Staff profile: Mary Halter
Position: Senior Research Fellow
School: Nursing
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8725 5414
Email: m.halter@sgul.kingston.ac.uk
Biography
Mary is a health services researcher and currently a senior research fellow, with a background in clinical audit, research and development in the NHS, as well as in NHS administration and nursing.
Mary’s research has focused primarily on pre-hospital emergency care, specifically developing, implementing and evaluating alternatives to traditional ambulance care for patients whose needs are not immediately life threatening, including care of older people who fall. Her current research includes a study of the clinical decision making of Emergency Care Practitioners, comparing this with other ambulance practitioners and GPs. This study uses mixed methods, and considers both the processes and outcomes of care, reflecting Mary’s interest in the interplay of clinical, educational and organisational factors on the delivery of care.
Mary’s other growing research interest is in the maintenance of professional boundaries (with patients) and the impact of their breakdown. She is an active reviewer for journals in the pre-hospital emergency care field and maintains current links with ambulance trusts and other health service providers in the promotion of evidence based care.
Mary holds an MSc in Medical Sociology and is currently studying towards a PhD.
Interests
Prehospital emergency care; Emergency Care Practitioners; care of older people who fall; professional identity and culture; ‘life-saving’; professionals boundaries.
Publications
Article
Halter, Mary , Vernon, Susan , Snooks, Helen , Porter, Alison , Close, Jacqueline , Moore, Fionna and Porsz, Simon (2010) Complexity of the decision-making process of ambulance staff for assessment and referral of older people who have fallen: a qualitative study.
Halter, Mary , Marlow, Tom , Mohammed, Daryl and Ellison, George T.H. (2007) A patient survey of out-of-hours care provided by Emergency Care Practitioners.
Halter, M , Marlow, T , Tye, C and Ellison, G T H (2006) Patients' experiences of care provided by emergency care practitioners and traditional ambulance practitioners: a survey from the London Ambulance Service.
Halter, M , Marlow, T , Jackson, D , Moore, F and Postance, B (2006) Should emergency medical technicians be considered for the role of the emergency care practitioner?
Snooks, H A , Kearsley, N , Dale, J , Halter, Mary , Redhead, J and Foster, J (2005) Gaps between policy, protocols and practice: a qualitative study of the views and practice of emergency ambulance staff concerning the care of patients with non-urgent needs.
Snooks, H , Halter, Mary , Palmer, Y , Booth, H and Moore, F (2005) Hearing half the message? a re-audit of the care of patients with acute asthma by emergency ambulance crews in London.
Snooks, H. A. , Dale, J. , Hartley-Sharpe, C. and Halter, M. (2004) On-scene alternatives for emergency ambulance crews attending patients who do not need to travel to the accident and emergency department: a review of the literature.
Snooks, H. , Kearsley, N. , Dale, J. , Halter, M. , Redhead, J. and Cheung, W. Y. (2004) Towards primary care for non-serious 999 callers: results of a controlled study of "treat and refer" protocols for ambulance crews.
Close, Jacqueline C.T. , Halter, Mary , Elrick, Alan , Brain, Geoffrey and Swift, Cameron G. (2002) Falls in the older population: a pilot study to assess those attended by London Ambulance Service but not taken to A&E.
Conference or Workshop Item
Halter, M. , Snooks, H. , Close, J. , Cheung, W. Y. and Moore, F. (2006) Older fallers: the risk and opportunity of ambulance non conveyance.
Halter, Mary , Snooks, H , Close, J , Cheung, WY , Moore, F and Roberts, SE (2005) Emergency care of older people who fall: a missed opportunity.
Halter, M , Marlow, T and Jackson, D (2005) Emergency care practitioners: impact of the new role.
Monograph
Halter, Mary and Ellison, George (2008)
