Crick group leader James Lee has setup Clinicians for first aid, a group of qualified medics based at the Crick. If they are on site and available, the group can offer support to our first aiders in the event of a serious medical emergency until an ambulance arrives. We caught up with James to find out more about the group ...

How did the idea come about?

There have been a couple of quite serious medical incidents in the Crick recently, and we are likely to have colleagues with medical issues or potential medical issues working in our building. However, we also have several medically trained staff at the Crick. I felt it could be potentially tragic if a serious episode occurred, with clinicians nearby who could have helped, but simply didn't know it was happening. It's important that our first aiders know who our clinicians are and where to find them if needed, so I setup the Clinicians for first aid group. We have over 20 members so far, who are all signed up to the Crick's emergency alert system. The Crick's first aiders can notify us if there's a serious medical incident where our input would be helpful, and if we are on site and available, we will respond. We also have a WhatsApp group so that we can communicate with one another quickly in an emergency. It's important to note that Clinicians for first aid is not intended to replace calling 999. This is just some added medical support while we wait for the ambulance to arrive. 

How will the clinicians assist our first aiders?

It's one thing learning how to do CPR on a dummy, but a real life emergency can be very shocking and upsetting, even for trained first aiders. Quite a lot of our clinicians have ALS training (advanced life support). These individuals are likely to have hospital experience and be well versed in dealing with life threatening situations. This practical experience can be invaluable in an emergency. Our first aiders can contact the clinicians if needed, who can then come to assist if they are on site and available. We hope that by having over 20 clinicians in the group, we'll always have one or two medics able to assist during regular working hours. 

What kit do they have?

We have now purchased four proper resus bags that include airway management kits, blood pressure cuffs, massive haemorrhage kits, survival spine collars and more. These are distributed around the building, and are available for the qualified medics to use. This means that not only can we get a clinician to an emergency situation, but they will also have some higher grade equipment to work with.

Have the clinicians been called to an incident so far?

Yes, we recently had one incident in the building where several clinicians were available to support. In that situation, we were able to get the ambulance call upgraded, as we felt it was more serious than initially perceived by the 999 call handler. This meant that we got paramedics into the building within minutes, as opposed to within hours.

What should staff do in a medical emergency?

In a serious emergency, you should call 999 to alert the emergency services and stay with the casualty. Please then notify our security team by calling 333 from a Crick phone or 0203 796 3333 from a mobile. It’s a good idea to save the Crick’s security telephone number to your mobile phone, so that you can easily access it in an emergency. Our first aid team will be alerted. Our first aiders will then contact the clinicians if needed, who can provide support if available until the ambulance arrives. 

What should staff do if they have minor injuries?

For minor injuries, we have first aiders located on every floor. You can view a full list of their names and locations on CrickNet, or speak to your hub. If you require first aid outside of normal working hours, please contact 020 379 61515 or 020 379 63333 in an emergency. 

"With the addition of clinicians for first aid, staff and visitors have a First Class response should they become ill or injured whilst at the Crick. I would like to thank all the clinicians and in particular James Lee for making this happen." Tim Hemsley