"Terminal illness is Rick's speciality"

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Terminal illness is Rick's speciality
By Sophie Blakemore 
United Kingdom - The Birmingham Post


The behind-the-scenes goings on at the nation's main travel hubs were first
thrown into the spotlight by the TV documentary show Airport.

Angry passengers suffering flights delays and illegal immigrants were just
some of the problems staff had to deal with on a regular basis.

But when a traveller is taken ill experts need to be on hand to deal with
the situation and dispel panic. Step forward Rick Walsh.

Rick is one of the six resident paramedics at Birmingham International
Airport, responsible for saving lives, curing ills, healing wounds and
calming concerned patients and their relatives.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service employee, he already had two years
on-the-road experience before getting a job at the airport last year.

He went for the position because he fancied a change and thought working
alone on-shift would pose a new challenge.

And he was right. So far he has had to do everything from treating heart
attacks and sick patients on diverted flights, to delivering a member of
staff's baby.

He has also had to speak to pilots in the process of flying a plane who have
been seeking medical advice about a passenger on board, and deal with
illegal immigrants feigning illness in a bid to remain in the country.

'It is very varied and I get to deal with trauma, falls, minor injuries,
medical emergencies, all on foot, mainly by myself, although there are first
aiders and 16 defibrillators around the airport,' he said.

'We get quite a few diverted flights here with people being taken ill in the
air and we have to get clearance to go out to the plane and treat the
patient or get them off the plane.

'It is not just the passengers we deal with, but members of staff across the
two terminals too. I am basically doing all the stuff I would be doing on an
ambulance in a different environment and, on top of that, we have to keep
our own treatment recordsand deal with immigration a lot.

'You end up thinking about lots of things at the same time and go into
autopilot but my priority is always the patient.'

West Midlands Ambulance Service won the contract to run the medical centre
at BIA two years ago.

Previously it was managed by nurses from a private company but there were no
trained paramedics on site and often the centre was not manned.

Now there are six paramedics stationed at the airport who rotate to provide
24-hour cover, seven days a week.

Every four weeks one crew member will spend two weeks on an ambulance to
keep up their skills base.

And every Monday morning the paramedics attend meetings with all the airport
personnel to keep them up to date with any changes.

A spokeswoman for BIA said the contract with West Midlands Ambulance Service
was very successful and would be continued for the forseeable future. 'We
have built up a very strong partnership over the past two years and the
knowledge they have broughtwith them is invaluable.

'It also means passengers have the peace of mind that we have trained
professionals on site and any staff who are ill but do not need hospital
treatment can be treated and return to work.'


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************