The British Association For Immediate Care is a registered charity which acts as the national co-ordinating body for both schemes and individuals providing Immediate Care throughout the United Kingdom.
The organisation relies on volunteer medical professionals to provide immediate healthcare assistance.
Local Applications
editThe Ambulance service ambulance service provides a high standard and at times quite complex emergency care system but there are also many occasions when emergency care requires a mulit-agency response at a local level.
An example of this mulit-agency response would be seen at an 'industrial accident' where for example a worker has become trapped in machinery. The ambulance service would work along side the fire service to assist in the rescue. In addition to this, the Ambulance Service could call an immediate care practitioner (BASICS Doctor) who could assist with more advanced analgesia (pain relief) and, if necessary, carry out any surgical procedure needed to extricate the patient.
BASICS is an association of highly trained immediate care practitioners who provide their services in support of the ambulance service. Their activity is not bound by this one area, immediate care practitioners can be found at:
- large sporting events,
- major incidents,
- public rallie
- mass gathering events
They can also be found around the country responding as individuals to specific requests from ambulance control centres.
Doctors
editBASICS started up as a small number of General Practitioners who where concerned about the immediate care that car crash victims were receiving. Their goal was to bring increased clinical expertise to the scene on a voluntary basis.
Now BASICS Doctors come from a wide range of specialities, including:
- General Practice
- Surgery
- Medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Anaesthesia & Critical Care
BASICS Doctors provide medical care in many places:
- Clinical Support for Ambulance Services
- Sporting events e.g. motor sport, football matches, boxing
- Concerts
- Expeditions e.g. polar trips
Many of the doctors have postgraduate qualifications in their base speciality, for example:
- Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA)
- Member of the Royal College of Surgeons or Physicians (MRCP or MRCS)
- Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP)
Registered Nurses
editNurses who specialise in Pre-hospital care play a very important in the delivery of the care of the patient. The level that these skils are expressed by the practitioner is varied and may range from the first responder role delivering the all important first defibrillator shock, to the immediate care practitoner who is able to work at Advanced Nurse Practitioner level with a high degrees of clinical autonomy and decision making.
[[Category:Emergency medicine]]