New advanced paramedics will save more lives and cut costs according to a new study from the NHS Confederation.

The study looked at the use of paramedics at the South East Coast Ambulance Trust called critical care paramedic (CCPs). These advanced paramedics have been given extra training to deal with the most acute cases such as serious car crashes and stroke.

A cost benefit analysis in the study shows that the introduction of CCPs helps reduce avoidable deaths and save lives. It also shows that they offer much better value for money. The study's analysis sets out the value of life saved using CCPs is just over £34,000 - more than £200,000 less than an equivalent doctor-led team. CCPs would also easily pass the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) cost effectiveness standards for a new treatment.

The trust trained up 25 CCPs with skills to use a wider range of drugs and advanced airway management. They focus on the most urgent of cases in teams that allow for better co-ordination with local acute hospital services.

The CCP initiative is based on a model of care developed in Melbourne Australia which saw paramedics with advanced clinical skills being used on ambulances. Such paramedic-led systems have higher survival rates for trauma patients - up to 20 per cent higher in North America for example.

The CCP model is just one example of ambulance services run services using the advanced clinical skills of their staff to give patients high quality care. The NHS Confederation believes this study will make important reading for new GP-based commissioners.

Jo Webber, Director of the Ambulance Service Network, said,

"Critical care paramedics are part of the future of the ambulance service where patients get high quality clinical care rather than stabilised and taken to the nearest A&E department. Lives are being saved that otherwise would not be as a result of this work. Increasingly, ambulance trusts up and down the country are looking to use specially skilled clinicians to provide high quality care, co-ordinated with the rest of the NHS to patients."

"Our report highlights that not only are lives being saved but also that this is an extremely cost-effective way of providing care. The clinical capabilities of a modern ambulance service are constantly growing and this report offers an insight into what ambulance trusts are doing to improve the quality of care for patients.

"As the NHS sets about an extremely ambitious set of reforms, it is vital for policy makers and commissioners to realise that good care for the most acute services requires integration between hospital, ambulance and other related services."

Professor Andy Newton, Consultant Paramedic and South East Coast Ambulance Trust's Director of Clinical Operations said:

"We know as the NHS we must improve the care we provide to critically ill and injured patients. Research suggests that nationally, between 450 and 770 trauma related deaths are avoidable. This in our view is simply unacceptable.

"We therefore wanted to develop an initiative to improve the care we provide to these patients, thus improving their outcomes and so the CCP role was born. We are therefore delighted that the Confederation's report recognises the benefits of this key paramedic role in improving outcomes for the critically ill and injured."

"We have reached an important point in the development of the CCP and now have a much clearer insight into the all important health economic aspects of the initiative thanks to this work. We must now develop our CCPs to their full patient care potential in order to continuously improve outcomes for this key group of patients, while also undertaking further research and evaluation to better understand the contribution and advantages such innovations in patient care can bring to the communities we serve and the NHS"

Notes

The Ambulance Service Network represents all ambulance trusts in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Isle of Wight. It was established in January 2007 to provide a distinct voice for the ambulance service. The Network is part of the NHS Confederation.

Source:
NHS Confederation