15/05/09
Faculty supports first International Conference in Pre-Hospital Emergency and Disaster Medicine in Gibraltar
The first International Conference in Pre-Hospital Emergency and Disaster Medicine was held in Gibraltar in March. The event was organised as a joint venture between the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA)
, The Gibraltar Fire Service, the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences and the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
This landmark event brought together clinical experts from various parts of the world to share the latest medical advances on how to treat patients who become critically ill and require life saving treatment, together with innovative techniques in the emergency and after-care treatment of cardiac arrest resuscitation, stroke and trauma. Professors, consultants, paramedics, nurses, academics and clinicians from countries as far afield as the USA, Canada, Egypt, South Africa, Jersey, UK, and, more locally from Spain and Gibraltar, explored how best to improve the survival rates of these critical conditions.
In 2007, the GHA commissioned the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences to provide education to support the modernisation of nursing and midwifery training in the British overseas territory. Since then, both the GHA and the Gibraltar Fire Service have been working closely with the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences and the South East Coast Ambulance Service to support the development of the Gibraltar Ambulance Service.
Gibraltar presents a challenging location for pre-hospital and emergency medicine. It has a population of 29,000 squeezed into 7 km2 of country. However the actual population density is higher than these figures would suggest, given that much of the area is occupied by the famous ‘rock’. An annual influx of 8 million visitors adds to the country’s population diversity.
The conference was opened by Yvette Del Agua, Minister for Health and Civil Protection. Describing the advances in local pre-hospital care, she said that Gibraltar’s new Accident and Emergency Department was fully equipped to international standards for monitoring and resuscitation. Gibraltar Health Authority Chief, Dr David McCutcheon, also spoke of the improvements in the local ambulance system. “Gibraltar now has a professional and dedicated ambulance service of which we can all be proud,” he said.
Over the course of this three-day event a wide range of speakers, symposia and case studies were presented, as well as an exhibition, grouped around three key themes:
- Emergency planning and resuscitation
- Stroke and disaster management and trauma
- Pre-hospital care and acute care interface.
Conference Chair Dr Karen Norman, GHA Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Patient Services, was delighted to welcome keynote speaker Professor Douglas Chamberlain. Professor Chamberlain, who is currently an Honorary Professor of Resuscitation Medicine at Brighton University and Honorary Medical Adviser to the South East Coast Ambulance Service, has been a leading international light in the world of cardiac emergencies and resuscitation for the past 40 years, having introduced paramedic care to the UK in the 1970s.
Professor Fiona Ross, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, said “I am delighted to have supported this important conference. It is an exciting opportunity to learn from international experts on emergency care and share ideas for improving services”.
More information:
- For more information about the conference please contact Chris Tye
- Find out more about our Centre for Paramedic Science