Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care News Feed

In memory of Professor Robert Myles Gibson OBE

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Professor Robert Myles Gibson, Patron of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care.

Professor Gibson was a remarkable surgeon, educator and pioneer whose contribution to neurosurgery and pre-hospital care has left a lasting legacy. He played a pivotal role in establishing pre-hospital emergency medicine as a medical speciality, laying the foundations for the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care in 1996 and serving as its first Chairman for six years.

His influence extended far beyond the College. He made an outstanding contribution to neurosurgery, helped develop the Glasgow Coma Scale, worked extensively to strengthen medical provision within professional football, authoring the Gibson Report impacting the medical organisation and response at football stadia, leading to the development of the Crowd Doctors Course, (now Crowd Doctors & Practitioners Course) with the next course in early September. He was instrumental in the international ‘Save a Limb, Save a Life’ initiative. His achievements and dedication to improving patient care were recognised with the OBE in 1992 and numerous other honours throughout his distinguished career.

Professor Gibson was also a proud and longstanding Fellow of the College, having been elected in 1956, and served as a Vice President from 1982 - 1985. He remained a committed supporter of the College throughout his life and was particularly passionate about the work of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care.

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh’s President, Professor Clare-Ellen McNaught said:

On behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, I extend my deepest condolences to Professor Gibson’s family, friends, colleagues and all those who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.”

Faculty of Pre Hospital Chair Andrew Smith Said:

On behalf of the Faculty of Pre Hospital Care, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, we extend our deepest condolences to Professor Gibson’s family, friends, colleagues and all those whose careers have been guided by his support and kindness. A true gentleman who will be so sadly missed.”

His contribution to surgery, pre-hospital care and the wider medical profession will not be forgotten.

Pre-Hospital Trauma Care course, Guwahati, Assam, NE India

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In April 2026, Dr Fionna Moore and Dr Rob Russell visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Guwahati, Assam, to deliver an FPHC Pre-Hospital Trauma Care (PHTC) course and attend the first North East India Conclave on Disaster Medicine. Both events formed part of the continuing initiative with Saving Lives International (SLI) to develop pre-hospital care, disaster medicine, preparedness and planning in India and Nepal. The importance of this work was clear: North East India is at high risk of earthquakes, floods and mudslides, a reality reinforced during the visit by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain. One candidate was unable to attend because of flooding.

Twenty-two candidates attended the 2-day PHTC course, followed by a 1-day Disaster Medicine Primer. Dr Moore and Dr Russell were joined by Dr Ajit Kayal, a UK emergency physician and Visiting Professor at AIIMS Guwahati; Professor TV Ramakrishnan, Head of the Emergency Department at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), Chennai, which is the PHTC course centre in Tamil Nadu; and Dr Tausif Thangalvadi, an emergency physician from Hyderabad. Although some candidates required additional moulage assessment and MCQ retakes, all 22 passed the course, with 6 selected as potential instructors.

At the closing ceremony, Professor Ashok Puranik, Director of AIIMS Guwahati, who had been instrumental in bringing the course to the Institute, and Professor Peter Patel, founder of SLI, congratulated the successful candidates. The course also received significant coverage in the local press and on television.

The first North East India Conclave on Disaster Medicine took place over the following 2 days. It brought together a multidisciplinary audience from all 8 states in the region to discuss local disaster risks and the challenges involved in preparing for them. The conclave marked an important step towards building regional consensus, with valuable lessons shared by all parties.

Dr Russell will return to AIIMS Guwahati in September 2026 to deliver an instructor course for the 6 candidates selected from the April PHTC course. They will then immediately deliver a PHTC Provider course to a new group of candidates under his direction. This follows the model used at SRIHER, which recently ran its second PHTC course entirely by local faculty, with remote FPHC guidance and clinical-governance oversight. It is hoped that this approach will help establish AIIMS Guwahati as the second PHTC course centre in India. There is a network of 20 AIIMS institutes across India and the potential to use this network to further spread this initiative.

Author: Dr Rob Russell, FPHC International Development Lead

FPHC Members Recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Congratulations to Dr Roderick Mackenzie and Dr Simon Lewis on their being made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honour List, and to Mr Paul Gates on being awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the same Honours List. All three are long standing members of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC).

Dr Mackenzie and Dr Lewis were instrumental in developing Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM) as a distinct medical subspecialty, recognised by the General Medical Council. They were appointed by Cambridge University Hospitals as the first joint Emergency Medicine and Prehospital Emergency Medicine Consultants in 2010. They both also had a major part in developing the East of England Major Trauma Network.

The incredible achievement of founding PHEM sub-specialty training required significant personal sacrifice in devoting substantial amounts of time and effort to this endeavour. Both have remained heavily involved in PHEM training since it’s inception. PHEM training aims to ensure that the future pre-hospital medical workforce has received the same standards of training, mentoring, experience and full accreditation as other specialities. This programme has therefore shaped many careers, and continues to benefit significant numbers of patients.

Mr Paul Gates has been awarded the British Empire Medal for his significant contributions over many years to improving emergency care both within the UK Ambulance Services and also for his work with the British Association of Immediate Care Schemes (BASICS) of which he is the Vice Chair. He combines his role in BASICS whilst being in full time employment with East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust as their Deputy Chief Paramedic.

FPHC Manual Review - Call for FPHC Volunteer Authors and Editorial Group Members

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care is commencing a review and update of the FPHC Manual and is seeking expressions of interest from members who would like to contribute to this important project.

We are looking for FPHC members with relevant expertise and experience across pre-hospital care who would be interested in:

Reviewing existing content

Updating and revising chapters

Contributing new material where required

Please note that these roles are entirely voluntary and unpaid. They provide an opportunity to contribute to the development of a key educational resource used across the pre-hospital care community.

Applicants must be current FPHC members in good standing.

Those interested are invited to submit:

A brief summary of their relevant experience and expertise

Areas of interest or specialist knowledge

Any previous educational, editorial, publication or authorship experience

Expressions of interest should be sent to fphc@rcsed.ac.uk by Monday 6th July.

The Faculty welcomes applications from members representing a broad range of professional backgrounds and experiences within pre-hospital care.

FPHC Manual Review - Expression of Interest for Volunteer Authors – Fill out form

Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care: Student and Trainee Group Committee Recruitment

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC) Student and Trainee Group (STG) are recruiting for the following positions on their committee:

Chair
Treasurer
Nursing Representative
Paramedic Representative
London Regional Representative
North West Regional Representative
South East Regional Representative
South West Regional Representative
Wales Regional Representative

Application deadline: 20:00 29th June 2026

For full information on how to apply please see the following document: FPHC STG Committee Recruitment

To apply, please complete the following application form.

2026 New Year Honours List

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The FPHC is delighted to send congratulations to 3 colleagues who have made highly significant contributions to pre-hospital care recognised in the New Year Honours List.

Professor Ian Greaves was awarded the OBE for services to pre-hospital care. Ian has made exceptional and sustained contributions to the development of military and civilian pre-hospital care in the UK and internationally throughout his 30-year career. He is a prolific author and wrote 'Pre-Hospital Medicine' in cooperation with the FPHC Patron Professor Sir Keith Porter as well as the 'Oxford Handbook of Pre-Hospital Care' and the 'Oxford Manual of Major Incident Management' amongst numerous publications. Other contributions include him being a pivotal figure in the creation of the FPHC's Diploma on Major Incident Management and he was a co-founder and previous Chair of the educational charity Trauma Care which has promoted best clinical practice in trauma management. Ian also led the military emergency medicine cadre from 2008 - 2014 during combat operation overseas.

The King's Ambulance Medal (KAM) is a prestigious award and no more than 10 can be awarded in 1 year.

Dr Alison Walker was awarded the KAM for her distinguished and dedicated service to the ambulance sector. She was the Medical Director of the West Midlands Ambulance Service from 2019 - 2024 having been the interim Director for the previous 9 years. In addition, Alison is the current chair of the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee and continues to respond to 999 calls on a voluntary basis with BASICS as well as working as an Emergency Medicine Consultant. She is DIMC and FIMC RCSEd Examiner and teaches on the FPHC's Crowd Doctor and Practitioner Course.

Mr Dave Bywater is the Scottish Ambulance Service's (SAS) Lead Consultant Paramedic and played and instrumental role in shaping Scotland's Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest strategy. The award of his KAM recognises 30 years of dedicated service to the SAS and contributions spanning an exceptionally wide range of other key strategic and delivery roles within the organisation. Dave has also held a number of voluntary roles with BASICS Scotland and The Sandpiper Trust who, in addition to providing pre-hospital responders and equipment throughout Scotland, support the delivery of the FPHC exams.

All 3 of the individuals are richly deserving of their awards which are indicative of many years of exceptional contributions to pre-hospital care at operational, tactical and strategic levels in the national arena.

Dr David Bruce

Chair of the Training and Standards Committee