St John Ambulance Belfast Hqt

As we finish the week with a hammering from 'Ciara', it has yet again been the voluntary efforts from Belfast HQT members that have gone down a storm. On four separate occasions over the course of the week, we have been able to deploy full ambulance crews to assist the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) with both emergency and routine ambulance call outs. That is more than 28 hours of unpaid but highly valued and essential work, only made possible by the continuing com...mitment of those within the division 👏.
All the while, still managing to assemble crews for public duties. PA026 enjoyed a 'girls night out' at the Belfast Harlequins site at the start of the week, as the Ulster Under 16s competed in an animating regional development fixture 🏉.
Looking to the week ahead, this weeks station night will be covering 'Deprivation of Liberty (DoL)' Safeguards. We are considering completion of this to be mandatory for members, in respect of updated legislation, so we hope to see as many of you there on Tuesday evening!
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Yesterday we were treated to another fantastic and informative station night hosted by Dr Ritchie and our resident pharmacist Claire, based on the safe administration of medications and analgesic gases available on board St John ambulances, primarily for the benefit of any non HCP personnel. The information shared helps to inform and protect members, but ultimately ensures the safety, comfort and best possible outcome for the patients within our care.
Reminder to our members that the administration directive is available as reference anytime, on board each vehicle and at the station! Please also refer to the British National Formulary (BNF) for additional guidance.

Congratulations, you've made it through the seemingly never-ending month of January. We were starting to think February would never come! But now that it has, Belfast HQT is preparing ahead and looking forward to another busy month of sporting events.
This morning, a crew travelled down to muddy Roughfort to potentially provide pitch-side first aid to junior rugby players and supporters alike. With many of todays games being held away from Belfast Royal Academys home ground, ...the U14 and U13 squads had run of the field, with others availing of a fixture free day by cramming in some training.
We were also able to deploy a couple of ambulance teams throughout the week to assist the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service! 🚑 ...What a busy month it has been!
[Archived Photo]
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#NewWebsite for St John Ambulance NI! 👍 Check it out today! sjani.org

[ Station Night Recap 🧠 ] Note: Please do not attempt the following without appropriate training.
Our weekly Station Night was hosted by Glenn who provided members with a skills and theory refresher on a couple of the pivotal steps of life support, in accordance with our primary survey - DRS ABC. This included the accurate recognition and management of a compromised airway.
... Management involves maintaining the patency of the airway using manoeuvres such as the 'head-tilt chin-lift' or the 'jaw thrust' should a spinal injury be suspected, in order to prevent the tongue from causing further obstruction.
Members were able to practice sizing adjuncts against a training mannequin. An oropharyngeal airway (OP), which is inserted into a patients mouth, is measured against the centre of the lips/front incisors to the angle of the mandible (jaw). The OP is inserted upside-down and against the natural curvature of the oral cavity until contact is made with back of the throat, which serves as a prompt to rotate the airway by 180° before proceeding further down the pharynx.
Similarly, nasopharyngeal airways (NP) must also be sized as best possible to suit the patient, and this is done so by measuring it along the tip of patients nose to the tragus part of the ear. A lubricant should always be applied to the adjunct to protect the delicate blood vessels located within the nasal passage and the NP should advance with the bevelled edge towards the septum with a gentle back-and-forth rotation until the trumpet end rests at the nostrils.
A bag valve mask can then be applied over the patients nose and nose, ensuring an adequate seal with a firm 'C-Grip'.
If mass secretions or foreign bodies can be observed within the patients' mouth, then suctioning may be suitable. A flexible suction catheter can be fed through the tunnel of the OP, or a more rigid yankauer suction tip can be used either side.
[ Video Credit: University of Greenwich ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M50u-DvNB 9E
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For the first time, this weekend Belfast HQT had the pleasure of manning the Irish Point to Point horse racing at the East Down Foxhounds course, situated at the picturesque seaside setting of Tyrella 🐎.
Saturday mornings' schools rugby was in more than capable hands as a double healthcare professional (HCP) crew was sent to Roughfort playing fields during Belfast Royal Academys' head to head against Grosvenor Grammar School rugby club.
On top of this, two full ambulance cr...ews were assigned to NIAS duties at earlier stages of the week, providing specialist support and transport to patients throughout their transfers to adjacent hospitals.
Our volunteers commit these hours alongside work, study and family commitments, so as ever we wholeheartedly thank all our members for their continual effort and dedication to the division and to St John Ambulance! 👏
[ Belfast Royal Academy / Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / p2p.ie The Irish Point to Point Website ]
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Special thanks to our SJA colleague Matt Dempster and to Belfast Live for todays write up in recognition of the hard work and effort our volunteers put in to support the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service throughout the busy month of December, particularly over the festive period! 👏

Not shying away from stormy weather conditions and dropping temperatures, the HQT division piled on the layers to fulfil our commitment to public event duties this week (...though the most intrepid among us have been known to soldier on in short sleeves! 🏋️‍♂️ ). On Friday, HQT travelled to CIYMS Rugby Football Club to watch Leinster A ease to victory over Ulster A, with the final score 12 - 61 to the away team.
We braved the cold once again on Saturday as two full ambulance ...crews from HQT, as well as some familiar HCP faces, were seen providing first aid cover during the Heineken Champions Cup game between Ulster and Bath. Another sold out Kingspan Stadium crowd watched the mighty Ulster men progress to the quarter-finals with a 22 points to 15 win.
As well as this we were also able to provide some support to our friends at the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service during the week.
Members came together for our weekly Station Night meeting where Jim talked us through ways to ways to assess a patients level of responsiveness, using helpful mnemonics such as AVPU and the Glasgow Coma Scale tool. In a practical exercise, brave volunteers were blindfolded and guided round the building to emphasise the importance of sensory awareness. Thanks to all who attended!
[ CIYMS RFC / Ulster Rugby / Northern Ireland Ambulance Service ]
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[ Station Night Recap 🧠 ]
Last night, Jim hosted training on how first aiders can best assess a patients level of response.
Members were given a run down of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which is a scoring system to describe a patients level of consciousness and neurological status following a potential head/brain injury. It requires an assessment of the patients verbal, motor and eye opening response to stimulation. GCS is calculated from a total of 15; a score greater than... 13 is considered mild, whereby an 8 or less should be treated as severe (Be prepared to intubate as decreasing consciousness could compromise an airway!).
Drug use and intoxication can cause a reduced GCS, however assuming this to be the primary cause could inhibit care so continue to follow normal pathways for head injuries in these instances. Likewise, hypoxia and shock can reduce consciousness, so remember to use this scale alongside your baseline clinical observations and aim to reverse the symptoms where possible. 👍
[Video Credit: www.glasgowcomascale.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_contin ue=4&v=v6qpEQxJQO4
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No sign of any January blues at the division, but there has been plenty of green as it has been another busy week for HQT.
On Tuesday, we returned to Kingspan Stadium, but this time to provide first aid cover throughout the Junior Rugby Cup final between Enniskillen and Armagh. We also fulfilled our pitchside commitments to the Belfast Royal Academy as their U16 team took on the Donaghadee Youth team at Mallusk earlier today.
This week HQT also had the potential to mobilise f...ull crews to assist the Northen Ireland Ambulance Service almost every week night with patient transfers.
Volunteers also regrouped for our first Station Night of the New Year. Jim talked us through the 'D' in the mnemonic 'DRSABC', emphasising and ensuring the safety of our members whilst on duty. Whilst those with driving responsibilities received an orientation of the new transfer vehicle.
[ Kingspan Stadium / Belfast Royal Academy / Northern Ireland Ambulance Service ]
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We've reached that transitional stage of the year, where no one really knows what day it is and the festive overendulgement makes you proceed with caution when it comes to food. But ready to return to normality were three committed crews from HQT who saw the New Year in in uniform. Amazingly, our unit were able to provide these 3 ambulances to support NIAS on one of the busiest nights of the year for emergency services.
As well as this, we returned to Ravenhill to provide fi...rst aid cover to another sold out crowd at Kingspan Stadium. On home soil, Ulster took on Munster in competition for the Guinness Pro14, and celebrated another glorious win, scoring a massive 38 points to 17. Thankyou to our colleagues from the Bangor division for manning public cover as both HQT ambulances were deployed for hospital transfers.
May we take this as another opportunity to wish all our followers a Happy and Healthy New Year! If you made volunteering your 2020 New Years resolution, then please get in touch with St John Ambulance Northern Ireland! 👍
[ St John Ambulance Bangor / Northern Ireland Ambulance Service / Ulster Rugby ]
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Happy New Year from SJA Belfast HQT! 🎆

This week, volunteers pressed pause on the festive TV listings and dusted off the mince pie crumbs to provide first aid cover to a sold out crowd at Kingspan Stadium as the Ulster rugby team successfully took on Connacht, securing a comfortable 35 - 3 point win in the Guinness Pro14. 🏉 As ever, this also involved standing pitch side to be at hand for the half-time junior rugby.
We also assembled multiple crews in support of the NI Ambulance Service over the busy Christmas period. HQTs added capacity has helped relieve a little pressure from the emergency services and played a part in building seasonal resilience to help maintain patient care in the face of winter demands. 👍
[ Ulster Rugby / Northern Ireland Ambulance Service ]

Merry Christmas from our family at St John Ambulance HQT to yours! 🎄
Wishing all our invaluable volunteers and the public in which we serve a safe and special day! - This year has seen the division go from strength to strength and for that we offer our thanks to our members for all their time, effort and contributions. Our gratitude extends also to the public for their continual support. We very much look forward to "Being the Difference" come the New Year and beyond, offeri...ng first aid and prehospital care at events all across the region.
We also wish to spare a thought for all the heroes across our emergency services, healthcare providers and fellow SJA colleagues who work tirelessly today and throughout the festive holidays to keep us and our families safe and well! 🙏 We appreciate all that you do all year round, but more so over the holiday period when you sacrifice time with your families to look after others.
Again, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! 🎅
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While most people are starting to relax ahead of the festive holidays, volunteers at HQT have shown no sign of slowing down. We have been delighted to be able to assist the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) most evenings this week with both patient transfers and emergency call outs, with Monday seeing us able to deploy two full crews from the unit.
Our commitment - and Controller coffee-run bids 😋 - have not gone unnoticed with Emma and Brian being rewarded with a mi...d-week tour of Ambulance Control! Interestingly, they weren't the only emergency service we had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with...Dare I mention last weekends run in with the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service! 🤣 - Perhaps a story for another time! 😉
Thank you, as ever, to everyone who dedicates their free time to make this possible! 🚑
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While this weeks Station Night was filled with food, fun & festivities, the get together was also bittersweet as we sadly had to say farewell to a woman the HQT unit owes so much to - Mrs Carolyn Kyle!
Carolyn has volunteered for HQT for over a decade and has been our wonderful unit leader for the last 4 years. In that time, our unit membership has more than quadrupled in size. Her care and commitment to St John Ambulance is admirable, applaudable and has certainly helped shape our unit in becoming the vibrant, busy team we stand to be.
Our loss is the Eastern Districts gain as we wish her all the best in her new role as Training Lead. Thankyou Carolyn for your friendship, leadership & legacy! You've left some pretty big boots to fill, and will be sorely missed. ❤

Ho Ho Ho! 🎅 It was certainly looking a lot like Christmas at HQT on Tuesday! Unit members let their hair down in aid of the festive season as the shutters closed on Station Nights until the New Year! 🎄
Thankyou on behalf of all that could attend for the wonderful festive feast! 🍕