Over the past few years, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting 25 insightful podcasts, each one a unique exploration into the world of medical practice. A recurring question we pose to our guests is: 

“What item of medical equipment would you always have with you no matter the scenario?” 

The responses have been as diverse as the professionals themselves, the vast majority being different. Throughout this article, we will share the wisdom and experiences of our esteemed guests, highlighting the essential equipment that supports their vital work. 

Medical planning for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral-  Liam Lehane (Listen here)

“So it used to be a little bit of a standing joke with myself and a couple of colleagues. We always joke about a No.2 or is it a No.3 ambulance dressing. No matter where you went, they were really good basic ambulance personnel tools that would get you out of a sticky situation. Not forgetting a pair of gloves. If you add them, they are available, but certainly, a No.3 dressing in your pocket and an airway would get you out of most sticky situations.”

Monitoring the hypothermia patient- Aebhric O'Kelly (Listen here)

“That’s easy, ultrasound, always ultrasound. There is very little out there you can’t use an ultrasound for, and you are losing cool points if you’re a medic and you do not have an ultrasound on you.” 

Providing critical care within a caving system- Dr Brendan Sloan (Listen here)

“I would take our casualty bag. I've been camping in the tropics where the underground temperature is 30°C, but anywhere in the UK, and to be honest, anywhere in Europe, it's cold. Some of it’s okay, but when you stop moving, you notice it. Hypothermia is the thing we really, really, really massively worry about. In other rescues, stopping people from getting cold makes a massive difference and gives you the chance of a casualty being mobile. And if you can keep them mobile, you've won. If you let them get cold, and they get tired, you've lost it, and you've made it a lot harder. So I would have something to manage hypothermia, and I'd probably choose our casualty bag because we've got a nice new light, effective one.”

Delivering aid to Ukraine- Adam Gent (Listen here)

“That, for me, would be a pair of tough-cut shears. I'll always take scissors, and this is my rationale. So if we work our way through the accident procedure, you know, whether you can use ABC or MARCH. In terms of managing the danger, I don't need any kit to manage danger. You just need eyes, ears and a safe pair of hands. But I may need to access the casualty. And that might mean cutting through webbing harnesses or seat belts. If they're a trauma casually, I want to strip them down, and I want to be able to cut through clothing.”

Delivering care in the civilian tactical environment- Dr Giulio Novarese (Listen here)

“I will always bring a tourniquet. I know we can improvise, but if I have a good piece of equipment and I have multiple casualties, I can stick the tourniquet on one guy and go to the other one. So it allows me to do two casualties at once.”

Extended reality training for emergency services- Stephen Thompson  (Listen here)

“I do actually carry a tourniquet with me, and that’s because they’re small, compact and they are a lifesaver. I’ve had to use them a few times abroad.”

Delivering pre-hsopital trauma care training in Ukraine- Dr. Johan Bogg (Listen here)

“The most useful now in Ukraine in the winter would probably be a good headlamp with lithium batteries. I don't know if that qualifies as medical equipment, but that's my answer.”

Providing life-saving pre-hospital care in a warzone-  Andy Thomas (Listen here)

“I'm going to say if I had to take one piece of equipment only, it would be an alcohol swab. When people are unwell, trauma, medical, illness, it doesn't matter what environment. People feel sick, don't they? And so what we do is as medical people, we want to cannulate them, we want to give them an anti-emetic, Ondansetron, whatever you fancy. And people don't know that if you just open an alcohol wipe and get the patient to sniff it. In 90% of cases, it stops them from having nausea and stops them feeling sick. It's light as hell. You don't have to do any invasive procedure, it's readily available, and it costs about 0.01 pence for a little square.”

Responding to the Turkey and Syria earthquakes- Dr. Marcus Larsson (Listen here)

“I think it would be a pulse oximeter. It’s not perfect. It has its pitfalls. But if you cannot bring a big monitor or if you don’t have that many people, it gives you a quick overview of the patient. It gives you a rough estimate of how your resus is going. I think that’s what I would bring. But then, since I’m a hypothermia nerd, I might bring the fluid warmer, especially the new one I have. It makes such a big difference for a hypothermia patient.”

Burns surge capacity planning - Professor Randy Kearns  (Listen here)

“That would be a defibrillator. I can’t recreate electricity, and I can’t make a defibrillator. I can’t do anything else than shock a non-beating heart, and I can’t use jumper cables to do that. It’s something that is only available with a defibrillator.”

A long wait- Ted Liddle (Listen here)

“Now, touch verbal assurances are so, so important. Not being lied to, but being given positive words and sharing positive thoughts. Another aspect is updates. I think it's really important to be updated. The update might be that we've been on the phone again, there's a big delay there, but they know that you need help, and we have their assurance that they'll be here as quickly as possible. Now, that to a certain extent is a little bit of flannel, but to hear that it is priceless. So, updates are important. I think the last of the points that I would share is the importance of asking the patient questions, now that I believe is important because it stimulates the patient to think and be forced into thinking.”

Burn injury considerations in multiple casualty event- Krisse Stiles (Listen here)

“The joy of the fact that my speciality is burn care is that I don't need to bring the kit. Wherever there are humans, I expect there to be water, and if I could bring something with me, it would be water. But if I can't bring it in the volume with me, because I have to bring 20 minutes worth. I have to have a water strategy. I have to think, well, actually, I'm in someone's house, and they have a tap, and they have a shower. Or they have a bath, or they have a sink. What can I use? Can I use a hose pipe in the garden? Always have a plan as to what I could do.  So I would say water is the thing that I could bring, but I don't have to because I'll always have a plan. I'll always think. Where can I source it? And if I can't?”

Understanding hypothermia- Jorgen Melau, PhD (Listen here)

“I would probably say a portable ultrasound. I am not that experienced with ultrasound myself yet, but I have used it a bit. There is huge potential for its use in pre-hospital medicine.”

Delivering care in remote locations-  Dr Bob Mark (Listen here)

“It’s easy. That’s a magic telecommunications device that is going to be 100% reliable at all times and in all locations, allowing me to speak to anyone I want to instantly.”

The Wexford General Hospital experience- Mary Rose Fitzgerald  (Listen here)

“It’s my phone; my phone has everything in it. I can take notes, I can take pictures of things and keep a log of what’s going on. Also, because of my job, I meet so many of our external partners all day, every day. I have very strong relationships with them, so my contact list is extensive.”

It hurts when you break your pelvis- James Boyd (Listen here)

“Dad drove into us all the time; wear your hat whenever you're on the ponies or horses. It's so important. We're not designed to go 30–40 miles an hour and hit your head on something hard. And it doesn't have to be that hard, but we're just not designed for those types of speed, so, you know, protect it. I know in the past I've been out on the mountain bike, and I haven't worn a helmet and I just thought, you know, you wear it on a horse. Why aren't why aren't you wearing it on your bike? That's just stupid. Wearing a helmet is a no-brainer.” 

Mountain rescue medicine- Dr Alistair Morris (Listen here)

“For me, it's that packed bothy bag. It's back to the shelter that we discussed. That is my absolute. I've spent many years in the mountains carrying survival bags, little sitting plastic things, and they're just useless really. They just blow away. The shelter is absolutely the key piece of kit. If you can keep somebody warm and sheltered from the outside environment, then the world becomes a better place.”

From crisis to change- Major General Hodgetts (Listen here)

“Identifying as a doctor in a leadership role - it may be a stethoscope around my neck as an identifying badge, or a whistle around my neck which with one blow can create instant silence and five seconds to give direction, order and calm.”

Saving lives in conflict zones- Mr Richard Villar (Listen here)

“Dead easy, I’d take a smile. If you go in smiling, it doesn’t matter what it’s like, people will love you, and they will want to work with you.”

Maritime medicine-  Liz Baugh (Listen here)

“Am I going to get in trouble If I say an SAT phone? I definitely want that phone because, as I've alluded to, I don't ever feel like I know enough to be on my own in any situation. Although Starlink is making comms better, not all ships and offshore installations are signing up to it. So you still have some pretty dodgy cons in some of the places that I have to work, and knowing that I've got an information platform that I can access offline makes a really big difference.”

Implementing a medical disaster plan for remote industry-  Dr Robina McCann (Listen here)

“I still think the best equipment you have is your knowledge and your hands. It’s less about my medical equipment but more about updating my medical skills, so now I’m in a less clinical role, I still make sure that I go do my BLS, ACLS on a regular basis.”

Practical approaches to an MCI- AJ Heightman (Listen here)

“You just write a list of all the things that you know. Or go to any of the textbooks about staging and put that puzzle together. You know what's really most important? Well, telling the hospitals might be important. So I'm going to put that high on the list, checklists, wearing vests and colour coding are also important. Make sure you understand command and crew resource management. You have to be authoritative without being obnoxious, but just say to somebody, this is what you're going to do.”

How I saved my dad’s life- Henry and Jules (Listen here)

“On the night it happened, I was much calmer than the day after. You think you can control yourself in a situation like that, but you can’t. The thing that helped is the fact that Henry was on the way to our rugby club where they have a defibrillator that was registered. It’s very important we have a record of where they all are because that helps the emergency services.“

Paediatric triage in multiple casualties- Dr Ian Maconochie (Listen here)

“A calm, appearing to be measured approach is really important, and that's as I say is talking to anyone of any age. And it doesn't really matter if they understand English or not, if they're preverbal or not. It's simple, as a lot of our communication is non-verbal anyway.”

20 years responding to major incidents- David Whitmore (Listen here)

“Go back and look at previous incidents. Look at the big RTC that may have had one fatality, but other things were going on. Look at those, learn from looking at the big incidents. Know what problem sites you have got in your locality. If you have some problems sites, do think about them; how would they affect people? What would I do? Use your recurring big events, like New Year’s Eve festivals. Use those as a training area for your junior staff. Get them to take command and control.”

Learn more

Thank you for reading about the 25 pieces of medical equipment that our guests have chosen as their essential tools. The variety and thoughtfulness behind each choice have been truly inspiring.

If you enjoyed this article, why not dive deeper into our complete podcast series? Each episode offers a wealth of insights and stories from medical professionals. You can listen to the entire series by clicking here.