Forget temperature: ALL casualties should be treated for hypothermia
In emergency care, hypothermia (even in mild form, a drop below 35 degrees) can complicate patient outcomes, slow recovery, and increase the risk of serious complications like infections. Not only is this a challenge at the point of the incident, but with pressure on A&Es increasing, long wait times in ambulances increase the risk of perioperative hypothermia. That’s why every ambulance needs reliable, compact and easy-to-deploy environmental management solutions.
Where does hypothermia most often get overlooked from pre-hospital to hospital?
Hypothermia is often associated with extreme environments and weather, but in reality, it’s a risk to patients both inside and outside, where shock or injury are present.
Falls casualties: After a fall, even indoors, prolonged immobility combined with extended ambulance response times can significantly increase the risk of hypothermia, particularly in the elderly, as heat loss is lost quickly to the ground.
Long handovers: Ambulance handover delays at hospitals have become a critical issue, with some casualties waiting hours in vehicles due to bottlenecks before being admitted, increasing their risk of hypothermia before being assessed.
Corridor care: Due to ongoing bed shortages, patients are increasingly cared for in hospital corridors, where prolonged waits in cool, draughty environments can lead to unmanaged heat loss and an overlooked risk of hypothermia.
Factors that intensify hypothermia at the point of incident
These factors are encountered very commonly by first responders, and they can quickly lead to hypothermia, particularly in vulnerable casualties such as the elderly or ill:
Convection: Where casualties are unsheltered, wind strips away the warm layer of air surrounding the body, significantly increasing the rate of cooling, even at relatively mild temperatures.
Evaporation: In any environment, moisture on the skin, from sweat, wet clothing or rain, cools the body as it evaporates.
Conduction: When in direct contact with cold surfaces (like the ground or wet clothing), heat is transferred away from the body, even where casualties are indoors.
Why should every first responder carry THERMARMOUR Emergency blankets?
THERMARMOUR Emergency products are trusted by first responders to help mitigate the effects of hypothermia from incident to casualty assessment in hospital.
Developed in collaboration with the NHS and Trusted by the likes of East Midlands Ambulance Service, The THERMARMOUR Emergency Blanket offers a compact and highly effective passive warming solution, providing insulation and protection from the elements, all of which are critical in stabilising patients at the point of first response to assessment in hospital.
Passive Warming is ideal for quick deployment
The Thermarmour emergency blanket is designed to capture and help recirculate the patient’s own body heat, making it very practical in ambulances, where power is limited, as it doesn’t require a heater or power source to start working. Where active heat is needed (in cases of moderate to severe hypothermia), Thermarmour can be used in conjunction with chemical heat blankets or pads. The THERMARMOUR blanket is a multi-layer fabric system: outer waterproof foil, inner foil, a moisture barrier, and a fleece layer, providing necessary protection against wind, conduction and evaporation.
Unlike foil blankets, THERMARMOUR blankets:
· Are water and tear-resistant – optimised for strength and durability in the elements.
· Provide effective insulation, significantly outperforming foil blankets through the addition of reinforced laminate and fleece layers, which reflect and capture heat.
· Help maintain normal body temperature which reduces risk of infection, improves wound healing, and stabilises cardiovascular function.
· Act as a vapour barrier, making it ideal for use in the burrito wrap method, reducing evaporative heat loss.
· Are lightweight, compact and easy to deploy in situations where there are space and weight constraints, or where active warming is not available.
· Are latex-free, to avoid allergy concerns.
· Can be cut to size or to accommodate injuries.
Real-world case:
A recent case from the Ryedale District Support Team highlights the difference a high-quality thermal blanket can make:
“Last week during a Scout camp we had a child who was thought to be seriously injured in a remote location.
As the senior medic I took charge and it was decided that the child could have severe internal bleeding. We had no phone signal for a traditional 999 call and so had to rely on satellite communications to arrange help. As the satellite coverage was very poor I packaged the casualty in your blanket, placed a LOMO emergency shelter over the top and left the casualty in the care of another qualified leader. After a 15m climb up an embankment a traditional 999 call was made.
Due to the location the only reference that could be given was in Long/Lat, this all happened at 21:30, we arrived at the regional MTC in Middlesbrough at 23:50.
The casualty was transferred into the children’s ward and the assessments started.
It was at this point the hospital staff said “you’re warm for someone who’s been on the floor for so long”.
Between yourselves and LOMO offering fantastic equipment, a child was kept comfortable, safe, and healthy during a very traumatic time in his life.”
To learn more about THERMARMOUR, check out of website or speak to the THERMARMOUR team at [email protected]
Categories:
Emergency
Tags:
ambulance,
ambulance equipment,
emergency,
emergency blanket,
emergency kit,
emergency products,
passive warming
