ATLS®
Advanced Trauma Life Support ®
Teaching on the shoulders of giants
The very first ATLS® course at the centre in South Wales was taught in 1995. It was only made possible through the insight and dedicated efforts of Dr. Peter Baynham – an anaesthetist at Prince Charles Hospital. Peter realised that the hospital received a significant workload of trauma cases from nearby roads and mountains, yet was poorly prepared for such patients. In 1996, Peter was joined by Harry Stevens, a former deputy Chief Ambulance Officer and the first paramedic to practise in Wales. Harry's vision was to develop a resuscitation training centre to exceed all standards. A decade later, Prince Charles Hospital had the busiest resuscitation training centre in Wales, training more students than any other and with an enviably high pass rate.
That same year, Peter sadly died after an MI. He was 48 years old.
Harry carried on with their joint project, supported by colleagues, mostly trained by him. He spread his philosophy of teaching across the globe, supporting centres in both Africa and the Middle East. He was also appointed the first non-medical senior lecturer at the medical school in Cardiff. In 2014, Harry was appointed MBE – the first such award ever given for services to resuscitation training.
Following a brief illness, Harry died in 2016 at the age of 65, barely weeks after teaching on a course.
Well over 130 ATLS® courses since the original one, courses are delivered by those trained by Peter and Harry and by others who have joined since – a family of over 150 staff and instructors – teaching on the shoulders of giants.
That same year, Peter sadly died after an MI. He was 48 years old.
Harry carried on with their joint project, supported by colleagues, mostly trained by him. He spread his philosophy of teaching across the globe, supporting centres in both Africa and the Middle East. He was also appointed the first non-medical senior lecturer at the medical school in Cardiff. In 2014, Harry was appointed MBE – the first such award ever given for services to resuscitation training.
Following a brief illness, Harry died in 2016 at the age of 65, barely weeks after teaching on a course.
Well over 130 ATLS® courses since the original one, courses are delivered by those trained by Peter and Harry and by others who have joined since – a family of over 150 staff and instructors – teaching on the shoulders of giants.
ATLS courses in Merthyr Tydfil
Our ATLS "home" remains our main hub for teaching. This is where instructors and instructor candidates generally join the family and begin to teach with us. We have an innovative programme and many tools to aid our instructors in their task. We aim to push and develop our faculty and help them get as far as they wish with ATLS.
Despite having 16 courses each year, places on faculty are popular enough to require advance planning and putting one's name down to join a faculty a number of months in advance is highly recommended. We would rather one volunteers to teach on a future date and then pull out (with sufficient notice - say, 2-3 months), rather than wait until one is certain of one's availability and ask to join a faculty that already has enough people on it.
Merthyr Tydfil courses are scheduled in pairs, with a course on Thursday-Friday, followed by the next on Saturday-Sunday. Instructors may choose to teach on the one or on the other or on both, but need to secure the time to be present from the beginning of a course to the end - we provide a level of mentorship to our candidates that requires this sort of commitment. The pattern for most years is to have a pair of courses in each of the following months - February, March, May, June, September, October, November & December (occasionally we vary this).
For further information about teaching with us, including future course dates, please use the CONTACT Form.
Despite having 16 courses each year, places on faculty are popular enough to require advance planning and putting one's name down to join a faculty a number of months in advance is highly recommended. We would rather one volunteers to teach on a future date and then pull out (with sufficient notice - say, 2-3 months), rather than wait until one is certain of one's availability and ask to join a faculty that already has enough people on it.
Merthyr Tydfil courses are scheduled in pairs, with a course on Thursday-Friday, followed by the next on Saturday-Sunday. Instructors may choose to teach on the one or on the other or on both, but need to secure the time to be present from the beginning of a course to the end - we provide a level of mentorship to our candidates that requires this sort of commitment. The pattern for most years is to have a pair of courses in each of the following months - February, March, May, June, September, October, November & December (occasionally we vary this).
For further information about teaching with us, including future course dates, please use the CONTACT Form.
EMCEF ATLS courses elsewhere
Our faculty enjoy the option of teaching alongside friends and colleagues at a other well-established venues, in London, Oxford and now also at various other locations, as we take ATLS to various new venues around the UK. It will take time to bring on more venues on line, but our first course at Kettering in June, 2021, was a success, so we are encouraged enough to continue further, with plans for Birmingham, Oxfordshire, Wales and for other places, especially when invited by some of our own faculty to run courses with them at their own locations.
For further information about teaching with us, including future course dates, please use the CONTACT Form.
For further information about teaching with us, including future course dates, please use the CONTACT Form.