Emergency care helpers are a lifeline
A TEAM of volunteer doctors is providing critical care to rural communities in Derbyshire where it can be difficult for ambulances to reach patients quickly.
Dr Dan Crook, clinical lead for emergency medicine at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, has been a dedicated volunteer with the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme (EMICS) since 2018.
He plays a vital role in providing critical care in rural communities in and around Buxton.
Ambulances, though crucial, are often engaged with multiple emergencies, leading to delays in time-sensitive situations.
“People might think that calling 999 in the Peak District will bring immediate help,” said Dr Crook. “In reality, there may not be an ambulance available at that moment, or it could be miles away.”
Additionally, ambulance crews might encounter critical trauma infrequently, sometimes only once a year. Dr Crook, however, handles these types of emergencies regularly in the hospital, giving him a unique advantage.
Dr Crook is committed to rural healthcare, saying: “I continue with EMICS because rural areas cannot be resourced the same way as urban environments.” Critically ill patients require specialised intervention that may not always be immediately available or administered by paramedic crews.
One notable call-out involved Dr Crook responding to a woman with an open leg fracture after she fell while walking her dog. With the ambulance response time estimated at two hours, Dr Crook was contacted by a 999 dispatcher, and he was able to treat her much sooner from his “bag of gin and tonics”. “I was able to give her everything the hospital could give her straight away,” Dr Crook said.
“I could give her different kinds of medication than the paramedics. Without that level of pain relief, which is a high skill set, she would have been screaming in pain. Instead, she was there telling me jokes, all because we had managed her pain effectively.”
Despite EMICS’s crucial role, securing adequate support remains a challenge. “Many people don’t realise the extent of our work until they need us,” Dr Crook said.
EMICS operates without government funding and relies on community donations to sustain its services. “Every day, I am privileged to make a difference in the lives of rural community members by delivering timely and high-quality emergency care,” Dr Crook added.
To learn more about donating to EMICS and supporting rural emergency care, visit its website.