What do REDSTAFFers carry in our iconic bags?

Bottom Line Up Front:

We keep things simple for our first line medical bags: mainly supplies and equipment that would be used frequently, and the critical interventions needed at the point of first response.

Our doctrine that we build our kit around the ability to deliver high-benefit-low-risk critical interventions whilst remaining lightweight for mobility with it. We prioritise interventions that are clinically useful, operationally practical, low-risk, and usable by the largest proportion of our deployed personnel.

You can't reach your patient if you're bogged down by all that lifesaving supplies.

We recognise that some invasive interventions, such as endotracheal intubation and intraosseous access, have documented clinical benefit in the right circumstances. However, they carry higher risks of complications and should only be performed by clinicians who are appropriately qualified and competent. Its use is also limited to uncommon situations, and would add extraneous bulk to our first line bags.

By contrast, alternatives such as oropharyngeal airways still provide meaningful clinical benefit and are relatively low-risk when used appropriately, and fall within the scope of care of a much wider range of trained responders. For this reason they are included in our standard kits.

Side pouches contains the stuff we'll get to use most of the time:

• Trauma; basic dressings, coban, haemorrhage control dressings and TQs

• Diagnostics; sphygmomanometer, pulse oximeter, tympanic thermometer, stethoscope, glucometer

  
  

The main compartment holds supplies we'll use for critical patients or resuscitation.

• A & Bs; oral airways, oxygen masks, bag-valve masks, oxygen supplied by a fancy lightweight carbon fibre oxygen tank

• Cs; intravenous fluids and administration supplies

• The front pocket can accommodate either a small Vivest AED or a foldable Quiklitter for patient movement, and foldable splints and triangular bandages.

The bag is not intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it is sufficiently equipped for the majority of minor and major issues our personnel are likely to encounter, while remaining within their scope of care and practical to carry. Where needed, teams can later be resupplied or supported by other clinical staff carrying more specialised equipment.

The bag we used is a (now-discontinued) backpack from Medida Notfallausrustung.