Pedal power improves emergency response times and cuts cardiac deaths in London

A team of bicycle-mounted paramedics, responsible for helping to get to patients more quickly in high footfall areas of the capital, has been named among the winners in the 2013 NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes.

The Cycle Response Unit (CRU) has become a key part of the London Ambulance Service’s (LAS) drive to deliver fast first response in a small, but high emergency call demand, city centre area.

The fully trained two-wheeled responders are able to get into congested areas quickly and provide on the spot treatment and advice, reducing the need for patients to attend hospital and easing the pressure on busy A&E departments.

In total, 50% of all incidents attended by the CRU were resolved at the scene.

One of the CRU’s biggest successes has been in getting expert and timely help to heart attack victims. The team has played a major role in helping LAS to boost its cardiac arrest survival rate from 12% to 28% in the last five years.

As well as being rapid – average Category A response times are an impressive five minutes – the single-handed CRU response cuts down on the need for traditional double-crewed ambulances to respond, freeing up time, expertise and equipment for those patients who really need it.

So far the initiative has helped LAS to free up 5,600 extra ambulance hours – equivalent to £1.5 million every year.

Tom Lynch, Cycle Response Unit Operations Manager at London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Double crewed ambulances can get stuck in traffic when responding to a cardiac arrest or major road accident. Equally they can be tied up on a less serious call when someone else is in greater need.

“Our cycle response unit helps solve both issues, getting paramedics to serious incidents faster, with the ability to provide the right emergency care, but also dealing with the less serious where a full ambulance is not required. The proof is there. More cardiac arrest patients are surviving and fewer minor injury patients are attending A&E.”

Professor Sir Malcolm Grant CBE, Chair of NHS England said: “It is a sign of the commitment and talent within the NHS that this year’s awards saw a record number of entries and winners of such high quality and potential.

“We need to find new ways of working if the NHS is going to be fit to face the challenges ahead and we know that those ideas need to come from the people delivering care on a daily basis. It is tremendously encouraging to see innovations like this from frontline staff making a real difference to the NHS and patients.”

The cycle response unit was a winner in the receiving Emergency Care in the Right Place, First Time category of the NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes. The project was awarded a prize of £100,000 together with the Alasdair Liddell Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Healthcare Innovation.

The NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes aim to identify and spread innovations from frontline staff to help solve some of the biggest challenges the NHS faces today.

For further information visit www.england.nhs.uk/challengeprizes