In 2024, demand for paramedic services increased, adding even more pressure to an already stressful job. Although the overall number of incidents that require an ambulance response was similar to 2018/19 figures, the proportion requiring the most resource – life threatening emergencies – has increased from 69% to 78%. Meanwhile, a 2023 survey carried out by Mind found that 28 per cent of emergency responders reported that their mental health had got worse over the last year. What’s more, figures show that in 2022, one in 16 of England’s NHS ambulance workers took time off for conditions such as anxiety, stress and depression.
These alarming statistics imply that the capacity and ‘mental bandwidth’ of emergency response teams is being pushed to the limit, while the demands are continuously increasing. As a result, patients are waiting longer than ever for ambulances to arrive, and medics are too often entering into dangerous territory: cognitive overload.
The Effects of Cognitive Overload
Cognitive overload occurs when the demands placed on a person’s mental processing capacity exceed what they can effectively handle. In medical emergencies, this might involve simultaneously recalling protocols, assessing patient conditions, making critical decisions, and communicating with team members, all under intense time pressure.
As cognitive load increases, responders may experience slower reaction times, reduced accuracy in task execution, and a heightened likelihood of errors. This can lead to delays in treatment, misplacement of critical tools, or mistakes in administering care. The disorganisation of equipment, such as poorly designed kit, exacerbates this problem, as responders are forced to dedicate valuable mental energy to searching for supplies rather than focusing on the patient.
By reducing cognitive load through intuitive bag layouts, predictable organisation, and streamlined access to kit, medical teams can perform more efficiently and effectively, even in the most chaotic situations.
Barriers to Efficiency and Professionalism
While most other medical bags on the market come with a “pouch system”, they are usually large pouches containing multiple pieces of kit without any inner organisation. This often results in bag explosions when unzipped, making it harder to select the right item efficiently and contributing to a stressful environment, spilling contents, damaging equipment, and wasting precious time and money. This disorganisation is not only stressful; it can also appear unprofessional and is not conducive to an organised and efficient service and thus increases the risk to patient safety.
While other rapid response teams may get “used” to the location of each item through daily use, this disorganization is especially challenging for police teams, who may not have developed the same muscle memory due to less frequent use of their kit.
Predictability and Intelligent Organisation
At CorrMed, we believe unique challenges require unique solutions. Designed with frontline teams our airways, cannulation, and cat haem pouches are specially designed to support these human factors and optimise efficient primary surveys in unpredictable environments, with a focus on speed, reliability, and organisation.
CorrMed pouches offer intuitive layouts and secure compartments, opening so that both sides lay flat like a book for optimal display, providing a portable tool station. This way, each item has a designated home and is easily accessible for rapid deployment, allowing responders to provide rapid care without the requirement of muscle memory or the risk exasperating cognitive overload. Additionally, the clear organisation makes it immediately apparent what’s missing, decreasing the time it takes to restock, further saving time and reducing errors for busy teams.
Compact, Portable, Durable Design for High-Stress Environments
Built to withstand tough conditions, the pouches are also made from a heavy-duty 500d tarpaulin with a TPU inner lining, making them waterproof, extremely durable, and completely wipe clean. The zips are wipeable and tamperproof, and clear ID windows allow teams to add their own customised labels. Furthermore, transparent compartments and secure loops keep items in place during transit and use, and external handles allow you to grab the pouch when needed quickly and easily.
These refinements set CorrMed bags and pouches apart from others on the market, as they are tailored for and informed by the realities of front-line responders. To see the impact intuitively designed kit will have on your team, book a demo with us today: CONTACT | CorrMed
All pouches are available individually, or as part of the bag range.
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