Cycle Response Unit keeps Heathrow
passengers on the go
by Gerard Robinson
London Ambulance Service (UK)
In October 2004, London Ambulance Service
(LAS) began trialling a cycle response unit inside Terminal 4 of Heathrow,
the world's busiest airport with more than 67 million passengers (and growing)
annually. The purpose of the trial was to see if it would be advantageous
to have an immediate responder on a bike inside the terminal building rather
than dispatching a double-crewed ambulance for a patient who, more likely
than not, would wish to continue his or her journey rather than attend a
local casualty department. The cycle responder would attend any call - no
matter how life-threatening - assess the situation, and call for support,
i.e., an ambulance to convey the patient to the hospital if necessary.
Due to the success of the trial, airport authority and London Ambulance Service
executives are now in negotiations to continue Heathrow's cycle response
and expand to include another two cycle response bikes in Heathrow's Central
area, providing emergency cover to another three terminals.
The brainchild behind this trial was Duty Station Officer Alan Payne, who
is based at Hillingdon Ambulance Station. Some five years ago, whilst awaiting
check-in at Vancouver airport, a passenger collapsed in front of him. Within
minutes of him assisting this passenger, medics on bikes approached the scene.
This is where Alan's idea started.
Since October 2004, we have been operating in Terminal 4, seven days a week/11
hours a day, using three riders on a rotating shift system. By the end of
January 2005, we had responded to just fewer than 400 calls. Out of those
calls, 74% were dealt with by the EMS cyclist, enabling the ambulance that
would have been dispatched to be suitably deployed elsewhere. The average
response time was a staggering two minutes, and the overall success of the
trial has been unbelievable.
A typical shift for any of the three cyclists commences at 05.30hrs at a
small ambulance station just north of the airport with our all-important
warm-up/stretching routine. After that and the bike/equipment checks are
complete, we make our way to the terminals. First we proceed to the central
area (Terminals 1, 2, & 3) to gain access to the Heathrow Express, the
train that links the central area to Terminal 4 (just south of the airport)
and also provides a direct high-speed link to London Paddington Main line
railway station. Whilst in the central area, we normally respond to emergency
calls as necessary.
Upon arriving at Terminal 4, our duty really starts. Passenger levels at
that time of the morning are light for check-in; however, arriving flights
are at their peak, so we position ourselves at an appropriate point - closely
but discreetly - so as to minimise time spent negotiating through the tired
and weary passengers with only one thing on their minds, 'has my luggage
arrived in the same country as me?'
With all the illnesses that a bike medic has deal with anywhere in the world,
we are unique in some respect in that we deal with a lot of pulmonary embolisms
(a blood clot that has made its way to the heart and lungs). We quickly grew
to suspect that when we received a call to certain areas of our airport for
the report of a male/female collapsed, we could and most probably would be
dealing with one of these cases.
Later on in our shift, our passenger volumes move slightly to what we call
"landside" - the check-in area - prior to passport control. People
queuing/rushing around to catch their all-important flights raises stress
to higher than normal levels; we then have our collapses with difficulty
in breathing, asthmatics, diabetics, and heart patients.
As our day progresses and we patrol the terminal, passengers and staff alike
approach us on a casual basis to ask questions regarding our presence in
the terminal and our function/role as medics in the terminal. We have a facility
to restock any consumable items of equipment, so as to reduce down time to
a minimum. Towards the completion of our shift, we make our way back to the
ambulance station, where we warm down, replenish our fluid levels, and end
our shifts.
Gerard has been with LAS since 1983 and has been working on a dedicated
ambulance at Heathrow since 1994. He completed the IPMBA EMSC Course in 2004,
and is currently serving as the coordinator of the airport cycle response
team. He can be reached at
Gerard.Robinson@lond-amb.nhs.uk.
© 2005 IPMBA. This article appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of IPMBA
News. |
