The Advanced Practitioner in Pre-hospital Critical Care by Steve Bell

The Advanced Practitioner in Pre-hospital Critical Care by Steve Bell

Structured clinical guidance for advanced pre-hospital critical care practitioners

The Advanced Practitioner in Pre-Hospital Critical Care offers structured, evidence-based coverage of disease and injury processes, diagnostics, and advanced medical, invasive, and surgical interventions. To ensure real-world relevance, an international team of consultant paramedics and advanced critical care practitioners from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the US and Canada contributed to this definitive guide.

Chapters follow the chronological workflow of a critical care incident, from patient selection and deployment through scene arrival, communication, human factors, systematic patient management, logistical decisions, hospital handover, and debriefing.

Readers will also find:

• Structured coverage of operational, clinical, and system considerations specific to the advanced practitioner role in pre-hospital environments
• International perspectives from leading critical care teams across six countries reflecting contemporary emergency medical systems worldwide
• Patient-focused frameworks guiding practitioners through common and specialised interventions applicable to advanced pre-hospital practice
• Content aligned with examinations administered by the Faculty of Pre-hospital Care, Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, and Royal College of Emergency Medicine

Written for pre-hospital practitioners developing into or established in advanced practice roles, this book also serves doctors, senior nursing staff transitioning to pre-hospital care, and is applicable internationally. It supports postgraduate courses in pre-hospital critical care and specialty examinations, providing a structured, pragmatic resource for evaluating and advancing clinical practice.

Steve Bell, MSc, DipIMC (RCSEd), FHEA, is a Consultant Paramedic at North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Consultant HEMS Paramedic at North West Air Ambulance Charity. He brings extensive frontline experience in helicopter emergency medical services and advanced pre-hospital critical care delivery.

Christian Wiggin, MSc, PGCE, DipIMC (RCSEd), BSc (Econ), CF, is a Consultant Paramedic with South Western Ambulance NHS Trust. He is also a Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine accredited Advanced Critical Care Practitioner and has flown with Great Western Air Ambulance since 2014. He serves as the current chair of the International Critical Care Paramedics Group, an examiner with the Royal College of Surgeons and is studying for a PhD in International Critical Care Paramedicine with Monash University, Victoria, Australia.

Matt House, DHC, MSc, LLB(Hons), is a Consultant Paramedic at North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust and a paramedic in the British Army. He holds a Doctorate in Healthcare and a Master of Science, combining advanced clinical practice with a legal and military background that brings a distinctive perspective to pre-hospital critical care governance, decision-making, and practitioner development.