PP29 The views of helicopter emergency medical service dispatchers and critical care practitioners on the intended introduction of clinicians to support critical care dispatching in the South West of England

Introduction In South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) care resources are dispatched by a dedicated non-clinical team that staff the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) desk. SWASFT planned to introduce critical care practitioners (CCPs) to support the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) desk. We conducted a qualitative service evaluation to understand the views of stakeholders on this planned change to critical care dispatching processes.Aim To explore the views of HEMS dispatchers and CCPs on challenges in HEMS dispatching as well as on the planned introduction of clinicians to support the HEMS desk.Methods We conducted a qualitative service evaluation. We interviewed non-clinical HEMS desk employees and CCPs before the planned introduction of CCP support for the HEMS desk. Interviews were recorded using MS Teams and transcribed. Anonymised transcripts were transferred to NVivo 14(2). Two researchers analysed the data using inductive thematic analysis.Results Twelve participants (seven EMDs and five experienced CCPs) participated in the evaluation.Key themesThree key themes emerged within the data: decision making support; supporting and improving resourcing, and the working environment.Decision making supportParticipants felt that CCPs could support the HEMS dispatch function by working with EMDs to resolve uncertainty.Supporting and improving resourcingCCPs believed that their skillset would improve resourcing and would be useful in providing proactive advice to ambulance crews attending incidents.The working environmentParticipants recognised the differing skillsets between the professional groups, and both groups emphasised the need to learn from and with each other to improve the HEMS dispatch function.Conclusion Participants believed that HEMS dispatchers and CCPs collaborating with each other in the HEMS dispatch team would improve the accuracy of critical care resourcing within the region. Participants also expected additional improvements in resourcing efficiency beyond HEMS tasking.