Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2011 | Page 110

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Island Life - April/May 2011

Dr Maria Lynch (consultant in emergency medicine) and Jo Hamilton (emergency nurse practitioner)
with the Beacon Centre, once a patient
is seen at reception, they will always
be directed to the right area with the
guidance of a triage nurse. Within
seconds it becomes very clear whether
someone should be in the Emergency
Department or be seen by a GP in the
Beacon Centre. This has streamlined
the whole process of someone who
comes into the department being
seen.” The two departments work very
closely together, with the patients’
best interests at heart. If a GP feels
their patient has become less well
during a consultation, the patient can
be immediately referred on to the
Emergency Team for more intensive
monitoring and treatment. Likewise,
we can hand over patients with minor
ailments to the GPs when we are very
busy.
The Emergency Department comprises
four consultants, eight foundation

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110

doctors, five middle-grade doctors,
and forty four nurses. Because the
team has expanded in recent years it is
anticipated it could deal with any major
incident on the Island, and specialist
training for such incidents regularly
takes place.
Although the heli-pad will be available
for helicopter transfers to the mainland,
it is anticipated the existence of the
trauma unit will mean more patients
being cared for at St Mary’s.
A very clear training programme exists
for anyone who wishes to undertake
a career within Emergency Medicine.
When someone begins the training
programme they are based within
an Emergency Department and are
seconded to specialist areas. These
secondments are in surgery, medicine,
orthopaedics, paediatrics, intensive care
and anaesthetics.
Becoming a consultant is a long
and complex process which includes
having to pass a Fellow of the College
of Emergency Medicine (FCEM) exam
at the end of training. Earlier in
training there are also professional
exams (MCEM); the actual training
programme takes five years.
However, even to get on to an
Emergency Medicine Specialist
training programme, the doctor would
have initially had to do two years at
Foundation level, followed by Acute
common stem core training for about
a further two years. So usually anyone
entering this particular field of medicine
would become a consultant in around
nine to ten years after qualifying as a

doctor from Medical School.
Naturally the Emergency Department
team sometimes witness horrific
injuries. Maria explains: “Often in
the cut and thrust of resuscitation
situations, one is faced with some
very traumatic images, but being
professional, we are trained to think
in a very systematic and special way
so that the patient receives the best
possible treatment.”
Naturally the Emergency Department
does have its busier times, and activity
increases massively during the summer
with the influx of tourists. The staging
of the annual Isle of Wight Festival is a
particularly hectic time with a full team,
including a consultant around five other
doctors and five nurses, in attendance
at the Seaclose site.
“We deliver an emergency medical
team for the Festival and the Bestival.
We provide all the emergency medical
care at the Festival, said Maria. “There
are full facilities on site, including
resuscitation bay with ventilators and
defibrillators as well as x-ray, and a mini
pharmacy – everything you would need
in a resuscitation situation, so it is quite
complex.
“We care for a fair number of patients
at the Festival, so being on site makes
it easier for festival-goers to access
healthcare very quickly. It also means
the Emergency Department at St
Mary’s does not get clogged up with
admissions from the Festival. Being
on site proves to be an enjoyable,
exciting and inspiring experience for the
Emergency medical team.”

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