General BroadCAST

Pulmonary Embolism is a common emergency presentation to paramedics and emergency medicine clinicians.

We discuss why PEs cause right ventricular strain, the types of PE from massive, to submassive and subsegmental, how to work up and diagnose pulmonary embolism, how do D-Dimers work? and what are the high risk pulmonary embolism criteria.

Find the references and other episodes at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk

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All diving represents a hazard, as humans we're not designed to live under water. The deeper divers go and the longer they dive for, the greater the potential risks. Although the bends or decompression sickness, arterial gas embolisims and other diving related emergencies arent the most common presentation to emergency care clinicians. We thought it would be good to revise this medical presenation.

In partnership with our colleagues at HM Coastguard we've developed this CPD podcast. We talk to a Deepwater technical dive instructor from purpleturtle diving, and a dive doctor from DDRC healthcare.

With thanks to Toni from https://www.purpleturtlediving.com/

and Felix from https://www.ddrc.org/

We all make mistakes, its a natural part of the course of being human. What matters is that we're honest about these, learn from them and feel safe in a just culture where the focus will be on learning, rather than on puishment.

We spoke with consultant paramedic Andy Collen, author of the fantastic book "Decision making in paramedic practice" and medicines and prescribing project lead for the college of paramedics.

In this podcast we discussed making mistakes, blame culture, accountability, and how we can feel safe in our practice.

Patient safety should be the key aim at the heart of any healthcare system, including the NHS. Yet we know that every single day, patients come to avoidable harm as a result of errors and mistakes. Human Factors and CRM have become increasingly common schools of thought after the tragic Elaine Bromley case.

This month we look at the Human Factors at play in a pre-hospital RTC case study and consider how ambulance clinicians and first responders might be affected by these. We discuss Startle and Suprise, Amigdyla highjack, Bandwidth, Leadership and heirarchies within teams, communication skills and graduated language.

Find the article and references at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk

Heroin overdose or other opiate poisoning is an emergency that most paramedics and ambulance staff will be familiar with. However, there are some elements that can cause uncertainty for responders. What comes first CPR or naloxone? What are the signs of an opioid emergency? How much naloxone do you give to someone suffering from opioid toxicity?

This month we look at all that and more!

Find the article and our other episodes at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk

Content Warning

This podcast features discussion of suicide and hanging.

Hanging is one of the most common methods of suicide in the western world. Ambualnce crew are likely to come across these cases in the course of their work and so it is important that we understand the pathophysiology and managment of them.

This month we discuss how hanging causes cardiac arrest, clarrify commonly used terms, discuss the managment as well as emotional support for family and staff involved in these cases.

Make sure you debrief the incident, take care of your own emotional and mental health after incidents such as these. The ambulance staff crisis phone line is 0300 373 0898. Look after your health and that of your colleagues.

Ankle injuries present to ambulance staff across a wide spectrum, from the minor soft tissue injury that can be discharged on scene, to the fracture dislocation. We need to be confident in assessing and managing the full spectrum of these injuries,

This month we talk about manipulating fractures, prophylactic antibiotics, as well as how to decide which injuries need an x-ray and what advice to give those patients that don't. |

Find the references that we used at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk.

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Asthma is the most common lung pathology in the UK. Managing exacerbations of the disease is something paramedics and emergency teams should be well versed in. In this months episode we review the pathophysiology, look at the different severities of exacerbation that may present to ambulance crews, discuss what types of patient are suitable for discharge as well as looking at the treatments we can offer from the mild asthma attack to the life threatening.

Its a topic that's been in the news a lot recently. This year is seeing a particularly high number of Strep A infections in the UK, this naturally translates to a higher number of complications and cases of invasive group A strep. Thats why this month we're taking a deep dive into all of it, we'll cover how to recognise strep throat and scarlet fever, as well as what we need to do if we suspect our patients have it. Find the write up, further reading and other episodes at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk

This month we discuss how to get the best out of remote clinical support or "top cover" calls. There are a number of human factors issues that can be at play for paramedics making emergency and urgent care clinical support phone calls, and as we discuss, optimising the situation so that advisors can provide the best advice, starts with those who are asking.

find the article and other episodes at www.generalbroadcast.org.uk