A JOHN Radcliffe Hospital doctor has won an award for his pioneering scheme to reduce pressure on the Accident and Emergency department.

Dr Syed Masud has been named emergency medicine consultant of the year by the Oxford School of Emergency Medicine.

He played a key role in introducing two schemes at the JR – the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service and the Enhanced Care Response Unit.

The initiatives have seen doctors travel with paramedics to stabilise patients before they arrive at hospital, so they can be directed to specialist units more quickly.

The doctors on board can also make important medical decisions earlier on in the process that paramedics alone cannot to improve a patient’s chance of survival.

Father-of-two Dr Masud said: “I am embarrassed and humbled by the award, because there are lots of consultants across the region who work as hard as me, probably harder.

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“But it is great to have the system recognised. This brings it to the forefront.

“We are not going to change the A&E system without looking at different ideas and this award will help us to carry on pushing forward.”

Dr Masud is 42, lives in Stanton Harcourt with his wife, three-year-old son and daughter, aged seven months.

As part of the JR’s status as a major trauma centre, given to it by the Government in 2012, Dr Masud is clinical director for trauma across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

The world-class hospital is called upon 24 hours a day, seven days a week to treat people in the Thames Valley whose injuries could result in death or serious disability.

Dr Masud’s initiatives were adopted in December 2013 to save time and reduce pressure on A&E.

Most doctors take part in the ECRU scheme one or two days a month, travelling with first responders in a rapid response car.

They provide emergency care at the scene of accidents and can even be sent to minor injuries units to assess whether a person requires hospital care.

More senior specialist pre-hospital care doctors travel with Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Service.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman Fraser Proudfoot said: “The new ambulance and air ambulance partnership with the hospital aims to get to the scene fast and provide advanced care by sending a physician, who can make potential life-saving decisions.

“The ECRU improves clinical pathways, allowing seriously injured and ill patients to receive treatment at the earliest opportunity and also potentially avoid unnecessary admissions, by bringing the hospital to the roadside.”

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