Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service

AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION - CENTRE FOR DEFENCE MEDICINE

From the 01 Jun 01 the Centre for Defence Medicine (CDM) became the main receiving unit for Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) Patients, with the exception of psychiatry, gynaecology and paediatrics. The way patients are received into the University Hospital Birmingham (UHB) differs vastly from the previous method at the Royal Hospital Haslar. Our current aim is to ensure we give patient centred care, that patients receive the appropriate follow-on care in an area that is able to treat the patient best and suit the patients needs.

The majority of routine AE patients are seen in specialist clinics on their arrival, or assessed immediately within the A&E Dept where the doctor will then decide the line of treatment. This may be admission, out-patient treatment, and sick leave for recuperation or return the patient to his Unit Medical Officer (UMO) for either sick leave or a local follow-up appt. Some patients are admitted directly to a ward either within the Selly Oak or Queen Elizabeth Hospitals. If a long stay is expected, patients can be transferred to a hospital local to their home for less acute treatment, enabling the soldier, sailor or airman to be nearer to their family. We have also built up excellent relations with other hospitals outside of the UHB Trust, to ensure military personnel receive the best care. The City hospital provides ophthalmology specialists, Heartland hospital provides advice on infectious and tropical diseases and the Royal Orthopaedic offers specialist care.

The more seriously injured patients are brought directly into Birmingham International Airport; this has led to a close working relationship with the airport staff. The AE Cell staff ground handle every military AE flight on its arrival acting as co-ordinator for the patient transfer along with the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The AE Cell itself is based within the RCDM HQ. It is staffed by five RAF personnel. The service offered includes meeting every AE patient into the RCDM, night or day! This means a team member is on call 24hrs a day. A close relationship has emerged between AE team members and A&E staff - nurses, medics, doctors and admin staff all work hard to ensure military patients are processed through their department quickly whilst maintaining high standards. All departments within the Trust have been very receptive towards military patients, keen to learn more about how AE works and to look after young fit soldiers!!! To date (Jan 04) we have received 1760 AE patients to the RCDM, covering almost every speciality the Trust has to offer.

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