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McClelland, Graham

Biography
I joined the ambulance service in 2003 and moved into the research team in 2010. I have worked on large studies including HITS-NS, PARAMEDIC and PASTA. I completed my Masters in Clinical Research thanks to support from the NIHR ICA scheme and completed my PhD looking at prehospital identification of stroke mimics at Newcastle University thanks to s Stroke Association post-graduate fellowship.
Institutional profile
North East Ambulance Service has a small but dedicated team of research paramedics involved in studies in areas such as stroke, cardiac arrest, trauma and other conditions relevant to prehospital care.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 68
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    A survey of UK paramedics' views about their stroke training, current practice and the identification of stroke mimics
    (2017-06) McClelland, Graham; Flynn, Darren; Rodgers, Helen; Price, Christopher
    Abstract published with permission. Aims ‐ Paramedics play a crucial role in identifying patients with suspected stroke and transporting them to appropriate acute care. Between 25% and 50% of suspected stroke patients are later diagnosed with a condition other than stroke known as a ‘stroke mimic’. If stroke mimics could be identified in the pre-hospital setting, unnecessary admissions to stroke units could potentially be avoided. This survey describes UK paramedics’ stroke training and practice, their knowledge about stroke mimic conditions and their thoughts about pre-hospital identification of these patients. Methods ‐ An online survey invitation was circulated to members within the UK College of Paramedics and promoted through social media (8 September 2016 and 23 October 2016). Topics included: stroke training; assessment of patients with suspected stroke; local practice; and knowledge about and identification of stroke mimics. Results ‐ There were 271 responses. Blank responses (39) and non-paramedic (1) responses were removed, leaving 231 responses from paramedics which equates to 2% of College of Paramedics membership and 1% of Health and Care Professions Council registered paramedics. The majority of respondents (78%) thought that they would benefit from more training on pre-hospital stroke care. Narrative comments focused on a desire to improve the assessment of suspected stroke patients and increase respondents’ knowledge about atypical stroke presentations and current stroke research. The Face Arm Speech Test was used by 97% of respondents to assess suspected stroke patients, although other tools such as Recognition of Stroke in the Emergency Room (17%) and Miami Emergency Neurological Deficit (11%) were also used. According to those responding, 50% of stroke patients were taken to emergency departments, 35% went straight to a stroke ward and 8% were taken directly to CT scan. Most respondents (65%) were aware of the term ‘stroke mimic’. Two-thirds of respondents (65%) thought a tool that predicted the likelihood of a suspected stroke being a stroke mimic would be useful in pre-hospital care. Conclusion ‐ This study reports a survey of UK paramedics’ views about the stroke care they provide. Conclusions are limited by the low number of responses. Assessment of suspected stroke patients was recognised as an important skill by paramedics and an area where many would like further training. Respondents’ current practice varied in terms of the stroke assessment tools used and whether suspected stroke patients were taken to the emergency department or direct to a stroke ward. A stroke mimic identification tool would be useful if it allowed stroke mimic patients to be directed to appropriate care, but it would need to have a high level of specificity and not adversely impact on time to treatment for true stroke patients.
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    Effect of an Enhanced Paramedic Acute Stroke Treatment Assessment on Thrombolysis Delivery During Emergency Stroke Care: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial
    (2020-04-13) Price, Christopher; Shaw, L.; Islam, Saiful; Javanbakht, Mehdi; Watkins, Alan; McKeekin, Peter; Snooks, Helen; Flynn, Darren; Francis, Richard; Lakey, Rachel; Sutcliffe, Louise; McClelland, Graham; Lally, Joanne; Exley, Catherine; Rodgers, Helen; Russell, Ian T.; Vale, Luke; Ford, Gary A.
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    Hyperventilation in Cardiac Arrest: A Systematic review & narrative synthesis
    (2023) Morris, Benjamin; McClelland, Graham; Hepburn, Sarah
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    A review of enhanced paramedic roles during and after hospital handover of stroke, myocardial infarction and trauma patients
    (2017-02) Flynn, Darren; Francis, Richard; Robalino, Shannon; Lally, Joanne; Snooks, Helen; Rodgers, Helen; McClelland, Graham; Ford, Gary A.; Price, Christopher
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    Stakeholder engagement in the design of a novel pre-hospital acute stroke assessment
    (2016-09) Lally, Joanne; McClelland, Graham; Exley, Catherine; Ford, Gary A.; Price, Christopher
    Background Outcomes for stroke patients can be improved by rapid identification and assessment, but delays commonly occur due to the availability of clinical information and brain imaging. We sought to develop a novel paramedic-led intervention to reduce scene to needle time for stroke patients suitable for thrombolysis. Methods Over 12 months we undertook group interviews and consultation in North East England, North West England and Wales involving patient representatives (n=20), paramedics, emergency department and stroke service hospital staff (n=100). The primary aim was to understand the impact of organisational boundaries, service pressures and traditional professional roles upon a new paramedic approach to stroke assessment. Secondly, to develop a clinical trial protocol for later evaluation of the proposed new paramedic approach. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed using open then focussed coding. Results Participant feedback supported an intervention which transgressed organisational and professional boundaries. Modifications were made following participant views about logistical, ethical and governance issues: ▸ The protocol was changed to reflect operational barriers restricting paramedics taking patients directly to the CT scan room. ▸ Participants advocated obtaining research consent after admission in order to address concerns over treatment delays, and supported a trial protocol which allowed data collection from patients that died before consent was feasible. ▸ Paramedics would provide additional information at patient handover directly to the stroke team or A&E staff rather than attempt to convey more during pre-notification. Conclusions Following the interviews significant alterations were made to the intervention and protocol in order to improve trial feasibility, acceptability and data quality. This emphasizes the importance of engaging with ambulance services, other clinical teams and patients during the development of pre-hospital research protocols. https://emj.bmj.com/content/emermed/33/9/e9.3.full.pdf 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. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2016-206139.31
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    Ambulance documentation of stroke symptoms during the UK COVID-19 ‘Stay at Home’ message
    (2020-11-16) McClelland, Graham; Wilson, Nina; Shaw, Lisa; Grayling, Michael; Haworth, Daniel; Price, Christopher
    On 23 March 2020 the UK government urged the public to ‘Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’ in order to reduce consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Three large National Health Service (NHS) stroke units subsequently reported a 16% (95% CI 27.2 to 3.2) decrease in the weekly trend for stroke admissions during March–April compared with January–February 2020. https://emj.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/16/emermed-2020-210319 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-2020-210319
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    A service evaluation of a dedicated pre-hospital cardiac arrest response unit in the North East of England
    (2016-09) McClelland, Graham; Younger, Paul; Haworth, Daniel; Gospel, Amy; Aitken-Fell, Paul
    Abstract published with permission. Aim ‐ This article describes the introduction of a specialist cardiac arrest response unit by the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, with the aim of improving treatment and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, in the North East of England. Methods ‐ This study is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, describing all cases where the cardiac arrest response unit was dispatched in the first 12 months of operation (January 2014 to January 2015). Results ‐ The cardiac arrest response unit was activated 333 times during the first year of operation and attended 164 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. The cardiac arrest response unit demonstrated a significant impact on return of spontaneous circulation sustained to hospital (OR 1.74 (95% CI 1.19‐2.54), p = 0.004) and survival to discharge (OR 2.08 (95% CI 1.12‐3.84), p = 0.017) compared with the rest of the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Conclusion ‐ The cardiac arrest response unit project demonstrated an improvement in return of spontaneous circulation and survival to discharge compared to current standard care. The specific mechanism, or mechanisms, by which the cardiac arrest response unit influences patient outcomes remain to be determined.
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    Lactate measurement in pre-hospital care: a review of the literature
    (2012-06) McClelland, Graham; Younger, Paul; Byers, Sonia
    Abstract published with permission. Background: Lactate has been identified as a useful marker of shock. Lactate can be measured in the pre-hospital environment rapidly and accurately. Method: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using a targeted search strategy. Additional literature was located through reference list searching and prior awareness by the authors. This identified a number of papers which were appraised for relevance. This appraisal identified 29 papers which were included in the review. Conclusion: Lactate has been shown to be measurable in the pre-hospital environment and to be prognostic of mortality. Lactate measurement needs to be linked to specific treatment algorithms with improved outcomes for patients in order to justify inclusion in pre-hospital practice.
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    A qualitative investigation into paramedics' thoughts about the introduction of national early warning scores
    (2016-09) McClelland, Graham; Haworth, Daniel
    Background The National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is a simple, rapid assessment tool developed by the Royal College of Physicians to standardise the assessment and monitoring of acutely ill patients and facilitate communication across settings. Ambulance Service introduced NEWS in 2013/14. Previous work in this area showed that paramedics were not using NEWS in practice so this study explored the reasons why and how paramedics use, or don’t use, NEWS in practice. Methods Qualitative study using a pragmatic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on a purposive volunteer sample of 8 paramedics with a range of roles, locations and lengths of service. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed for analysis. Five stage framework analysis commenced in parallel with data collection. Results Two main themes emerged from the data. The first theme was when and how paramedics used NEWS in their decision making. All participants thought that they, and their peers, collected all the observations necessary to calculate a NEWS but that it didn’t enter their thoughts until after decisions had been made and were being documented. Participants saw NEWS as a tool to support their decisions but also thought NEWS may be beneficial for triggering decisions by non-paramedic ambulance staff. The second theme was how interactions with other healthcare professionals impacted on paramedics’ use of NEWS. The reception participants received when handing a NEWS over at hospital had a strong influence on their continuing use of NEWS. The perception that Emergency Department staff weren’t interested in NEWS acted as a negative influence on pre-hospital practice apart from one area where the local hospital encouraged the use of NEWS which had a localised positive reinforcing effect. Conclusions Paramedics use NEWS to support rather than trigger decisions. The perceived importance placed on information handed over at hospital influences paramedics pre-hospital practice. https://emj.bmj.com/content/emermed/33/9/e2.3.full.pdf 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. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2016-206139.10