April 2009 - BASICS doctors provide Field Hospital

Drunk revellers and injured people can now be treated at a temporary accident unit in Hanley. The new field hospital, staffed by paramedics, nurses and doctors from a car park off Etruria Road, is in business every Friday night to ease pressure on the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. 

LESS than an hour after the last punch had hit the teenager's head and torso, he was heading home with his wounds treated and bandaged.

The 17-year-old – involved in a fight with a gang of about eight youths – would normally expect a lengthy wait at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire's overstretched A&E department.

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Instead he was given quick and professional treatment by medics in a tent off Etruria Road, Hanley, where a field hospital has been set up to treat emergency patients on busy Friday nights.

"It's good, I've been treated straight away, I was only in for about 10-minutes," said the battered teenager from Northwood, who didn't want to be named.

"If I had gone to the main A&E unit, I'd probably be waiting for two-and-a-half hours." 
He added: "I ran into a bunch of lads who I've had trouble with in the past. I got into a fight with one of them, it was just one on one, then I knocked him to the ground and all his mates ran at me. I didn't have a chance, there were about eight of them hitting and punching me.

"It's not the first time I've been to A&E – last year I was stabbed. It is not a very nice place where I live." 
With his head injury glued, and a black eye, the youth and his father got in a taxi to take them back to Northwood. 
They were the first to arrive for treatment at the temporary accident unit on Friday night, at about 10pm. 
The field hospital is set in a simple tent, with two beds, life-saving heart equipment, stretchers and oxygen machines. 
It is staffed by doctors, nurses and paramedics backed up by a logistics team ensuring they are topped up with vital supplies and support staff to provide patients – and staff – with comforting cups of tea.

A police car and ambulance crew are also stationed at the unit to provide support where needed. 
The field hospital, based on Staples car park at Century Retail Park, is not a drop-in centre, but patients can be taken there instead of A&E by ambulance crews or wounded revellers can be sent there by police. Meanwhile, four doctors from the BASICS volunteer flying doctors charity are on rotas to work from the unit, including a middle-grade hospital doctor experienced in A&E care.

Each week one of them works at the field hospital, while another is driven out to deal with emergencies as they happen. 
Friday night was the second week of an eight week trial, designed to cut marathon queues at the main A&E unit. 
Nine patients were given the emergency care they would normally only receive following a long spell in the hospital's waiting room.

Another nine casualties were seen by the mobile doctor, including a youth who had been hit by a bus in Chesterton, suffering only minor injuries. The team were also among the first at the scene of Saturday morning's fatal road crash on the M6.

The second patient brought to the field hospital by an ambulance crew was a drunk, who had been discovered passed out. 
Ambulance officer Matt Heward, said: "He's had too much to drink. 
"But he is someone who would otherwise take up a bed in A&E. He needs someone with him to make sure he is all right. We can do all the checks that he would need.

"It is all about education. Not everyone has to go to A&E. 
"And we can treat patients quickly. The young lad who was assaulted was seen in less than an hour from the moment his dad called for anambulance."

Nurse Kelly Swann said: "Anything that can be dealt with at this unit, which takes pressure off A&E, is a good thing. 
"Everyone knows how pressured A&E is. 
"We can get up to 300 patients through the doors a day. I would be running around like a mad thing." 
Much of the early hours of the field hospital's six hour stint, which started at 8.30pm, saw staff waiting for the action to begin. But as more people and ambulance crews become aware of the treatment available, that is likely to change.

The next patient to arrive was former paramedic Chris Parker, who had already waited two hours at the main A&E unit after accidently stabbing herself in the eye with a pair of scissors.

Mrs Parker, of Hulse Street, Fenton, said: "It is excellent. I was worried there may be more bleeding behind the eye, but I've been checked out and I'm OK to go home. At the main A&E, they told me I could be waiting another two hours so they sent me here."

Then came a boy who had suffered a fall. Staff were able to reassure his parents he was well enough to return home. 
Paramedics Bob Shenton and Matt Manifold were posted to the unit, after dropping off the drunk. 
Mr Shenton said: "We weren't sure what sort of conditions could be treated here, but now we know what they can do. It's an extra option for us."

Mr Manifold said: "With it being in Hanley, it can be a lot closer than the hospital and it means we can help people quicker."

The field hospital became busier after midnight, when a number of revellers were treated for cuts and bruises. 
Mr Heward, who was co-ordinating Friday night's operation, said: "It is important people still call 999 in an emergency. But we are another option. And as word gets out and it gets busier, we can expand easily."