Biomedical subjects

Anthony Bleetman

Publications and source records attributed to Anthony Bleetman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The relative risk of police use-of-force options: evaluating the potential for deployment of electronic weaponry.

An electronic weapon, the Taser M26, has recently entered the use-of-force continuum for police officers in England and Wales and is currently licensed for use by authorised firearms officers only. The aim of this report was to assess the relative risk of injury to officers and subjects of police use-of-force options and to evaluate whether the current positioning of the M26 in the use-of-force hierarchy is appropriate. We analysed use-of-force data from Northamptonshire Police Force and M26 field use data from TASER International. We found officer injury rates associated with M26 deployment were lower than those for CS spray and baton use. Subject injury rates were lower in M26 deployment than in deployment of CS spray, batons or police dogs. We suggest that the M26 should be made more widely available to police officers in the UK.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Ambulance crew assessment of trauma severity and alerting practice for trauma patients brought to a general hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Ambulance crews may alert hospitals for patients who are severely unwell. This allows the hospital time to prepare space and equipment, and to assemble an appropriate clinical team to receive and manage the patient immediately on arrival. Over and under alerting by ambulance crews is to be avoided to avoid complacency on one hand, and inadequate reception of severely injured patients on the other. There are currently no formal guidelines for the ambulance service to alert hospitals in appropriate cases. AIMS: To describe the current alerting practice for trauma patients by ambulance crews to a large urban hospital. METHODS: Details of each trauma alert for the hospital for the year 2000 were identified. The Injury Severity Score (ISS) was determined for all trauma patients who were eligible for inclusion into the Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) for the same year. The two populations were compared. RESULTS: There were 145 trauma patients for whom an alert was made during the year 2000, and there were 504 patients eligible for inclusion into TARN. Ten percent (49) of the TARN patients had an ISS > 15. Twenty-five percent (35/135) of the trauma patients with alerts had been entered into TARN. Seventy-five percent (100/135) of the trauma patients with alerts did not meet the criteria for inclusion into TARN. Forty-three percent (15/35) of the trauma patients with alerts who appeared in TARN had an ISS > 15 (11% of all trauma alerts). Thirty-four TARN-eligible patients with an ISS > 15 were not the subject of a hospital alert. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with major trauma (ISS > 15) were not the subject of a hospital alert by the ambulance service. Seventy-five percent of the patients who were the subject of an alert were not eligible for inclusion into TARN, implying that they did not have serious injury. Pre-hospital trauma severity assessment needs developing with appropriate ambulance protocols, to ensure appropriate alert calls.

Ambulances↗

PubMed2004

Ambulance alerting of paediatric emergencies to a general hospital.

BACKGROUND: There are at present only a small number of dedicated paediatric emergency departments in the UK. Severely ill and injured children are often taken by ambulance to the nearest general hospital. Efforts have been made to provide better care for these sickest children pending the establishment of dedicated paediatric emergency services within general emergency departments by 2004 [Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health; Accident and Emergency Services for Children-Report of a Multidisciplinary Working Party, June 1999]. To learn more of the staffing implications for the establishment of dedicated paediatric emergency units within the general hospital, 30 months of paediatric alert call data are presented. METHODS: A prospective review of paediatric alert calls over 30 months, (from January 1999 until June 2001). All alert calls from the ambulance service to a large urban emergency department were recorded on a specific form. Data from these forms is presented. RESULTS: There were 1754 alert calls of all types during this 30-month period, of which 153 (9%) were for patients under the age of 16 (mean 1.2 each week). Of these, 102 (66%) were for medical conditions and 51 (34%) were for trauma. The mean estimated time of arrival from the time of the alert call was 6 min. The majority of both medical and trauma paediatric alert calls occur in the afternoon and progress well into the night. The 51.6% of paediatric medical alert calls and 64.4% of paediatric trauma alert calls occur 'out of normal hours'. There was little reduction in the frequency of alert calls at the weekend. There were no paediatric trauma alert calls between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m., although medical paediatric alert calls continued throughout the night. CONCLUSIONS: Resident senior trauma personnel to manage injured children should be provided until at least midnight. Hospitals that maintain a facility for the reception of sick children must be able to provide a rapid response to paediatric medical emergencies on a 24 h basis. Guidelines for alert calls for ambulance crews are required.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Assailant technique in knife slash attacks.

Most knife assault victims attending hospital have slash-type wounds, mainly to the face, with fewer over the upper limb and trunk. Only 11% have multiple wounds. Sixty seven male soldiers were asked to slash a vertical human-sized target with a blade. The method of slashing was recorded for each. Approximately, half used multiple strikes, most attacked at the height of the upper torso. This differs from patterns of knife injury seen in clinical practice. The mechanics of fighting in which the victims fend off strikes or disengage is the likely explanation for these differences.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Preventing and managing aggression and violence in the NHS.

Streaming in emergency departments reduces waiting times and stress, and removes the causes of most violent attacks against staff. In spite of this some people will still attack staff. Staff must be protected by a sound trust policy and effective and realistic training, monitored by a good reporting system.

Aggression↗