International - Canadian Paramedicine

11 Oct 2021

Bridging the Gap –Primary Health Care Paramedics/Community Paramedicine in Australia

by Steve Whitfield |

Introduction The Australian health care system is a world class scheme that includes private insurance companies, not for profit organizations, allied health, public and private health providers and all three levels of government (federal, state and local). In other words, it is a rather complex network of providers, and like many other westernized countries, Australia’s population is changing. Its population is growing, maturing in age and culturally, we are making poor lifestyle choices. For these reasons the Australian health system … Read More

28 Sep 2021

Next Generation Ambulance Response – Ambulance Victoria Mobile Stroke Unit

by Steve Whitfield |

Stroke affects one in four people internationally in their lifetime. According to the Stroke Foundation over 27,000 Australians experienced stroke for the first time in 2020, equating to one stroke every 19 minutes. As 1.9 million brain cells can be attacked per minute during a stroke, time is brain. Whilst there are several Mobile Stroke Units operating around the world, most are in the Northern Hemisphere (three in Germany and five in the USA). However, an innovative new stroke management … Read More

1 Nov 2020

It is raining on Mars: Paramedicine Clinical Simulation on Trial

by Steve Whitfield |

First and foremost, I am a paramedic and a paramedicine educator. But last year I woke on Sol 12 of an immersive Mars mission simulation to observe small confined crews in a Mars analogue as the crew medical officer. But it was raining. While the crew members watched the rain from the habitat window somewhat perplexed, it began to sink in. Physically Mars has no atmosphere, therefore it does not rain on Mars. Any attempts of the crew members who … Read More

1 Sep 2020

A Rural Call in Mexico

by Alejandro Olryd |

It’s 9am on a Saturday. You and your crew are at the gas station filling the tank for the next shift when two calls come in simultaneously. The first, a pregnant woman 5 minutes away; the second, a single vehicle accident with four victims, possible fatalities and life threatening injuries 20 minutes away. You are the nearest ambulance for both calls and the next closest ambulance is 30 minutes from your current location. Which do you take? There is no … Read More

1 Sep 2020

The Polar Opposites … or not? Comparing rural ambulance in Canada and Australia

by Steve Whitfield |

Two ambulance crews respond to two different incidents simultaneously. Both crews are highly skilled practitioners, both crews are halfway through their shifts, both crews are using specialised vehicles to make the journey, and both crews will take approximately 70 minutes to get on scene. The dispatch information sent to one crew indicates that they are responding to a bear attack on a remote property whereas the other crew is sent information from dispatch that they are responding to a jellyfish … Read More

1 Jan 2020

Paramedicine: A retrospective account

by Steve Whitfield |

As I write this entry, I find myself sitting on the edge of a valley so deep that I cannot see the bottom, and above me the dramatic Himalayan peaks are slowly being obscured by afternoon clouds. I am in Nepal, which is one of the most mountainous regions on earth, and my role as a humanitarian health assistant has taken me further from the traditional role of paramedic than I ever considered. Beneath the ridgeline that I have climbed … Read More