Welcome to amber - the home of ambulance service research

amber contains records of published research authored by NHS staff working in Ambulance Services in England. amber is managed by the Library and Knowledge Services for NHS Ambulance Services in England [LKS ASE]. For more information see the About pages or contact Matt Holland, LKS ASE Librarian. Additional material is available on the LKS ASE website.

We are committed to delivering and maintaining a high quality of data.  If you are aware of any inaccuracies in the data on amber do contact us and we will correct it.  amber is a work in progress. Currently it contains records from 2011 - 2019. We will update this page as more records are added.

Communities in Ambulance Research Repository

Recently Added

  • Reflex anoxic seizure: an important diagnosis to remember
    Prosad Paul, Siba; Zengeya, Stanley; Blaikley, Sarah; Powell, Leanne (2012-07)
    Children may present with a sudden collapsing episode, and the paramedic team is often requested to attend such emergencies. It is important that these episodes are correctly categorised as being either epileptic or non-epileptic events. A reflex anoxic seizure (RAS) is one such presentation. RAS is a paroxysmal, spontaneously-reversing, brief episode of asystole triggered by pain, fear or anxiety. RAS occur due to a brief stoppage of the heart caused by overactivity of the vagus nerve. This is usually triggered by an unpleasant stimulus, following which the child may appear pale and lifeless. The diagnosis is usually made by a paediatrician but it is important that the paramedic team are aware of this condition. A child with a diagnosis of RAS may be managed by reassurance from paramedic practitioners if the child is judged to be well after an episode. https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/jpar.2012.4.7.409 Abstract published with permission.

  • A retrospective review of patients with significant traumatic brain injury transported by emergency medical services within the south east of England
    Barrett, Jack (2019-03)
    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) will be a leading cause of death and disability within the Western world by 2020. Currently, 80% of all TBI patients in England are transported to hospital by an ambulance service. The aim of this retrospective study is to compare TBI patients transported to a major trauma centre (MTC) against those transported to a trauma unit (TU). Abstract published with permission.

  • Ambulance clinicians’ perspectives of sharing patient information electronically
    Barrett, Jack (2019-12)
    Communication in the NHS is vital to patient care and safety. Government bodies are pushing for the digitisation of patient health records so that access and transfer of information is easier between patient care teams. Many ambulance trusts have issued their clinical staff tablet computers as a step in the transition from paper-based to electronic-based patient health records. This study aims to evaluate whether these ambulance clinicians perceive tangible benefits to digitisation, particularly regarding collaborative working with other healthcare professionals. Abstract published with permission.

  • Exploring ambulance conveyances to the emergency department: a descriptive analysis of non-urgent transports
    Miles, Jamie; O'Keeffe, Colin; Jacques, Richard; Stone, Tony; Mason, Suzanne (2017-12)
    An NHS England report highlighted key issues in how patients were initially navigating access to healthcare. This has manifested in increased pressure on ambulance services and emergency departments (EDs) to provide high quality, safe and efficient services to manage this demand. This study aims to identify non-urgent conveyances by ambulance services to the ED that would be suitable for care at scene or an alternative response. https://emj.bmj.com/content/34/12/A872. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2017-207308.17

  • Administering naloxone: is the answer under our noses?
    Bisset, Elspeth (2009-06-01)
    The intranasal (IN) administration of naloxone to treat opioid overdoses offers many benefi ts over the current, often problematic intravenous and intramuscular routes. Such problems include using sharps around potentially aggressive patients; a high risk of transmitting blood-borne infections and diffi culty obtaining intravenous access in injecting drug users. A literature search was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the IN route of naloxone administration in comparison to these other routes. Research suggests that the IN route is safe to introduce into practice and it is effective: the time taken from ambulance staff arriving at opioid overdose patients to them responding to IN naloxone appears to equal that of the intravenous route. Intranasal naloxone is not yet licensed for use in the UK and this needs to be reviewed. In the future this method of drug administration should result in considerable benefits and improved safety to both ambulance staff and patients, particularly for the treatment of opioid overdoses. Abstract published with permission

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