IT was the death of a patient whose life might have been saved that inspired Douglas Chamberlain to set up a service that would revolutionise the emergency care people get outside of hospital.

The professor arrived in Brighton in 1970 to take up a post as a consultant cardiologist at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

More than 40 years later he has a worldwide reputation for his work as the founder of the paramedic service in Europe - as well as his tireless efforts promoting the use of defibrillators and basic first aid skills.

Back in the 1970s, consultants were asked to carry out house calls and on one occasion prof Chamberlain was needed to help a patient suffering a cardiac arrest.

He said: “When I got there, I knew he should be in hospital. I was checking him over when his heart stopped.

“I called for an ambulance and when it arrived I asked for the defibrillator but the driver did not have it.

“I was told that it was kept by the city’s medical director who made the decision on whether or not it was needed.

“At that time it was a huge device and really heavy. It was a big effort to move it around.

“The second ambulance came and again there was no defibrillator. One eventually turned up but it didn’t work. Sadly there was no hope for the patient.”

The incident left prof Chamberlain furious and determined to find a way to improve the care patient’s got before they were taken in to hospital.

He met up with Brighton’s medical officer for health, William Parker, to thrash out the issue.

Prof Chamberlain said: “I told him - give me six ambulance men and we can teach them to do everything doctors can do when it comes to a cardiac arrest and other emergencies.”

Mr Parker backed the idea, and the birth of the first paramedic service in England and across Europe began.

The service was launched in early 1971 and immediately began making a difference.

Previously, ambulance workers were used to ferry patients into hospital and doctors would respond to emergencies.

But now the team could provide instant care and support for the patient before bringing them in and more lives were saved.

Prof Chamberlain said: “It started off in Brighton but it wasn’t long before other places started to hear about what we were doing and how successful it was and started setting up their own schemes.”

The project was initially frowned on by the Department of Health, who said it should be stopped but Prof Chamberlain and his team managed to wrangle an invite to a conference on the subject and win them over.

Preparations then began to make it a national scheme.

The service was doing well but he was always looking for ways to improve the types of defibrillator used and make them more available.

He said: “I heard about a new type of defibrillator that had been developed in the US which anyone could use and could not do any harm.

“No-one in the States would use them but I was interested and ordered them. Brighton ended up becoming the first place to use automatic defibrillators.

"We put them in our ambulances and then the US started using them as well.”

“We also became the first to put defibrillators into the hands of those not medically trained.

“We worked with the Department of Health to install them at Brighton and Victoria stations and that was very successful.

“This eventually widened out nationally and we had 3,000 at airports and stations around the country.”

Paramedics were trained to deal with all trauma and medical emergencies, including heart attacks.

Right from the start prof Chamberlain had envisaged developing the service and making paramedics a degree-entry profession, although it took a while before this was eventually established.

Prof Chamberlain, now in his 80s, continues to work in the UK and around the world to promote the importance of CPR and get as many defibrillators installed in as many different locations as possible.

He said: “There are up to 1,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Sussex every year for which a resuscitation attempt is made.

“About 20 percent of these occur outside the home, more in the younger age groups.

“However the time scale for successfully treating a cardiac arrest rapidly passes and speed is of the essence.

“The first stage of a heart attack is ventricular fibrillation, when the heart is still going but it is out of synch. If you looked at it, it would be trembling and no blood would be pumped around the body.

“The defibrillator hits the heart with an electric shock which restores and synchronises it.

“However the possibility of restarting the heart is very low, with the chances of success reducing by 20 per cent every minute.

“In other words, the first five minutes is the golden time. If the condition is recognised, chest compressions given and the defibrillator used, then there is a good chance of survival.

“Doing this more than doubles the number of people who survive.

“The defibrillator speaks clear instructions and won’t cause any harm, even if it is misused.

“It can’t give a shock when it’s not needed.”

Prof Chamberlain, who lives in Hove, believes one of the best things is to teach about CPR and defibrillators in schools so children learn early and it becomes the norm for them.

He also wants to see the machines installed in hotels, large department stores and many other locations.

Prof Chamberlain said: “One sad thing that I have learned is that although there are defibrillators out in public places, research showed that when people dial 999 and are told there is a defibrillator nearby, only four per cent are prepared to give it a go.

“I can’t stress strongly enough that the machine requires no skills. It talks to you and you can’t do any harm.

“Over the years I have persuaded some stores to have them and they have made a difference. I would really like to see even more getting on board.

“Hotels are important as well, particularly in Sussex, which has so many visitors who could need help.

“The excuse from some stores is that the chances of heart attacks or the need for a defibrillator is very rare but the fact is, it does happen a lot.

“There is more chance of a person having a cardiac arrest inside or just outside a store than there is a fire.

“Companies are required by law to have fire extinguishers in place, so why not defibrillators as well?”

Prof Chamberlain has maintained a major interest in resuscitation and pre-hospital care, and played a role in the development of the European Resuscitation Council and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation.

He is an honorary advisor to South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and also supports charities such as the Sussex Heart Charity.

DISTINGUISHED LONG CAREER

DOUGLAS Chamberlain was born in Cardiff in 1931.

He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1953 and then studied at the Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1956.

Prof Chamberlain stayed at Barts for his pre-registration year before later working as senior house officer at the Royal United Hospital in Bath and taking on a role as resident medical officer at a branch of the National Heart Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

After national service and a short spell working in chest medicine at the Brompton Hospital, he returned to cardiology at Barts in 1962 for four years before taking a year’s fellowship in Massachusetts General Hospital in 1968.

He worked at the Royal Sussex between 1970 and 1991 as a consultant cardiologist and subsequently as honorary consultant.

Under his direction, ambulance personnel were trained in resuscitation from late 1970.

He also developed his 10 Rules of a normal ECG (electrocardiogram), a foundation to ECG interpretation used all over the world.

Prof Chamberlain played a role in the development of the European Resuscitation Council and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. 

He is also an Honorary Advisor to South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

He co-edited Cardiac Arrest: The Science and Practice of Resuscitation Medicine, a reference book on advanced life support and resuscitation medicine, the winner of the 2008 British Medical Association prize in Cardiology.

He is Editor Emeritus of Resuscitation, the official journal of the European Resuscitation Council and has been author or co-author of more than 200 papers.

In the 1988 New Year Honours, Prof Chamberlain was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire and, in June 1989, Officer of the Order of St. John.

He is also a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great and an Honorary Fellow of the College of Paramedics.

He was made an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Sussex in 1989, Hertford in 2003 and Coventry in 2008.