Imagine this...working on a frontline ambulance and being sent to a cardiac arrest in a small village in the middle of nowhere. You arrive on scene and the patient is in full cardiac arrest and requires treatment at a specialist Cardiac Unit.
Now imagine trying to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the back of an ambulance, travelling at speed, trying to maintain an adequate rate and rhythm as you weave in and out of traffic for as long as 20 minutes.
Hard to imagine isn't it? And yet that is the reality for many of our ambulance service colleagues when faced with a patient in cardiac arrest.
A LUCAS device is a mechanical chest compression device that can deliver safe and effective chest compressions with a consistent depth of 5.3cm and a continual rate of 102 beats per minute. This means that blood circulation is maintained at a regular level which leads to increased brain/tissue perfusion which will mean less neurological damage in the long term.
Having a LUCAS device in place also frees up the paramedic with the patient, reducing the stress in the back of the ambulance, and increasing safety with the crew member able to remain seated and belted while completing observations, maintaining airways and giving drugs to the patient in transit.
A LUCAS device can remain in place for extended periods of time, for example when a patient has been submerged in water. CPR has to continue until the patient's body temperature has returned to a normal 37 degrees, a process which can take hours and would be an impossible task without a LUCAS device.
These devices provide high quality chest compressions to patients in need of prolonged resuscitation attempts and helps optimise blood flow to the heart and to the brain during CPR. Vital treatment can continue while a patient is being moved on ambulance trolleys and during transfer to hospital. This maximises the chances of survival for patients
Dr John Black, Medical Director, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Some years ago SCAS was able to source the older LUCAS 2 devices but these are now more than 10 years old and in need of constant repair and we still don't have enough of them.
SCAS supports a population of over 7 million providing emergency 999, 111 and non-emergency patient transport services. Demand for our services increases every year and in the last 12 months we have:
*Attended 565,000 incidents for 999
*Dealt with over 1.2m calls to NHS 111
*Undertaken over 800,000 patient transport journeys.
Our aim is always to provide the best possible care for all our patients and to do this we not only need dedicated, skilled, professional staff but the modern technology that enable them to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
LUCAS 3 devices cost £10,000 each so this is a major project for us but one we believe is of the utmost importance if we are to increase the survival rates of our patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest.
If you are able to help us this Christmas you really could be saving someone's life. What better Christmas present is there than the gift of life?
THANK YOU
www.scas.charity
Text LUCAS 10 to 70085 to donate £10
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
