Safety recommendation
HSSIB recommends that HM Prison and Probation Service, in collaboration with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, reviews and amends the design of the medical emergency response card, to better support staff in identifying emergency situations and providing the situational information required by ambulance service call handlers. In scenarios where direct communication between staff at the scene and the ambulance service emergency centre call handlers is not possible, this will ensure that the control room receives and can provide sufficient information to the call handlers to triage the situation.
Response:
HM Prison and Probation Service is grateful for this feedback on the medical emergency response cards that we provide for our staff.
In partnership with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives we have reviewed the design of the medical emergency response cards. We will now arrange for revised cards to be printed and distributed.
We will do this alongside the introduction of new guidance for control room staff which will equip them to ask staff at the scene for the information that they require to respond to the triage questions that are asked by ambulance service call handlers. This will be supported by the provision of revised posters for control rooms to provide a visual reminder of the triage questions. We will introduce a regular audit check to ensure that these posters remain visible to control room staff.
We will also be exploring whether and how we can include an assessment of the effectiveness of the response to medical emergencies in future safety audits.
We recently issued a new training video on ‘Responding to emergency situations’ designed to help staff to understand what they need to do in a medical emergency, including when they find a prisoner who has ligatured. The video shows a member of staff calling a code blue and following up by giving the control room relevant information about the condition of the prisoner and explains that this information is required so that ambulance control can arrange the appropriate response. The video has been viewed over 2,000 times on the HMPPS intranet and is also available on the ‘My Learning’ platform which can be accessed by staff from partner organisations and contracted prisons.
Actions planned to deliver safety recommendation:
- Review design of medical emergency response cards. By: Completed.
- Print and distribute revised cards. By: 31 March 2025.
- Issue guidance to control room staff. By: 31 January 2025.
- Print and distribute revised posters. By 31 March 2025.
- Introduce audit check on control room posters. By: 31 March 2025.
- Explore the inclusion of the response to medical emergencies in future safety audits. By: 31 March 2025.
Response received on 3 December 2024.