Reach
Issue 8 2015
|
5
safer for patients and clinical staff.
Vehicle insurance for ambulance
services in England is provided by an
“insurance pool” and each service
makes a contribution to the pool,
based on their accident rate and the
type and number of vehicles they
operate. Therefore, a reduction in
road traffic collisions will produce
financial savings for the NHS.
Some ambulance services have
introduced video technology through
forward and rear facing cameras,
however these record on to a
hard drive in the ambulance and
are automatically cleared after 30
days. LTE enables the introduction
of live video streaming to the
general could be immense in terms of
quality, effectiveness and efficiency
and LTE is an excellent example of
technology that could make a real
difference to people’s lives.
Some examples of services
that could be enabled by LTE are
reviewed below.
Vehicle and Body Worn Video
Technology:
Following the
introduction of the new ambulance
trusts in July 2006, each ambulance
service now covers thousands of
miles each year. The services are
constantly looking at ways of reducing
accidents and making 999 journeys in
ambulances and response cars even
Emergency Operations Centre, to
provide ongoing information for
service managers and commanders
regarding a road traffic collision, and/
or real-time information from the
scene of an incident.
A significant amount of 999 calls
are responded to by a single response
vehicle, with the paramedic assessing
the patient and deciding on the best
care pathway to use. Body-worn video
cameras will help the clinician link the
patient to a more senior or specialised
practitioner so that telemedicine can
be undertaken to more accurately
triage the patient. Body-worn video
cameras also offer another dimension
in enhancing staff safety.
