Being a BASICS Doctor

I am a GP at a large practice based in a town in southwest Scotland, and I also work as a doctor in the Emergency Department in our local district general hospital. But it doesn’t stop there. Like dozens of other doctors, nurses, and paramedics across Scotland, I have the privilege of being a responder with BASICS Scotland.

What is a BASICS responder and who can do it?

BASICS responders have additional skills and can provide pre-hospital emergency care to patients delivering time-critical interventions to improve outcomes. This is a different route from doctors who undertake additional qualifications as part of their medical training (usually in anaesthesia/intensive care/emergency medicine) and work as part of helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) teams based in major cities.

BASICS responders are usually based in rural locations where challenging geography and a lower population density means that there is limited access to pre-hospital e...