1. Introduction
Coast Medic (Coast Medic) has a set of Emergency Operations Procedures (EOPs) to assist its organisation & clinical staff to remain in the scope of their own practice, to assist with management & treatment of the most common encountered conditions and to identify specific skill procedural techniques for intervention.
2. Scope
It remains vitally important that all Coast Medic staff only perform skills & duties in line with their clinical scope of practice. This is actually easier for the registered healthcare professional who has specific regulatory body requirements and competencies that are clearly defined. This policy will reinforce those and provide company guidance to non-registered clinical staff.
This policy will include skill procedural techniques and the most common emergency conditions encountered. Coast Medic will draw upon legislation & guidance from the following:
- National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
- Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC)
- Resuscitation Council (UK)
- NHS England – New Ambulance Standards
3. EOP Performance Indicators
Coast Medic for a period of 12 months will audit 2 EOPs under EOP performance indicators as part of company quality assurance. Similar to that of NHS Clinical Performance Indicators (CPIs). The clinical director via Patient Record forms will audit 2 x chosen EOPs as stated during QA meetings.
4. Responsibilities
Organisational
It will remain the medical director’s responsibility to ensure that all clinical staff are familiar with this policy, where it can be found, that it is included into company induction and that it is subjected to the usual policy review process as declared in the Coast Medic Audit & Review of Policies Policy. It will be the Operations managers responsibility that a copy can be found on all operational vehicular resources.
Employee
It will be the employee’s responsibility to remain and operate only at the clinical level of their grade, to be familiar with this Coast Medic policy and other clinical policies such as defibrillation, clinical supervision, consent and capacity etc.
In the event of a situation that falls outside of scope of practice or knowledge the following measures can be considered:
- To request a Coast Medic Paramedic to scene.
- To call the Coast Medic emergency advice line in accordance with the emergency arrangement section of the Clinical Supervision Policy.
- To call 999 and ask for the relevant emergency service.
5. Managing Medical Emergencies
Staff are expected to work within their scope of practice as defined in the Clinical Skills Matrix and follow JRCALC and NICE guidelines relevant to any medical or clinical emergency. If further assistance is required call 999. The Duty Operational Manager must be informed as soon as practically possible following any medical emergency.