Meet Pre-hospital Care Doctor Kat Baird

If you’ve watched Netflix’s gripping documentary series Critical: Between Life and Death, you might already recognise Dr Kat Baird. Kat is one of the highly skilled doctors who make up our specialist Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) team at EHAAT. We sat down with her to find out more about her role, her experience, and why every minute counts for patients with severe head injuries.

How long have you worked at EHAAT as a HEMS doctor?

I started with EHAAT in April 2022. I completed one year full-time and I’m now very fortunate to be working as an emeritus doctor, doing two shifts a month, while also holding down my regular “day” job as an Emergency Medicine consultant (including nights as well as days).

What is your role when you’re not on shift for EHAAT?

I work in the Emergency Department at the Royal London Hospital, one of the major trauma centres we work closely with. It’s great seeing the EHAAT team bring patients in – they are so professional and always give great care and attention to the people in their care.

What do you enjoy most about being part of a HEMS crew?

It’s a small team, so you get to know your colleagues really well, which means the bonds are strong. We train together and have weekly team-wide debrief sessions, so we’re always learning. That training means we can perform at a high level no matter what the case is. Having confidence in your kit, your colleagues and your own abilities is incredibly rewarding.

Why is every minute so critical for patients with head injuries, and how does the team prepare for these cases?

Sadly, we see a large number of patients with head injuries. Because of the volume, the team has planned and trained hard to manage these patients effectively. Some head injuries are life-threatening and need immediate brain surgery, which means we have to get the patient to a major trauma centre as quickly as possible.

This isn’t always straightforward. Severe brain injuries can cause altered breathing patterns, seizures and unstable blood pressure. Patients may also have other injuries that complicate the situation. Often, we have to put patients into an induced coma so we can stabilise their breathing and blood pressure. We carry extra medication to help reduce brain swelling and manage seizures.

This is exactly the type of patient who benefits from the enhanced critical care approach that EHAAT can provide.

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