The bond between ambulance and hospital teams

The Liverpool of today is serviced by a small network of specialist hospitals with a major focus on the Trauma Centre at Aintree University Hospital. Nearly every day, a major trauma case occurs. Watching the full paramedic response kick into play and how it integrates with the Aintree Trauma Centre is truly admirable and a far cry from the hospital landscape of 1964.

This is a reminder of two important things. Firstly, the Ambulance Service is the first point of access to the NHS emergency world and early professional intervention is key to survivability. Secondly, it is the collective skills of the broader NHS team; its nurses, doctors, porters, radiographers, surgeons and many others that complete the full chain of survival. There has always been a close and well-founded link between Ambulance and Hospital Teams that is born out of individual respect and a common goal to help save people’s lives and reduce their suffering.

Prior to the modern-day advanced paramedic team which is backed up by its own doctors and air support teams. Cadets will recall that when faced with entrapment situations the radio message would summon skilled help with the immortal words “medical aid team requested”. The same scenario would apply for specific obstetric emergencies with obstetric flying squads being summoned to help with childbirth complications, post-partum haemorrhage or eclampsia. A key advocate of the importance of pre-hospital care and who greatly contributed to Ambulance Staff receiving improved lifesaving capabilities was Doc Allen of Broadgreen Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. The Doc was a forerunner in providing a bespoke flying squad response and would often turn out in his converted land rover from his home on Queens Drive to help at numerous entrapments in Liverpool. In reflection, there were more entrapments then, simply because the modern car with its enhanced construction material and safety features was a thing of the future.

Liverpool has been home to nearly 50 different hospitals over the years, some specialist and others general. The modern hospital landscape has only started to come together in the last decade. At the start of the cadet force there were small accident and emergency units all over the city with very little specialisms. The sheer number of them always helped calm down feuding factions as it was easy to take those patients to separate hospitals. A constant that was always there was the bond between the Ambulance and Hospital teams, but cadets were all wary of the Matrons and Sisters who ruled the roost.

In 1964 the key hospitals were: -

• Liverpool Royal Infirmary, Pembroke Place

• Broadgreen Hospital, Thomas Drive

• Walton General Hospital, Rice Lane

• Southern Hospital, Grafton Street

• David Lewis Northern Hospital, Leeds Street

• Sefton General Hospital, Smithown Road

• St Paul's Eye Hospital, Old Hall Street

• John Bagot Hospital, Netherfield Road

• Liverpool Maternity Hospital, Oxford Street

• Mill Road Maternity Hospital, Mill Road

• Womens Hospital, Catherine Street

• Newsham General Hospital, Belmont Grove

• Newsham Park Hospital, Orphan Drive

• Princess Park Hospital, Upper Parliament Street

• Garston Hospital, Church Road

• Alder Hey Hospital, Eaton Road

• Liverpool Children’s Hospital Myrtle Street

The Royal Liverpool Hospital opened in 1978 replacing 3 older hospitals in the city, the Royal Southern Hospital, the David Lewis Northern and the old Royal Infirmary in Pembroke Place.