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Norfolk Accident Rescue Service (NARS)

History
Norfolk Accident rescue Service (NARS) was formed in 1970, when ambulances were very basic and their drivers had limited first aid training. Some local doctors recognised that if they could be summoned to the scene of serious road traffic accidents, they could help to prevent people dying needlessly.

The scheme was essentially a communication network, providing the means for ambulance dispatchers to contact GP’s at their homes and surgeries to send them to life-threatening incidents. Fund-raising campaigns helped to equip the doctors’ cars with additional medical equipment.

During the 1980’s, the Easten Daily Press ran the ‘Rescue Radios’ campaign, which resulted in donations of over £180,000 being given. This funded the purchase of two-way radios for all the doctors, A&E and the control room, together with an analogue radio mast.

The scheme went from strength to strength and at its peak, had over 200 doctors registered. The organisation receives no government or NHS funding and since its inception, has been funded entirely by donations from the public, an occasional legacy and some gifts from grant-making Trusts.

The 1990’s saw the introduction of better equipped ambulances and far better trained paramedics, who were able to deal with the vast majority of more serious incidents, without reliance on doctors. At the same time, it was becoming more difficult and costly for GP’s to maintain the high level of skills required to bring advanced pre-hospital care to patients. As a consequence, NARS went into a serious decline, due to a reduction in the perceived need for such a voluntary service.

About 4 years ago, Dr Drew Welch and Critical Care paramedic Chris Neil, who had been running the voluntary ‘Treble 2’ response service, approached NARS to propose a merger. At the same time, a £70,000 legacy provided the opportunity to relaunch and redefine the service.

Today
NARS relies on volunteer Doctors and Paramedics working in local community and within the East of England Ambulance Service. Our Clinical lead is Dr Drew Welch and Chairman Chris Neil a critical care paramedic and HEMS paramedic with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. We respond to calls using an Audi A6 Allroad call sign "Medic 22". We have various clinicians responding for NARS all over the county from Kings Lynn to Long Stratton.

Forty-seven years later, the NARS Constitution still contains the same statement. But much else has changed. In the intervening years, new medical specialists were emerging: doctors with enhanced skills in pre-hospital medicine and immediate care; Critical Care Paramedics – paramedics who have undergone significant additional training to deal with the most serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses. This new breed of emergency practitioner was able to conduct advanced procedures at the scene, administer specialised pain relieving drugs and sedate patients when required.

Road traffic collisions continue to occur, with 391 people ‘killed or seriously injured’ on Norfolk’s roads in 2013-14.Cardiac arrest continues to be the ultimate medical emergency, highly time critical and still fatal for over 70% of victims.

Clearly, there was still a need for a team of highly trained, qualified and experienced emergency medical practitioners, who would be able to quickly attend the most serious incidents, to support and augment the ambulance crews.

At the same time, the ambulance service recognised the need to be able to identify the most serious cases and dispatch the appropriate resources. The solution was the Critical Care Desk (CCD). The CCD filters all incoming 999 calls and identify those which might benefit from specialist skills. The CCD also accepts Crew Requests: a call from an ambulance crew who recognise that the patient(s) would benefit from the enhanced skills, drugs and equipment that a NARS member would bring.

NARS doctors and Critical Care Paramedics are still dispatched from home, in their own cars, but today their cars are equipped with blue lights and sirens, paid for by the charity. They have been trained to drive under emergency conditions, have advanced driving qualifications and have additional ‘blue light’ insurance, again paid for from the charity’s funds. NARS doctors and paramedics still provide their services voluntarily.

The concept of a NARS Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) was proposed in early 2014 and a campaign was launched to pay for it. After a period of intense fund-raising and the receipt of some generous donations, the charity decided to purchase a second-hand Audi A6 Allroad – an estate car which is fast, has four wheel drive and which can negotiate limited off-road conditions.

The arrival of the RRV represents the beginning of a new era for NARS. It will extend our capability and allow our members to work planned shifts. Because the crew will be at full readiness, response times will be shortened and patients will be reached quicker.

The arrival of the RRV is not an end in itself: it is the beginning of a continuing process. NARS has identified over £50,000 worth of specialised medical equipment which needs to be purchased to enable the provision of the highest levels of care to those most in need. Running costs need to be met, so the charity is in constant need of funds to keep operational. But the goodwill of the people of Norfolk has kept us going for over forty years and we hope that will continue into the future.

All the members are volunteers and offer their services free of charge in their spare time. The organisation is funded solely by donations – the organisation receives no government or health service funding.

Future Vision
The charity with support form the local community hopes to develop a training center based in Norwich. This will allow the organisation to develop courses and generate a steady stream of revenue for the charity to continue saving lives in the county.