Our service is constantly evolving so we continue to provide the best possible clinical care across the two counties.

Together we help to save lives by providing a charity funded, critical care service for the people of Dorset and Somerset and beyond, operating within NHS clinical governance.

Since 2016, 100% of our shifts have been covered by a critical care team consisting of at least a practitioner and doctor, demonstrating true sustainability and that DSAA is a dependable service for the region. With thanks to those who support our cause and the wonderful work of all those involved, DSAA is an amazing service, going from strength to strength.

Our clinical team are witness to very serious life circumstances and work extremely hard to give a patient time to receive further treatment and recover. They also have a passion and drive to integrate what they experience and share it with others to create a safer environment for our population and help prevent ordinary people ever becoming patients.

Injury prevention

The DSAA prevention team have been focusing on a project which explains and quantifies the impact of severe traumatic injury due to motor vehicles, with the aim of influencing safety policy decisions at a regional and national level. Working in close collaboration with the charity DocBike, Dorset Road Safe Partnership, the Road Safety Investigation Branch and the Department for Transport, significant progress has been made. This project will act as a catalyst for funding of further projects to improve UK road safety.

Outreach

The outreach team have continued their sterling work, providing significant opportunities for engagement with our emergency services colleagues across the region. This has included talks at ambulance service stations, the RNLI, the Coastguard and Bournemouth University. Clinicians working on our outreach cars have been teaching and liaising with our ambulance service colleagues across Dorset and Somerset every day, reaching 160 incident scenes in the past three months. The care they have provided has proved life-saving for some patients.

Inter-hospital transfers

We continue to provide inter-hospital transfers for adults and children within Dorset and Somerset and the broader Southwest. In the past six months, DSAA has provided 11 inter-hospital transfers for patients who needed emergency care at regional specialist hospitals.

Patient and family liaison

Our recently expanded patient and family liaison team review DSAA’s patients every day. They provide significant guidance, support and sign posting for patients and their families during the hardest time of their lives. Their work is a critical part of the clinical care we provide.

Training

Significant work from the training team has created rich learning opportunities for us all. Recent training has focused on pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia in various situations, including road ambulances, a lecture from Scotland’s Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) about optimising performance under pressure and a day at Bournemouth University undergoing inter-hospital transfers and paediatric training within their simulation suite.

SWiFT trial

DSAA has now become part of the SWiFT trial of whole blood transfusion within pre-hospital care. Our blood team have been working very hard alongside the Dorset County Hospital Transfusion Department to prepare us for this. You can read more here.

Deputy Medical Lead

Enabling our clinical service to continue to function requires a significant investment of time, thought and expertise. Following interviews for a deputy medical lead earlier in the year, we are delighted to welcome Dr Matt Taylor into this role.

We hope this clinical update highlights the ongoing work of our team to sustain and improve patient care across the region. Without your support, this would not be possible.