The Flickr Bmwambulance Image Generatr

Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) station in 1/76 scale (OO Gauge), with Diecast scale models. Featuring Accident & Emergency (A&E) units, including Urgent Tier. Paramedic Response Units (PRU), Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service and visiting British Red Cross and SAS Driver Training Unit vehicles. A number of hand painted plastic figures are present, with A&E staff in the old “Irish Green” uniforms and PTS staff in light blue.

A Police Officer can be seen climbing into the passenger seat of a BMW electric powered PRU, which is being used as a Mental Health response unit alongside a Paramedic. This was true of the real LJ66 EUU, based at Springburn Ambulance Station in Glasgow (Glasgow Central), the BMW was used in an early trial of a co-responder “Mental Health car” in the evenings. It also saw use as a standard PRU and “3RU” - a specialised responder to Purple grade, cardiac arrest calls, where it carried an Autopulse device in addition to the standard monitor/defib and response bag.

I was based at Springburn Ambulance Station and so was thrilled to learn that a model was being released of Springburn’s (Glasgow Central Ambulance Station) fully electric powered BMW i3. This car was used as a Paramedic Response Unit across the city, as well as being used in the Mental Health car trial, in which it was crewed by a Paramedic and Police Officer.

The model is pictured here providing an escort to SH62 XDY, a Mercedes Sprinter, box body A&E Double Crewed Ambulance. The patient is critically unwell and their details have been radioed ahead to the Resuscitation Department. The PRU Paramedic has escorted the ambulance, ready to pull over and assist should the patient have deteriorated en-route. As they were first on scene it is also helpful for them to provide the handover to Emergency Dept staff, maintaining continuity of care.

Mossend District General Hospital, part of NHS Lanarkside is a medium sized teaching Hospital within Belshotmuir, North Lanarkside. While without Major Trauma specialists it has a 24/7 Stroke Team and Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) for the treatment of Heart Attacks, a catheter is inserted through the wrist and passes through the blood vessels to the blocked artery and removes the clot while leaving a stent to keep the vessel open and blood flowing. This facility also allows for day patient angiography. With 510 bed capacity, Mossend serves a wide catchment area including several towns, multiple villages and a major motorway connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Police vehicles are a common sight at Hospitals across the country, some have their own dedicated Officers with an office to use. Again, not pictured but often seen at Hospitals across Britain are the Red Cross, between social care services, assisting with arranging post discharge home visits and care packages to assisting the Ambulance Services with low acuity discharges - those brought to Hospital by Ambulance and who require one due to mobility but don’t require treatment or interventions from a clinically trained crew. Indeed, out of shot, Mossend has a Portakabin in spare ground next to A&E for use as a crew room/rest room by SAS, Police Scotland, Red Cross.

In reality the Hospital is a card model made by the wonderful Kingsway Models. It is based on the Emergency Department of the equally fictional Holby City Hospital, featured in the BBC’s “Casualty” & “Holby City”. The story/background comes from my previous work experience both within hospitals and in the driver seat/attendant seat of an ambulance.

Mossend District General Hospital, Emergency Department. Trauma Team vehicle is pictured outside the A&E entrance to the hospital.

Using the Kingsway Models “Holby A&E” kit, based on the set from UK tv show Casualty, I have created the diorama of NHS Lanarkside’s Mossend DGH. To the right of the picture, an Oxford Diecast Model of a Scottish Ambulance Service Mercedes Benz Sprinter is shown, with a handpainted figure standing nearby in SAS uniform. In thé center of the picture is a saloon car is reflective yellow and green battenberg markings. This is the local Trauma Team vehicle and is another code 3 adaption of a general release model.

Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services in Scotland are provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), a special Health Board of the greater National Health Service (NHS) Scotland. SAS provides these services throughout all of mainland Scotland and the Islands. Emergency Medical Services are provided by the Accident & Emergency branch, providing Double Crewed Ambulances typically formed of a Paramedic and Technician, but which can be formed of double Tech or Para crews. Single Paramedics in cars, motorbikes or bicycles are Paramedic Response Units, used to provide immediate pre-hospital care to patients, or treating and discharging at scene. Also part of the A&E branch is the Urgent Tier service, using crews formed of an Ambulance Technician and Care Assistant, Urgent Tier convey patients who have been urgently referred to Hospital. The patients General Practitioner can request admission within a 1-4 hour timeframe. As such Urgent Tier vehicles use their emergency warning systems less than standard A&E crews. Due to the presence of a qualified Technician however UT resources can be used as a first responder to immediately life threatening calls.

SAS also has an Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (ScotSTAR), bringing Medical and Nursing care to patients as they transfer between Hospitals. Scotland is the only part of the UK to provide fully government funded Air Ambulance services, with two fixed wing and two rotary aircraft. They are assisted by the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance who provide additional cover with two helicopters of their own.

Special Operations Response Team (SORT) provide an emergency response to complex rescue, CBRN, terrorist attacks and other such incidents.

Scheduled Care is provided by the Patient Transport Service, the non-emergency branch of SAS. Using a variety of vehicles from cars, people carriers, minibuses and minibus conversion ambulances, PTS provides transport to and from outpatient clinics, for planned admissions and discharges. Staff crewing PTS vehicles are called Ambulance Care Assistants (ACA). They are experts in moving and handling, whereas A&E crews frequently remove patients from houses using equipment such as carry chairs, ACA’s must be adept at taking their patients back up stairs as well as extrications.

As with the majority of healthcare in Scotland, ambulance and emergency medical services are free at the point of use. Funded by National Insurance contributions made by those in work, Scots are extremely proud and defensive of our NHS. We generally believe that everyone should pay towards the common fund to ensure no-one has their life destroyed by medical costs, as illness and injury are not a choice. Having worked in the NHS and with SAS myself, I have resuscitated a man having a heart attack, conveyed him to Hospital, watched as Coronary Care staff removed the blockage from his artery and left the man sitting up in bed in CCU. Knowing that he will be repatriated to his nearest General Hospital for Coronary Rehab and will go home to ongoing care in the community. That man could take time to recover, safe in the knowledge that no crippling bill or endless fights with healthcare insurance would befall him. That is our NHS, that is why we love it and cannot understand the US system.