To promote international professional exchange in emergency medical services (EMS) and enhance the quality of pre-hospital medical care, the Hsinchu County Government Fire Bureau held the "Taiwan-UK Pre-hospital Emergency Care Exchange Meeting" on the afternoon of the 10th in the 8th-floor conference room of the Fire Bureau. Instructor Chuang Chia-hao, who currently serves at the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, was invited to share insights into the pre-hospital emergency care systems in the UK and Australia, as well as first-line practical experiences, and to engage in professional discussions with the Bureau's Emergency Medical Technicians-Paramedic (EMT-P).
The Fire Bureau stated that Instructor Chuang Chia-hao has been engaged in pre-hospital emergency care in Australia and the UK for a long time. Currently, he serves as a Paramedic for the South Central Ambulance Service in the UK and is a member of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT). He possesses specialized training in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) response and mass casualty incident management, bringing wealth of international EMS practical experience.
It is worth mentioning that the Hsinchu County Government Fire Bureau and Instructor Chuang Chia-hao share a special bond from previous exchanges. In September 2024, when the Director of the Fire Bureau led a delegation to Melbourne, Australia, for an EMS exchange visit, Instructor Chuang—who was working for Ambulance Victoria in Melbourne at the time—specially assisted as a translator and liaison. This enabled the delegation to smoothly exchange ideas with local EMS units. Furthermore, Instructor Chuang led the delegation to visit the fire station where he served as a volunteer firefighter, allowing the Fire Bureau team to gain a deep understanding of the Australian fire and rescue system. This established a strong foundation of friendship between the two parties.
The Fire Bureau pointed out that during Instructor Chuang Chia-hao's return to Taiwan, besides sharing European and American EMS systems and practical experiences at the exchange meeting, he also visited the Guangming Fire Station from March 10 to 11 to participate in ambulance duty exchanges. He observed EMS dispatch procedures and engaged in practical discussions and experience sharing with frontline personnel.
After visiting the Guangming Fire Station, Instructor Chuang Chia-hao remarked that it is the only specialized advanced life support team in the county. It is not only responsible for dual-track EMS dispatch for OHCA (Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest) patients but has also fully implemented the transition from traditional chest AED electrode placement to the "Anterior-Posterior" (front-to-back) placement this year. This allows EMS personnel to more effectively perform Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED) when necessary. Instructor Chuang stated that through such treatment strategies, the Guangming Fire Station has consistently achieved remarkable results in the discharge-to-recovery rate of OHCA patients. "This technique is currently not yet widely implemented even in the UK ambulance system. To be able to promote and implement it within a pre-hospital care system is truly an incredible achievement."
Chen Chung-chen, Director of the Fire Bureau, stated that in recent years, Hsinchu County has continued to refine its pre-hospital emergency care capabilities through EMT-P training, medical direction systems, and various professional training programs to constantly improve care quality. Through this international exchange opportunity, EMS personnel not only gain an understanding of the systems and practices of different countries but can also absorb experiences to further refine emergency medical services in the county and protect the lives and safety of citizens.
The Fire Bureau stated that it will continue to strengthen professional EMS capabilities through professional training and international exchanges in the future, providing Hsinchu County residents with more comprehensive pre-hospital emergency medical services.