| Ambulance Cycle Response Unit |
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UK Paramedics on bikes triumph response times in metropolitan areas. Image Source: Bikesquad With traffic and the number of pedestrians growing year on year, the Emergency Medical services are faced with a range of challenges. In the UK, Paramedics have taken to the streets on bike cycles in view of solving one of the. The scheme was first introduced in 2000 by Tom Lynch, a former UK and Euro BMX racing champion (Cycle Response Unit (CRU). The Paramedic cycle units enjoy great success and particularly so in relation to response times, with some units attending to 98% of life-threatening calls within eight minutes. The paramedics have to undergo a three day International Police Mountain Bike Association training course, a fitness test and receive advice from a nutritional expert to help them stay in shape. The bikes are equipped with a siren and emergency lights to ensure they get to the scene quickly and safely. The bikes have a range of emergency equipment readily available, including a defibrillator, oxygen and pain relieving gas.
The benefits to the cycle units are clearly many. With a bike, the Emergency Services can easily reach sick and injured individuals in town centres and metropolitan areas. They can avoid busy sections of road, access pedestrian areas, take shortcuts and negotiate through narrow streets a vehicle might not be able to pass through, giving paramedics the opportunity to save vital time and to start treatment. Furthermore, the cycle scheme is both environmentally friendly and cost effective, but most importantly, it increases any potential patients` chance of survival.
Copyright ESIN NEWS 2008
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