News and Business
Learn more about the dedicated medical doctor who clinically oversees the Site Based Medical Solutions (SBMS) arm of ER24.
SBMS helps clients to manage health and safety risks at their own locations. This can range from placing paramedics on-site to setting up a full medical team with ambulances, clinics, and doctors. Dr Vernon Wessels, Medical Doctor at ER24’s Site Based Medical Solutions, oversees the quality of care, making sure services keep improving and safeguarding patient care.
Clinical governance for ER24’s SBMS
“My primary function at ER24 is clinical governance, specifically in SBMS, but also within the rest of our ER24 operations,” explains Dr Wessels. This includes working with the rest of the clinical team to:
- Create and put policies in place
- Help with training on the new clinical guidelines
- Make sure we follow Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regulations
- Do clinical audits at different sites and branches
- Perform clinical-related interventions where adverse events have occurred related to a patient’s care.
Continuous learning is vital
“After any actual or potential serious issues, we figure out what went wrong and put steps in place to stop it from happening again.”
This debriefing is important because in the emergency medicine (EMS) industry, you can have a big impact on somebody’s survival and outcome, Dr Wessels adds. “Egos, however, can sometimes get in the way.
“Aristotle once said that people shouldn’t act like they know everything, because that attitude can make them dangerous in their work. I often remind our paramedics of this with a simple quote: ‘The more you know, the more you know how little you know.’ In our environment, you must recognise that there's always more you can learn.
Oversight of Topside Medical Support (TMS)
TMS is remote medical assistance provided by doctors or healthcare professionals to support teams working in offshore, remote, or isolated locations – such as oil rigs, aircraft or ships – where immediate in-person medical care may be limited.
“This function used to fall under SBMS but now falls under our Medical Assistance Solutions at ER24 International ,” explains Dr Wessels. “The TMS service doesn’t send medical staff to the client’s location, but it does give the on-site medic access to expert medical advice. This means they can get a second opinion and support if they’re dealing with something they’re unsure about. It also helps the client to offer their workers the most appropriate and cost-efficient healthcare.
“Currently, most TMS clients are within the oil industry on offshore rigs, but we’re also extending the service into the aviation industry. If a pilot working for an airline that uses TMS has a medical emergency on board, they can call us for advice on whether they need to divert the flight or not. I’m currently the Medical Director for International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) at ER24, which means I oversee these courses, as well as help to run training for major incident management and support.
Why working at ER24 is satisfying
“ER24 truly feels like a family – something you don’t often find in other Emergency Medical Services. The team is a dedicated group of people, which means things get done because everyone understands we’re working for the good of the patient.
“Another great aspect is that we work in a constantly changing and growing industry. "
EMS has come a long way over the past few decades, and we’ve had the chance to help implement changes. It’s exciting to know that our patients are now getting even better care before they reach the hospital than they used to.
“Now, ILS medics can give life-saving adrenaline for anaphylaxis, which only Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics could do before. Also, BLS practitioners are now allowed to give beta two stimulants (breathing medication) to people having asthma attacks. This means patients with these conditions get help faster and suffer less, as they don’t have to wait for more specialised medical staff to arrive.”
Inspiration to get involved in EMS
As a child, Dr Wessels says he was captivated by the American TV programme Emergency! that portrayed the lives of emergency medical crews in Los Angeles. This inspired him to climb over walls to save teddy bears and stick plasters on toys. “At school, I volunteered as EMS crew on the Witbank Protection Services ambulances and at events with the Red Cross Society.
“After graduating as a doctor, I served as a medical officer in the South African Military Health Services before joining the emergency department at the Pretoria Academic Hospital. I then moved across to the Gauteng Provincial Emergency Medical Services in 1996, before joining ER24 in 2011.
“Today, I believe EMS graduates should complete mandatory community service within provincial healthcare systems. The emergency cases they would encounter in government EMS differ from those in the private sector, where the negative impact of poverty is less pronounced.”