car" response vehicle service.
North West Air Ambulance Crews are made up of a Consultant in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine on 1 of the 3 helicopters and Critical Care Paramedics, who have enhanced training, skills and capabilities.
North West Air Ambulance Charity receive no Government funding and can only provide this vital enhanced prehospital care through the generosity of public donations and fundraising events.
North West Pre-Hospital Critical Care Charity
The North West Pre-hospital Critical Care Charity is the local BASICS scheme covering Cheshire, Merseyside, Manchester and Lancashire.
Volunteer responders are called by the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust to attend serious accidents or incidents in which our extended skills or expertise may be needed.
Responders include time-served Doctors with a range of backgrounds including Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia, Intensive Care & Surgery and Paramedics working as Critical Care Paramedics or Advanced Paramedic Practitioners.
They receive no NHS funding and rely solely on grant-funding and support from the public to fund their services.
For more information, please visit their website
