EMS World Magazine is the most authoritative source in the world for clinical and educational material designed to improve the delivery of prehospital emergency medical care.
Issue link: https://emsworld.epubxp.com/i/418470
Saving Lives in Sierra Leone British paramedic volunteers on the front lines of the Ebola response FOR THE PAST few weeks, EMS World has been documenting the journey of British paramedic Peter Simpson, who traveled to the front lines of the Ebola response in Sierra Leone. Pete is one of the frst paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust to join the fght in West Africa, working as an ambulance coordinator in Freetown's Ebola Command and Control Center. King's College London is at the heart of the UK government's Ebola response package for Sierra Leone, and Pete traveled to Africa as part of the King's Sierra Leone Partnership. In his journal—available online at EMSWorld.com/12013301—Pete writes about meeting British volun- teer nurse Will Pooley at Connaught Hospital in Freetown. Pooley was the frst U.K. citizen known to be infected in the current outbreak, but made a full recovery after he was fown to London and treated in isolation with the experimental drug ZMapp. He soon returned to Sierra Leone to continue the frst against Ebola. "This guy is a legend back home, and here I am standing next to him," writes Pete. "Then a thought strikes me: He's going to show me how to put on my PPE and, more important, how to take it off and decontaminate, but isn't he the guy who got infected and had to be fown home?" As Pete quickly learns, the intense heat inside a PPE suit leads to profound user dehydration that can contribute to mistakes going through the disrobing process. Pete also describes his experiences in the latest episode of our Word on the Street podcast, where he chats with EMS World Editorial Advisory Board member (and Pete's former boss in the U.K.) Rob Lawrence. See EMSWorld.com/12017263. 14 DECEMBER 2014 | EMSWORLD.com FROM THE EDITOR | By Nancy Perry No More Lifting! Independent ergonomic analysis proves that iN∫X eliminates lifting during patient handling! EMS reiNvented Ferno 2020 Vision www.ferno.com/inx | 877.733.0911 For More Information Circle 111 on the Product Information Card