Emergency Response
A team of highly skilled paramedics and intensive care paramedics provide responsive, high-quality clinical care at the scene of emergencies as well as providing professional medical care en-route to hospital. Supporting our front line paramedics provide emergency pre-hospital care are a number of special operational units including:
- Rapid Response
- Snow Operations
- Rescue Operations
- Special Casualty Access Teams
- Air Ambulance
- Medical Retrieval Unit
- Counter Disaster Unit
Rapid response
The use of Rapid Response Vehicles (all-wheel drive vehicles with no stretcher capacity) for ambulance operations is widely practised by ambulance services around the world. Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) have been shown to be effective in providing early patient intervention and reducing response times.
Examples of the way in which RRVs assist in reducing response times are:
- RRVs allow a single paramedic to assess patients quickly and, if transport is not required, provide basic treatment at the scene, freeing up front line ambulances to respond to other emergencies.
- RRVs mobility allows them to respond rapidly in the case of life threatening emergencies and commence treatement prior to the arrival of an ambulance.
- RRVs are an integral part of ambulance operations at major events, such as New Years Eve, Mardi Gras and the Sydney City to Surf fun run. Their size and mobility allows them to access patients in large crowds.
RRVs operate across the Sydney metropolitan area. They are not based in any particular location but instead are tasked by the operations centre to respond within areas that have a high workload, according to demand levels throughout the day. The RRV fleet currently consists of seventeen Subaru Forrester AWD vehicles and three BMW motorbikes. Distinctive signage, high visibility warning lights, sirens and an advanced satellite navigation system have been fitted to all RRVs.
Over 50 paramedics have undertaken specialised training including vehicle familiarisation, satellite navigation, occupational violence and major incident advice, and most importantly training in single officer operations. Rapid responders are recertified paramedics at the highest clinical level.
Normal hours of operation are seven days a week between the hours of 7am to 7pm. This comparatively small number of vehicles attend between 400 to 600 calls per week which equates to a considerable percentage of the emergency calls in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Snow Operations
Ambulance has operated a fully functional, winter season only, ambulance station at Perisher Valley for many years with the official opening taking place in 1987.
It is estimated that over 1.2 million people (according to statistics provided by the National Park) visit the ski fields during the winter months. The village of Perisher Valley has many lodges with people staying for extended periods making it like any other small town in New South Wales.
From the June long weekend to the October long weekend, a team of paramedics, fully trained in all aspects of snowfield work including the use of all oversnow vehicles, are based at the Perisher Valley station. The paramedics respond to all types of emergencies throughout the region.
Our fleet of vehicles at Perisher Valley Station include two snowmobiles, a 4WD Mercedes and a 4WD Landcruiser with mattracks, Quad bike and Kassbroher oversnow vehicle.
Rescue Operations
Ambulance operates 6 primary rescue units in rural areas around the State. Rescue paramedics are trained for all types of rescue including, road crash, vertical, confined space, trench, industrial, technical and domestic to name a few. They learn navigation skills, four wheel driving, urban search and rescue, and chemical biological and radiological procedures.
Rescue training commences with the recruitment of up to 12 paramedics, who are selected to undergo a rigorous five week training course. On successful completion of the course the rescue paramedics are then rostered to rescue units where training continues with a minimum eight hours of structured training per month. Rescue paramedics are also required to undergo a recertification program.
Ambulance rescue vehicles are equipped with a vast array of equipment including motorised hydraulic tools, air tools, hand held global positioning satellite units, fibre optic search scopes, portable atmospheric testing units, lighting and breathing apparatus.
Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT)
The Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT) was first formed in 1986, from the need for paramedics to be able to provide high quality pre-hospital care to patients where-ever they are.
Prospective SCAT members undergo a gruelling seven week training course which covers competencies such as survival, bushcraft, basic and advanced roping, caving, canyoning, mountaineering, mines rescue, leadership, teamwork, chemical biological and radiological procedures, four wheel driving, navigation and white water survival.
Ambulance currently has 67 SCAT paramedics throughout the State. The roles of SCAT paramedics are many and varied including: support to rescue squads, specialist police units and fire brigades in HAZMAT; bushfires and urban search and rescue; working on helicopters; and accessing and treating patients in caves, canyons, mines, and on cliff ledges. SCAT paramedics are taught to be self sufficient and often ‘camp out’ with their patients when weather or operational conditions dictate a need to ‘stay put’ for a period.
SCAT paramedics undergo certification where skills are assessed and new or updated techniques are taught.
Air Ambulance
The Air Ambulance Service of NSW was established in 1967 and today has grown to include a fleet of four Beechcraft Super Kingair B200c, pressurised turbo prop twin engined aircraft.
The Air Ambulance base facility is located at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport and consists of an aircraft hangar with a light maintenance facility, road ambulance bay, patient care facilities, administration and an area for aircraft parking.
The role of Air Ambulance is to provide long distance transport while ensuring the continuation of the patient’s medical and nursing care between referring and receiving hospitals. The aircraft becomes the extension of the general hospital ward, Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit, Labour Ward, Nursery etc.
Air Ambulance operates both a 24-hour emergency service and a routine service. The clinical condition of a patient determines if the transfer is on an urgent or routine basis. An urgent response is provided for patients who require immediate transport, for the clinical management of, for example, multiple trauma, labour complications, acute cardiac cases. A routine response is provided for those patients who are stable and are scheduled for the next routine or elective flight to the area or receiving hospital.
The potential area covered by Air Ambulance extends from Brisbane to Melbourne and from Bourke to Lord Howe Island. Depending on the location of the patient and availability of an Air Ambulance aircraft at the time, the services of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) or the Victorian Air Ambulance Service may also be utilised.
Helicopter Operations
Helicopter retrieval incorporates both pre-hospital rescue and interhospital transfer services across the State. They operate from Sydney (Mascot Airport and Westmead Hospital) and rural bases at Canberra, Orange, Tamworth, Newcastle, Wollongong and Lismore.
Responding crews on helicopters include suitably trained paramedics and often a specially trained doctor. Typical scenarios include:
- serious motor vehicle accidents where specialist on-scene medical care is required
- rescues requiring a winch (water, cliff and rugged terrain) and
- patients in remote areas where the speed of a helicopter will result in the patient reaching the best hospital more quickly.
Ambulance protocols, procedures and pharmacologies are the basis of aeromedical clinical operational procedures and policies for the Ambulance clinical crew aboard the rescue helicopters. All helicopters have a doctor and paramedic crew and provide expanded rescue and critical care retrieval.
NSW Health Counter Disaster Unit
Introduction
Established in 2003, the NSW Health / Ambulance Service Counter Disaster Unit (CDU) involves specialised NSW Health and Ambulance personnel working together to address aspects of health disaster planning and response, including responding to terrorism events.
The role of CDU today is to ensure NSW Health is prepared to respond effectively to major health emergencies and disasters as well as support the health aspects of major events within NSW.
Our Responsibilities
- Create a sustainable, integrated and emergency management framework for NSW Health.
- Develop and implement plans, policies and procedural guidelines for the conduct of counter disaster response across NSW Health including HEALTHPLAN.
- Develop a performance management framework to review and monitor the counter disaster preparedness of Area Health Services.
- Build the capability of our partners to respond to major emergencies through international best practice and research tailored to NSW Health emergency risk management.
- Develop and implement an education and training strategy for counter disaster preparedness across NSW Health.
- Undertake strategic contingency planning and project management for specified major events.
Activities
The CDU has:
- responded to major incidents such as the Asia-Pacific Tsunami Assist December 2005;
- recently participated in exercises including Mercury 2006, Explorer 2006, Cumpston 2006, Paton 2006 and City to Surf in August each year; and
- introduced the EmergoTrain System within NSW Area Health Services to exercise surge capacity and disaster plans within trauma centres and base hospitals.
Contact Details
The NSW Health / Ambulance Service Counter Disaster Unit can be contacted by:
Phone: 02 9320 7633 or 02 9320 7626
Fax: 02 9320 7817
The Ambulance Service of NSW is
unique from any other ambulance service as our front line staff have the opportunity to specialise into diverse areas such as Rescue, Special Casualty Access Team (SCAT), Aeromedical services, Snow operations, Rapid Response, Counter Disaster and Patient Transport Service.