Troops are called in to ease pressure on county ambulances

60 MILITARY PERSONNEL IN TRAINING TO COVER NON-EMERGENCY CALLS

THE military is being drafted in to help drive Leicestershire’s ambulances as health staff numbers continue to be affected by Covid-19.

The move will see 60 military personnel supporting East Midlands Ambulance Service (Emas) staff by responding to non-emergency patients.

The move is needed due to continued demand on the service and the number of Emas employees who are unwell or having to isolate due to the virus.

The military personnel will attend patients who require transfers or who have already been seen by a healthcare professional, such as a GP, who has decided they need to go to hospital. Described as a “proactive step” by Emas, the aim of the move is to reduce delays being experienced by nonemergency patients, and to enable emergency crews to focus on responding to emergency 999 calls.

The deployed personnel will not be able to drive ambulances on blue lights.

Ben Holdaway, director of operations at Emas, said: “As an ambulance service, the most important thing for us is that we are able to provide emergency care to our patients when they need it.

“Combined with the intense pressure the whole NHS system is under, and the high demand on our service, some of our less urgent and nonemergency patients are waiting longer for an ambulance than they should rightfully expect. Our new military colleagues will bolster the urgent care part of our service, which attends non-emergency patients.

“This in turn will ensure our emergency ambulance crews can focus on attending the lifethreatening and serious emergencies in our communities.”

Mr Holdaway said the move had always been planned for. “While the introduction of military support has always been part of NHS plans in case of increased pressure, we are taking this proactive step now to safeguard the provision of a safe 999 service for our patients in the coming weeks,” he said.

The military personnel will began training last week, and will complete a three-day Emas familiarisation training course led by the service’s clinical education team. They will wear military uniforms throughout their engagement with Emas, and will provide cover seven days a week.

The move in Leicester came after it was revealed the military were in discussions about offering further support to hospitals around the UK.

RAF chief Air Commodore John Lyle said forces were looking at ways to offer more assistance as around 200 armed forces personnel took up roles in the NHS in London, which is ahead of the rest of the country in dealing with Omicron. Speaking to BBC Breakfast last Friday, Air Cdr Lyle said: “We can’t really forecast too far ahead, but certainly, throughout this current surge, we know that it’s particularly difficult in London at the minute but we are aware that this is impacting all across the UK.

“We remain in discussions and there are a number of areas where we’re looking at the potential for more assistance. So, over the coming weeks or months, I think we’ll learn a lot from how the progress is made through London and potentially there could be further military support required in other areas.”

He said troops have “a long history of supporting all government departments, but particularly the NHS over the past two years”.

He said: “This isn’t anything new. We’ve got over 1,800 people supporting across the UK, members from all three armed forces – both regular and reservist – delivering support in areas such as the booster programme… supporting ambulance services and, of course, supporting in hospitals.”

He said patients could expect to see a “primarily NHS workforce” supported by military personnel wearing Army uniform and protective equipment.

Speaking to Sky, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, of the British Medical Association, said “we have never known this level of staff absence”. He said: “I don’t think anyone who’s worked in the NHS has experienced this level of absence of colleagues. We’re feeling it in very real time, because doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are having to cover for their absent colleagues – adding exceptional strain.”

RESEARCH staff at Leicester’s Hospitals were celebrating at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) East Midlands Research Awards.

Individuals and teams from the Trust - together with their University of Leicester clinical research colleagues who work in the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre - were nominated and shortlisted in all six categories, and were declared the winner in five.

The awards, which took place in Nottingham on November 25, 2021, were to celebrate inspiring achievements from the health research world in the East Midlands. This year’s awards focused on the impact of research over the last 18 months in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The awards ceremony began with a moving keynote speech from Alex Guerrero, a participant on the Recovery trial, who was treated for Covid at Glenfield Hospital during the first wave of the pandemic. Speaking in a pre-recorded message, he said: “I feel really grateful, I feel humble and I feel happy I was part of research that has helped millions of people.

“There is no way to overstate this, but because of your work, your time, all those sleepless nights you had, all the times you thought we were going nowhere: I am alive.”

Richard Mitchell, chief executive of Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “Research has been a vital part of fighting this pandemic and Leicester colleagues have excelled at bringing research into our clinical areas. We have one of the lowest mortality rates from coronavirus in the country, due in part to the numbers of patients that have received trial medications that have later been shown to make a significant difference to survival and recovery from Covid. I’m delighted these remarkable efforts have been rewarded.”

Professor Nigel Brunskill, Director of Research and Innovation at Leicester’s Hospitals, collected the ‘Special Recognition for Contribution to COVID-19 Research’ award on behalf of the entire Research workforce.